Behavior plan and the intention–behavior gap in physical activity among adolescents and college students: a systematic review and meta-analysis
Yao Yin, Xiaodong Sun, Jing He, Yufei Qi, Guisen Li · 2026
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Description
Yao Yin and four colleagues pool research on why young people who plan to exercise often fail to follow through, a puzzle called the intention-behavior gap. Their systematic review and meta-analysis use an extended version of the theory of planned behavior, a model that links attitudes, social pressure, and felt control to action. Twenty-eight papers covering 19,652 adolescents and college students qualified. The team also tested whether study features changed the links.
The model explained a large share of differences in intention and a smaller share of differences in actual activity. Intention carried the effect of attitudes and related factors into behavior, and making a concrete plan added a further step in that chain. Results shifted with participant group, culture, and how activity was measured. The work gives program designers a clearer map of where exercise plans break down for young people.
Catalog record
| CREATOR | Yao Yin, Xiaodong Sun, Jing He, Yufei Qi, Guisen Li |
|---|---|
| YEAR | 2026 |
| COLLECTION | PAPERS |
| FORMAT | TXT |
| FILE SIZE | 51 KB |
| LICENSE | https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0 |
| RIGHTS | CC BY |
| SOURCE | Europe PMC |