2 Increased PA participation selleck screening library among international students may also provide opportunities to increase intercultural communication and understanding, and help reduce instances of racism and other forms of discrimination, exclusion, and resentment.4 Given the innumerable cognitive, health, and social benefits associated with PA for all people,5 identifying factors that influence Chinese international students’

PA participation is eminently important. Understanding the PA experiences of Chinese international college students is also distinct due to their unique backgrounds. For example, traditional Chinese health beliefs value harmony with nature, which may diminish one’s desire to partake in un-natural actions, such as PA, to change their health status.6 In addition, since the majority of colleges and universities in China lack comprehensive

physical education classes and equipment,7 Chinese students may lack the skills needed to use the exercise facilities that are available on American college and university campuses. Additionally, and similar to other immigrants, Chinese international students may encounter significant obstacles to their PA participation on the basis of their gender, ethnicity, and social class, among other factors.4 As a result, it is important to explore the specific factors influencing their PA participation. Ultimately such CAL101 knowledge can help in the design and delivery of culturally acceptable and maximally effective PA intervention programs. The youth Moxisylyte physical activity promotion (YPAP) model offers a potentially useful framework for understanding Chinese international college students’ PA behavior.5 It was developed from the PRECEDE-PROCEED model, which proposes that in order to design interventions to change health behavior, steps including social diagnosis, epidemiological diagnosis, behavior

and environmental diagnosis, and educational and organizational diagnosis need to be followed.8 Within the educational and organizational diagnosis phase, factors that influence the specific health behavior should be identified, including the predisposing, reinforcing, and enabling factors. The YPAP builds off of the PRECEDE-PROCEED model and adds further specificity. In accordance with the PRECEDE-PROCEED model, the YPAP model explores the mechanisms of youth PA behavior by identifying predisposing, enabling, and reinforcing factors. Predisposing factors include two parts, “Am I able?” and “Is it worth it?” (simplified as able and worth, respectively, in the following). The able construct relates to self-perceptions of physical ability, including self-efficacy and perceived competence. The worth construct addresses the value (i.e., benefits and costs) placed on expected outcomes associated with PA, including attitude, belief, enjoyment, and knowledge.