The effects of a cluster-randomized control trial manipulating exercise goal content and planning on physical activity among low-active adolescents

The purpose of the present two studies was to investigate whether in framing messages that target salient beliefs of youth, the type of goal framed matter to promote physical activity (PA) participation among low-active adolescents (i.e., participating in less than 1 h/day of moderate-to-vigorous PA). More specifically, the main trial (study 2) compared the effect of intrinsic and extrinsic-goal framing messages alongside planning (IMC + P and EMC + P) to a control condition (CC) on low-active adolescents’ physical activity (PA), intention, attitude, and exercise goals, and examined the potential meditational effect of these variables between condition and PA. Low-active students (n = 193; M age = 16.89) from fifteen classes were assigned to one of these three conditions. PA was assessed using an accelerometer, and the socio-cognitive mediators were measured at baseline (i.e., 2 weeks before the intervention) and post-test, and the intention was measured again at follow-up (i.e., 2 weeks after the intervention). Results showed that compared to adolescents in the CC group, those in the experimental conditions did not do more moderate PA, but carried out more light PA, and yielded an increase in attitude and intention. Mediational analysis revealed no significant effect of the potential mediators.