Social support and the theory of planned behavior in the exercise domain

Objective: To test the relative utility of social support and subjective norm for predicting exercise intention and stage within the theory of planned behavior. Methods: A population-based community sample of 1557 adults completed a telephone interview that assessed social support, subjective norm, attitude, perceived behavioral control, intention, and stage. Results: Social support was superior to subjective norm in predicting exercise intention and stage after controlling for the theory of planned behavior and demographic variables. Conclusion: If findings are replicated, the theory of planned behavior should consider replacing subjective norm with social support given the theory's currently stated boundary conditions.