Felt Ambivalence Weakens the Attitude–Intention Pathway for Regular Leisure-Time Physical Activity in Chinese Adolescents: A Three-Wave Prospective Study

Background: Favorable attitudes toward regular leisure-time physical activity may not always translate into intention if adolescents feel ambivalent about the behavior. This study tested whether felt ambivalence weakens the prospective attitude–intention association and the indirect effect of attitude on later behavior through intention. Methods: Chinese adolescents (N = 1714; Grades 7–12; mean age = 15.0 years) completed a three-wave survey at approximately two-week intervals. Wave 1 assessed attitudes toward regular leisure-time moderate-to-vigorous physical activity, felt ambivalence, and physical activity habit; Wave 2 assessed intention; and Wave 3 assessed leisure-time physical activity. Moderated mediation was tested in a structural equation model adjusting for habit, gender, and grade. Results: More favorable baseline attitudes predicted stronger intention two weeks later, and intention predicted greater self-reported leisure-time physical activity at follow-up. Felt ambivalence significantly moderated the attitude–intention pathway such that the association was weaker at higher levels of ambivalence. The conditional indirect effect of attitude on later leisure-time physical activity through intention was significant at low, mean, and high ambivalence, but decreased as ambivalence increased. Conclusions: Favorable attitudes may be insufficient when adolescents remain conflicted about physical activity. The present study provides prospective support for a theoretically relevant moderation pattern in which felt ambivalence weakens the attitude–intention pathway, but it does not establish ambivalence as a key explanatory mechanism.