Does personality moderate relationships between change in social cognitions and physical activity among college women?

Evidence links personality to physical activity (PA) and PA-related social cognitions commonly targeted in behavioral interventions. Frameworks of the personality system propose that traits moderate change in social cognitions which then influence behavior change. This study aimed to assess whether personality traits moderate organic change in PA-related social cognitions, and the relationship between those changes and changes in PA behavior. A sample (n = 346) of college women participated in a 12-week longitudinal observation. Surveys included measures of personality traits, PA-related social cognitions, and PA behavior. Conditional latent growth models tested the effect of personality traits on change in social cognitive and behavioral variables. Significant mean-level change and/or variance of change was observed for exercise self-efficacy, descriptive norms, affective attitudes and several indicators of PA. Personality traits were not observed to moderate change in any social cognitive or behavioral variables, nor were changes in social cognitive variables related to changes in behavioral variables. Changes in social cognitions and PA behavior over 12 wk were small and unrelated to personality traits. Future work should examine change over longer periods, and in response to behavioral intervention to determine whether traits impact the effectiveness of behavior change strategies targeting these constructs.