Article

The purpose of this study was to determine whether self-efficacy can
account for the relationship between wheelchair skills and leisure-time physical
activity (LTPA) in people with spinal cord injury (SCI). METHOD: Fifty-four
manual wheelchair users with SCI participated in this
cross-sectional study.
Participants completed a wheelchair skills test, and self-report measures of
wheelchair-use self-efficacy, LTPA barrier self-efficacy, and LTPA. It was
hypothesized that a positive wheelchair skills-LTPA relationship would be
mediated by wheelchair-use self-efficacy and LTPA barrier self-efficacy. RESULTS:
Using linear regression models, a positive association between wheelchair skills
and LTPA was established (beta = 0.27, p < 0.05). LTPA barrier self-efficacy was
a significant partial mediator, explaining 47.7% of the variance of the total
relationship between skills and LTPA. Wheelchair-use self-efficacy was not a
significant mediator of the wheelchair skills-LTPA relationship. CONCLUSIONS:
Wheelchair skills play a modest role in LTPA participation and may facilitate
LTPA, if skills help people feel more self-efficacious in their abilities to
overcome LTPA barriers. The results have implications for understanding and
improving LTPA participation. Improvements in wheelchair skills may facilitate
LTPA, if people are taught the skills needed to increase their self-efficacy to
overcome barriers to LTPA participation.

Langue : ANGLAIS