The Mediating Role of Social Support and Self-Efficacy in Relationship Between Perceived Environment and Participation in Physical Activity of Leisure Time in Employees

The purpose of this study was to examine the mediating role of social support and self-efficacy in the relationship between perceived environment and participation in physical activity of leisure time. The research method was descriptive correlational. The statistical population of this research includes all employees of the thirteen area of Islamic Azad University in 2017-2018 (N=2050). The sample size was estimated 324 by Cochran formula, that was selected by cluster random sampling. Data were collected using Perceived Environment (Robertson-Wilson et al., 2007), Social Support (Sallis et al., 1987), Self-Efficacy (Sherer et al., 1983) and Participation in Physical Activity Leisure Time (researcher made) questionnaires. The proposed model was evaluated by Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) using AMOS and SPSS software version 24. The results showed that direct paths of perceived environment to social support and self-efficacy, social support to self-efficacy and self-efficacy to participation in physical activity were significant. The mediating role of self-efficacy was also confirmed in the relationship between perceived environment and social support with participation in physical activity. Therefore, according to the findings of the research, it is suggested that favorable environmental conditions and social support be provided to increase the participation of employees in physical activity.