Changes in Self-Efficacy and Affect during a 15-week Marathon training program

Current research in physical activity suggests that self-efficacy and affective variables are related to one another; however, the manner in which these variables change and affect each other over time has not been fully explored. This is important because individuals who participate in activities within the physical activity domain usually do so over a prolonged period of time. The purpose of this study was to explore changes in self-efficacy and affect during a marathon training program. Repeated measures ANOVA analyses revealed a significant increase in self-efficacy over the training period, while positive affect showed a significant decrease. No significant change was found for negative affect. In terms of predictive relationships, negative affect significantly predicted the subsequent week's self-efficacy rating for five of the thirteen weeks. This implies that self-efficacy can be influenced by negative affect; therefore actions aimed at reducing negative affect can lead to subsequent increases in self-efficacy levels.