Groven KS, Dahl-Michelsen T. "I enjoy the treadmill very much": Moving beyond traditional understandings of self-efficacy in anti-obesity interventions.
Physiother Theory Pract 2018;
36:469-475. [PMID:
29939805 DOI:
10.1080/09593985.2018.1488321]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/28/2022]
Abstract
The last decade has seen increased focus on self-efficacy approaches in anti-obesity interventions. Self-efficacy approaches stemming from Bandura's social cognitive theory involve enhancing the patient's self-efficacy to ensure behavior change through exercise and dietary changes as well as weight-loss control. Inspired by Barad's theory of agential realism, this study explores self-efficacy by acknowledging that also non-human entities have agency. Drawing on one adolescent's experiences of testing herself while running on a treadmill, we put Barad's concept of "intra-acting" into play. Acknowledging the treadmill's agency as well as the agency of the program itself enables us to see the becoming nature of self-efficacy. As such, reading Bandura's concept of self-efficacy through Barad helps us discover more clearly the contingent and fluid process of self-efficacy, a process of becoming that needs to account for both human and non-human actors. Regarding how adolescents' anti-obesity programs can be designed and implemented to enhance self-efficacy, we argue that physiotherapists must understand the intra-active processes involved in such programs.
Collapse