Perceived somatic and affective barriers for self-efficacy and physical activity.

According to Bandura's social-cognitive theory, perceptions of somatic and affective barriers are sources of self-efficacy. This longitudinal study compares general indicators of health barriers with measures of perceived somatic and affective barriers to predict self-efficacy and accelerometer-assessed physical activity in a subsample of  = 153 (selected at random from  = 310) community-dwelling German older adults. Perceived somatic and affective barriers longitudinally predicted physical activity mediated by self-efficacy, whereas general health barriers did not. health barriers to physical activity might be more important than health barriers for older adults' physical activity levels.