Beyond barriers: perceived barriers and winter sport participation intentions in a predominantly Zhejiang-based Chinese sample
- 1School of Sports Leisure and Tourism, Beijing Sport University , ,
Abstract
Background: Following China's national strategy to promote winter sports, understanding the psychological mechanisms driving participation among residents in China's Yangtze River Delta region—a population with limited traditional exposure to ice and snow activities—has become increasingly important. This study integrated the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) with leisure constraint theory and self-efficacy theory to examine how perceived barriers were associated with winter sport participation intentions through attitudinal and behavioral control pathways, and whether self-efficacy moderates these relationships.
Methods: A cross-sectional online survey was conducted with 415 self-identified residents of southern China. Structural equation modeling was employed to test the hypothesized relationships among perceived barriers, attitude, subjective norm, perceived behavioral control (PBC), self-efficacy, and participation intention. Bootstrap mediation analysis was used to assess indirect effects, and moderation analysis was performed to examine the conditional role of self-efficacy.
Results: Perceived barriers demonstrated significant positive associations with both attitude (β = 0.16, p = 0.001) and PBC (β = 0.32, p < 0.001), a pattern consistent with constraint negotiation theory. Among the TPB predictors, PBC (β = 0.23, p < 0.001) and subjective norm (β = 0.20, p = 0.007) both significantly predicted participation intention, while attitude did not reach statistical significance (β = 0.01, p = 0.792). Self-efficacy exhibited the numerically largest standardized coefficient for participation intention (β = 0.323, p < 0.001). However, its coefficient did not differ significantly from those of PBC or subjective norm. The indirect association through PBC was significant (β = 0.076, 95% CI [0.028, 0.141]), whereas the indirect association through attitude was not significant (β = 0.002, 95% CI [– 0.014, 0.025]). The hypothesized moderating role of self-efficacy between perceived barriers and PBC was not supported.
Conclusions: The positive associations of perceived barriers with attitude and PBC are inconsistent with a uniformly inhibitory interpretation of barriers, although the cross-sectional design and the absence of direct measures of constraint negotiation preclude conclusions about the underlying process. and underscore the importance of social influence and self-efficacy in shaping participation intentions. The independent predictive contribution of self-efficacy beyond PBC highlights the value of distinguishing these constructs in behavioral models. However, the cross-sectional design, convenience sampling, and geographic concentration of respondents limit causal inference and generalizability. These results offer theoretical and practical implications for promoting winter sport participation in non-traditional regions.
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BibTeX
@article{zhou2026beyond,
title = {{Beyond barriers: perceived barriers and winter sport participation intentions in a predominantly Zhejiang-based Chinese sample}},
author = {QiZheng Zhou and ZhanDong Yang and DuoJie Zhang and YuJing Jiang},
journal = {Frontiers in psychology},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.3389/fpsyg.2026.1902346},
url = {https://europepmc.org/article/PMC/PMC13724322},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Beyond barriers: perceived barriers and winter sport participation intentions in a predominantly Zhejiang-based Chinese sample
AU - QiZheng Zhou
AU - ZhanDong Yang
AU - DuoJie Zhang
AU - YuJing Jiang
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/19
JO - Frontiers in psychology
DO - 10.3389/fpsyg.2026.1902346
UR - https://europepmc.org/article/PMC/PMC13724322
AB - Background: Following China's national strategy to promote winter sports, understanding the psychological mechanisms driving participation among residents in China's Yangtze River Delta region—a population with limited traditional exposure to ice and snow activities—has become increasingly important. This study integrated the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) with leisure constraint theory and self-efficacy theory to examine how perceived barriers were associated with winter sport participation intentions through attitudinal and behavioral control pathways, and whether self-efficacy moderates these relationships. Methods: A cross-sectional online survey was conducted with 415 self-identified residents of southern China. Structural equation modeling was employed to test the hypothesized relationships among perceived barriers, attitude, subjective norm, perceived behavioral control (PBC), self-efficacy, and participation intention. Bootstrap mediation analysis was used to assess indirect effects, and moderation analysis was performed to examine the conditional role of self-efficacy. Results: Perceived barriers demonstrated significant positive associations with both attitude (β = 0.16, p = 0.001) and PBC (β = 0.32, p < 0.001), a pattern consistent with constraint negotiation theory. Among the TPB predictors, PBC (β = 0.23, p < 0.001) and subjective norm (β = 0.20, p = 0.007) both significantly predicted participation intention, while attitude did not reach statistical significance (β = 0.01, p = 0.792). Self-efficacy exhibited the numerically largest standardized coefficient for participation intention (β = 0.323, p < 0.001). However, its coefficient did not differ significantly from those of PBC or subjective norm. The indirect association through PBC was significant (β = 0.076, 95% CI [0.028, 0.141]), whereas the indirect association through attitude was not significant (β = 0.002, 95% CI [– 0.014, 0.025]). The hypothesized moderating role of self-efficacy between perceived barriers and PBC was not supported. Conclusions: The positive associations of perceived barriers with attitude and PBC are inconsistent with a uniformly inhibitory interpretation of barriers, although the cross-sectional design and the absence of direct measures of constraint negotiation preclude conclusions about the underlying process. and underscore the importance of social influence and self-efficacy in shaping participation intentions. The independent predictive contribution of self-efficacy beyond PBC highlights the value of distinguishing these constructs in behavioral models. However, the cross-sectional design, convenience sampling, and geographic concentration of respondents limit causal inference and generalizability. These results offer theoretical and practical implications for promoting winter sport participation in non-traditional regions.
SN - 1664-1078
ER -