Studying COntextual and Psychological predictors of physical activity among Emerging adults (SCOPE Study): Protocol for an ecological momentary assessment study (Preprint)

Many adults are insufficiently active, posing a threat to public health. Research shows steep declines in physical activity during the emerging adulthood period. Psychological and socio-environmental factors have been shown to be independently associated with engaging in physical activity; however, few studies have examined the interactive effects of psychological and contextual factors on physical activity. Furthermore, real-time data collection methods can be leveraged alongside traditional nomothetic methods to gain a more comprehensive understanding of how physical activity is affected by dynamic changes to one’s unique psychological and contextual state within a day.

The present paper describes the protocol for a study aiming to examine independent and interactive associations between psychological and contextual factors and real-time physical activity in emerging adults. Ecological momentary assessment and device-based monitoring of physical activity will be used.

The SCOPE study will use an intensive longitudinal study design. One hundred and twenty-four emerging adults will be recruited, completing two waves of data collection consisting of an online survey followed by seven days of ecological momentary assessments six months apart. Ecological momentary assessment surveys will be administered using the Pathverse smartphone application and physical activity will be assessed using a Fitbit Versa 4 activity monitor.

The study was approved by the research ethics board at the University of Waterloo in November 2025. Recruitment and enrollment are expected to begin in Fall 2025 with T1 data collection occurring between November 2025-April 2026 and T2 data collection occurring between May 2026-October 2026.

Exploring real-time associations between psychological and socio-environmental factors and physical activity will provide a more comprehensive understanding of dynamic barriers and facilitators of engaging in physical activity in people’s everyday lives. The outcomes of this work will help advance existing theories on behavioral choice and effort minimization and inform the development of decision rules for adaptive interventions that are individually tailored to one’s unique and current context.