Beschreibung:
<jats:p><jats:bold>Objective.</jats:bold> Adherence to behavioural intervention programmes is a necessary condition for beneficial outcomes to be achieved. This study tested whether social cognitive variables and coping plans predict adherence.</jats:p><jats:p><jats:bold>Design and methods.</jats:bold> Adherence was examined in a randomized controlled trial with healthy older women (age range: 70–93 years), who were randomized to a physical (<jats:italic>N</jats:italic>= 86) or a mental (<jats:italic>N</jats:italic>= 85) activity intervention. Intentions, self‐efficacies, coping plans, and objectively measured adherence levels were assessed. A moderated mediation analysis evaluated the power of coping plans to translate intention into behaviour, depending on levels of prior adherence.</jats:p><jats:p><jats:bold>Results.</jats:bold> Adherence to the physical activity programme (65%) was significantly lower than adherence to the mental activity programme (84%, <jats:italic>p</jats:italic> < .001). Intentions (β= .22) weakly predicted adherence in the initiation period of the physical activity programme (6 weeks); pre‐action self‐efficacy predicted adherence in the initiation period of the mental activity programme (β= .35). In both groups, coping plans predicted mid‐period adherence (10 weeks) and long‐term adherence (20 weeks), moderated by prior adherence (all <jats:italic>p</jats:italic>s < .01). Coping plans mediated the relationship between intentions and behaviour only in the exercise condition.</jats:p><jats:p><jats:bold>Conclusions.</jats:bold> Instructing older individuals to generate coping plans facilitated their adherence to physical and mental activity programmes. This effect was larger for participants with lower levels of prior adherence – and may have prevented them from dropping out of the programme.</jats:p>