Attitudes,self-efficacy and behavioral intentions to exercise with a socially assistive robot in individuals with schizophrenia: An exploratory study

Abstract

Individuals with schizophrenia generally engage in significantly less physical activities in comparison with the general population, partly due to motivation deficits, but also structural barriers such as lack of available qualified health professionals. One solution is to use social robots to facilitate engagement in exercise. This research has a dual focus: first, comparing attitudes, self-efficacy, and behavioral intentions towards engaging in exercise with NAO between individuals with schizophrenia and healthy controls; second, assessing the impact of interpersonal coordination between the robot and human on intention to engage in exercise in both groups. In this study based on health Behaviour Change Theories, 22 participants with schizophrenia were matched with 24 nonclinical participants. Physical activities were conducted with NAO under two conditions: Synchronizing (NAO is adaptive to the participant’s rhythm) and Not-Synchronizing (non-adaptive). Participants completed questionnaires measuring attitudes, self-efficacy, and intention to engage in exercise with NAO after each condition. Results indicated that both groups held generally positive attitudes towards exercise with NAO. However, individuals with schizophrenia reported lower self-efficacy compared to control participants but similar behavioral intention to engage in exercise with NAO than control participants. Behavioral intention subscales were positively correlated with positive attitudes and self-efficacy. This study contributes to the increased efforts to develop new technologies for use in mental health care interventions for adults with severe mental disorders. Finally, we will discuss the potentials and limitations of using social robots to promote exercise in individuals with schizophrenia.

Graphical Abstract