 The University of Arizona Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health (MEZCOPH) welcomes Peter Giacobbi, Jr., PhD, right, to the faculty as an Assistant Professor in the Health Promotion Sciences Division. His position with the College began on July 1, 2008.
Dr. Giacobbi received his PhD in 2000 from the University of Tennessee where he specialized in sport and exercise psychology. He also holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in psychology (BA) from the State University of New York (SUNY) college at Oswego and a Master of Science in physical education, health and sports studies from Miami University (Ohio). Prior to coming to the University of Arizona, Dr. Giacobbi served as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Applied Physiology and Kinesiology at the University of Florida.
Encouraging Arizonans To Exercise
Dr. Giacobbi’s research investigates the reasons that people exercise – or don’t exercise – including factors in their upbringing, background or ethnic group, environment, and social situation. He plans to develop community-based “interventions,” or methods to encourage people to be more active, to promote exercise for Arizona. His major passion is educating people about the importance of regular and sustained physical activity in the maintenance of mental and physical health. He is particularly concerned with individuals who are at-risk for poor health due to inactive and sedentary lifestyles such as individuals with physical disabilities, racial and ethnic minorities, and aging adults.
Currently Dr. Giacobbi is funded as a co-investigator by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in a study focused on exercise during pregnancy. This study uses the theory of planned behavior (Ajzen, 1985) as a framework to examine women’s beliefs, attitudes, and exercise behavior during pregnancy. Over the last 100 years, attitudes toward a pregnant woman exercising have varied greatly, from beliefs that women should not exercise at all to current views that women can continue to exercise at the same level as before pregnancy. Understanding the social-psychological origins of these beliefs could pave the way for safe exercise behavior in an effort to positively influence the health and well-being of pregnant women and their offspring.
Always Interested In Sports
Dr. Giacobbi has an extensive background in golf and the martial arts. As his interests in the psychology of physical activity evolved, he has become increasingly concerned with the current public health crisis surrounding inactivity and obesity. With the proliferation of technology, such as televisions and video games, along with concurrent reductions in or elimination of physical education within public schools, children today are being raised to be less physically fit. These social changes have led many people to choose lifelong patterns of inactivity which typically leads to a cycle of chronic disease, reduced quality of life, and increased risk of mortality.
At MEZCOPH, he would like to secure significant funding from the NIH and private sources to do community-based interventions, particularly for minorities and individuals with physical disabilities. One model that Dr. Giacobbi plans to use with various racial and ethnic groups is peer mentoring. He just completed a randomized trial at the University of Florida called the Active Adult Mentoring Program (AAMP). This approach utilizes community volunteers to educate and encourage less-active individuals to engage in exercise behavior. Initial results from the AAMP project were encouraging and he plans to use this as a springboard for larger-scale efforts here at the University of Arizona. He is particularly interested in forming collaborative relationships with promontoras already in use by other MEZCOPH scientists. Promontoras are individuals who are trained in solving and promoting healthy lifestyle choices. “These individuals are uniquely suited for promoting physical activity within their communities and it is my hope to learn and work with them for years to come.”
Dr. Giacobbi has received funding in the past from several sources that include the NIH, the National Athletic Trainers Association, the World Golf Foundation, and the United States Tennis Association.
Welcome to MEZCOPH, Dr. Giaccobi!
Doctor of Philosophy, 2000
Specializing in Sport and Exercise Psychology, University of Tennessee
Master of Science
Miami University (Ohio), Physical Education, Health and Sports Studies
Bachelor of Science
State University of New York (SUNY) Oswego
References
- Ajzen, I. (1985). From intention to actions: a theory of planned behaviour. In J. Kuhl & J. Beckman (Eds.), Action control: From cognitions to behaviour (pp. 11-39). New York: Springer-Verlag.
- Ajzen, I. (1991). The theory of planned behavior. Organizational Behavior & Human Decision Processes, 50(2), 179-211.
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