Psychosocial Determinants of Physical Activity in Undergraduate College Students

Abstract

Less than 50% of adults aged 18-30 years report meeting the current guidelines for physical activity (PA), with the steepest declines occurring in young adulthood. Theory-based psychosocial factors have been proposed to identify possible modifiable psychological barriers to PA. Purpose: To explore the relation between PA and key psychosocial determinants: 1) motivation (MO); 2) self-ef- ficacy (SE); 3) social support (SS); 4) exercise enjoyment (EE); and 5) body image (BI) in young adult college students. A secondary aim was to examine whether young adult females and males differ in psychosocial determinants of PA. Methods: A cross-sectional correlational design was employed. Fifty-five females (18.7±0.7 yrs) and 35 males (18.5±0.6 yrs) participated. Weekly minutes of hard PA, very hard PA, and total weekly minutes of PA (7-Day PA Recall) served as the dependent variables. Determinant variables were assessed using standardized questionnaires. Results: For females, SE, EE, MO, SS from friends, and BI were correlated (p<0.05) to total weekly minutes of PA. The combination of EE, MO, SS, and BI explained nearly 43% of the variance in total weekly minutes of PA (R2=0.426, F(4,50)=9.294, p<0.001). For males, EE was correlated (p<0.05) to minutes of hard PA, minutes of very hard PA, and total weekly minutes of PA. A stepwise multiple regression analysis resulted in EE being the only determinant selected for the model (R2=0.174, F(1,33)=6.949, p=0.013). Conclusion: EE was a significant psychosocial determinant of PA among young adult male and female college students. Other psychosocial determinants of PA in females include MO, SS, and BI. These psychosocial variables deserve consideration when designing future behavioral interventions to increase PA in young adult college students.