Psychological predictors of physical activity intensity among college students

Abstract

Objective: The purpose of this study was to investigate the association of mental health, subjective well-being, and the impact of COVID-19 on quality of life with PA intensity among college students. Participants: The sample included 1262 college students from a large Midwestern research university (mean age = 21.5 ± 3.6 years). Methods: Participants voluntarily and anonymously completed the Qualtrics questionnaires which included the Patient Health Questionnaire –Anxiety and Depression Scale, the Satisfaction with Life Scale, the Impact of COVID-19 on Quality of Life (QoL) Scale, and the International Physical Activity Questionnaire. Results: Multiple linear regression models indicated that COVID-19 QoL and life satisfaction were significant predictors of the total, vigorous, and moderate PA (p’s < .05). Life satisfaction was also a significant predictor of walking. Conclusion: Higher level satisfaction and lower impact of COVID-19 on quality of life were related to higher total, vigorous, and moderate PA levels.

Keywords:

• Physical activity intensity
• mental health
• subjective well-being
• COVID-19
• college students

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank the students who participated in this study and the entire research team for their hard work during this unpredictable year. We would also like to thank Elliott Metzler for his invaluable contributions to data management, analysis, and interpretation. In addition, we’d like to acknowledge Dan Burgess, MS-ISM, ITS Teaching and Learning Service Owner for Learning Management; Zhen Qian, Teaching and Learning Application Develop Manager, and Catherine Crouch, Business Systems Analyst, Teaching and Learning Development, University of Michigan.

Data availability

The data that support the findings of this study are available on request from the corresponding author. The data are not publicly available due to restrictions, e.g. their containing information that could compromise the privacy of research participants.

Disclosure statement

The authors declare that there are no conflicts of interest. The authors confirm that the research presented in this article met the ethical guidelines, including adherence to the legal requirements, of United States of America and received approval from the Institutional Review Board of University of Michigan.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the University of Michigan Rackham Graduate Student Research Grant. The authors declare that the funding source had no input into the study design, data collection, analysis and interpretation of data, in the writing of the report or the decision to submit the paper for publication.