The influence of the educational environment on college student physical activity behaviors

Abstract

Objective: The purpose of this study was to investigate which components or programs within the higher education environment have the greatest influence on college students’ intention to engage in physical activity. Participants: Undergraduates enrolled in colleges and universities in the southcentral United States were issued a questionnaire via email. Methods: The use of structural equation modeling was used to assess the relationships among multiple variables and see what, if any, relationship exists. Results: Campus safety was the only influencer of all four known predictors of intention, attitude, perceived control, subjective norm, and self-efficacy toward physical activity while the accessibility of a wellness or fitness facility did not have a relationship with the intention to participate in physical activity. Conclusions: By increasing efforts toward the influences that offer the most return on investment, Higher Education can be another line of defence against chronic disease.

Keywords:

• Ajzen’s theory of planned behavior
• Astin’s input-environment-output model
• educational environment
• higher education
• physical activity

Conflict of interest disclosure

The authors have no conflicts of interest to report. The authors confirm that the research presented in this article met the ethical guidelines, including adherence to the legal requirements, of the United States of America and received approval from the the Institutional Reivew Board of the University of Southern Mississippi.

Funding

No funding was used to support this research and/or the preparation of the manuscript.