Students And Faculty/staff Have Moderate Self-determined Motivation To Exercise Despite Differences In Motivators And Barriers

Only 48.7% of college students and 24.2% of adults meet the recommended guidelines for physical activity. Therefore, it is important to identify barriers and motivators to physical activity in the university setting. PURPOSE: Compare the barriers and motivators to exercise in faculty/staff compared to students. METHODS: Students and faculty/staff who were currently enrolled or employed at a Pennsylvania university were emailed a link to a 91-question online survey using Qualtrics®. The survey collected information on demographics, physical activity habits, and recreational facility use on and off campus. The survey also included the Barriers to Being Active Questionnaire, Motivations for Physical Activities Measure, and Behavioral Regulation in Exercise Questionnaire (BREQ). RESULTS: Faculty/staff (n=69; 49.7±1.2 y; 28.8±0.9 kg/m2) were significantly older and had a significantly higher BMI than students (n=97; 20.5±0.4 y; 25.5±0.6 kg/m2) (both P<0.001). There were no differences in physical activity habits between groups. Students reported significantly greater use of on-campus recreational facilities (P=0.04); whereas faculty/staff reported significantly greater use of off-campus recreational facilities (P=0.004). Faculty/staff (9.3±0.3) reported social influences being a significantly (P=0.02) greater barrier to physical activity than students (8.5±0.2). Students reported that appearance (5.4±0.1 vs. 4.7±0.2; P=0.002) and competence (4.6±0.2 vs. 4.0±0.2; P=0.02) were significantly higher motivators compared to faculty/staff. The BREQ relative autonomy index ranged from -10.3 to 23.0 in students and -9.0 to 22.5 in faculty/staff. On average, students (9.1±0.8) and faculty/staff (10.1±0.8) reported moderate self-determined motivation. CONCLUSION: Students and faculty/staff on average have an internal desire to exercise based on a moderate self-determined motivation. Nevertheless, there are some differences in motivators and barriers to physical activity in students compared to faculty/staff. Collectively, this research can give insight on how to implement programs that can address the barriers and motivators to exercise in students and faculty/staff to enhance exercise engagement in the university setting.