Effects of Sex, Race, and Age on College Students’ Exercise Motivation of Physical Activity

Authors

Trevor J. Egli, Georgia Southern UniversityFollow
Helen W. Bland, Georgia Southern University, Jiann-Ping Hsu College of Public HealthFollow
Bridget F. Melton, Georgia Southern UniversityFollow
Daniel R. Czech, Georgia Southern UniversityFollow

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

2011

Publication Title

Journal of American College Health

DOI

10.1080/07448481.2010.513074

Abstract

Objective: The authors examined differences in exercise motivation between age, sex, and race for college students.

Participants: Students from 156 sections of physical activity classes at a midsize university were recruited (n = 2,199; 1,081 men, 1,118 women) in 2005–2006 and volunteered to complete the Exercise Motivation Inventory.

Methods: Quantitative, cross-sectional descriptive research design was employed.

Results: Significant differences were found in 3 of 14 exercise motivational subscales by age (affiliation, health pressures, and ill health avoidance) (p< .05). Males were motivated by intrinsic factors (strength, competition, and challenge) (p < .05) and females by extrinsic factors (ie, weight management and appearance) (p < .05); only 2 subscales proved not to be significant by sex. Race differences provided 8 significant differences by exercise motivations (p < .05).

Conclusions: Significant differences for exercise motivations in college-aged population by demographics were documented. Understanding these differences is important for college health professionals for programming strategies and promoting physical activity.

Recommended Citation

Egli, Trevor J., Helen W. Bland, Bridget F. Melton, Daniel R. Czech. 2011. "Effects of Sex, Race, and Age on College Students’ Exercise Motivation of Physical Activity." Journal of American College Health, 59 (5): 399-406. doi: 10.1080/07448481.2010.513074
https://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/commhealth-facpubs/71