Can changes in psychosocial factors and residency explain the decrease in physical activity during the transition...

Area of Science:

• Behavioral Science
• Public Health
• Sports Science

Background:

• Student physical activity (PA) significantly declines during the high school to college transition.
• Identifying determinants of this PA decline is crucial for developing effective interventions.

Purpose of the Study:

• Examine changes in psychosocial factors during the student transition.
• Assess if these changes and residency predict alterations in PA.
• Investigate residency's moderating role in the psychosocial-PA relationship.

Main Methods:

• Longitudinal study of 291 Flemish students from high school to second year of college.
• Assessed demographics, active transportation, leisure-time sports, psychosocial variables, and residency.
• Utilized repeated measures MANOVA and moderated hierarchic regression analyses.

Main Results:

• Modeling, self-efficacy, and certain barriers/benefits changed significantly.
• Decreases in modeling and increased time barriers predicted less active transportation.
• Residency, lower self-efficacy, and increased barriers predicted less leisure-time sports.

Conclusions:

• Residency and psychosocial shifts primarily impact leisure-time sports decline.
• Distance to university may influence active transportation reduction.
• Interventions targeting self-efficacy, time management, and perceived benefits can enhance student PA.