Do Active Commuters Feel More Competent and Vital? A Self-Organizing Maps Analysis in University Students

University students represent a population that faces high risks regarding physical inactivity. Research suggests that a regular engagement in physical activity (PA) may be more likely established when it leads to the experience of subjective vitality. Subjective vitality, in turn, is more likely achieved through physical activities that individuals feel competent in, and that take place in natural outdoor environments. An activity that may fulfill these conditions is active commuting to and from university (ACU). To examine whether and in which form ACU can combine this promising pattern of aspects, a person-oriented analysis was conducted. The sample contained 484 university students (59.3% females). Leisure-time PA, ACU by walking, ACU by cycling, subjective vitality, PA-related competence and body mass index were included as input variables in a self-organizing maps analysis. For both female and male university students, the identified clusters indicated that students who intensively engaged in ACU did not exhibit subjective vitality levels above average. Consistently, they did not show elevated levels of PA-related competence, which suggests that ACU does not support the perception of their physical abilities. Considerations regarding urban university environments lacking sufficient natural elements finally add to the conclusion that engaging in ACU does not suffice to establish a vitality-supportive and thus sustainable PA behavior. Additionally, the identified clusters illustrate a large heterogeneity regarding the interaction between leisure-time PA, body mass index and subjective vitality.