What Barriers Keep College-Aged Females from Using the Campus Recreation Center?

David Barney,Bridget Miller,Weston Kensinger,Scott Jordan

doi:10.24112/ajper.251916

Abstract

Attending college offers many opportunities for students to be involved in many different activities. One activity that may be neglected is physical activity. This applies to all groups of students, in particular College-Aged Females (CAF). The purpose of this study was to investigate factors that affect CAF students from using a college exercise and wellness facility. A sample of 269 CAF (243=Caucasian & 24 African American Female) students (AAF) were surveyed and then interviewed as a group to better learn what barriers may be keeping them from using the campus exercise and wellness facility. Generally, it was found the CAF did not use the college and wellness facility for cultural, educational and personal reasons. The results from this study can be used to better encourage and market strategies to the CAF population on college campuses.

Highlights

A quality campus recreation center (CRC) and the activities its staff offer serve as one of the primary recruiting methods for universities in attracting prospective students (Strand, Egeberg & Mozumdar, 2010)
Caucasian participants perceived significantly greater benefits derived from physical activity than their American Females (AAF) counterparts on Appearance [t(1, 264) = 2.34; p = .020], Psychological Effect [t(1, 264) = 2.16; p = .03], and Body Image [t(1, 265) = 2.12; p = .04] (Table 3)
The purpose of this study was to gain a better understanding of the perceived benefits and barriers of College-Aged Females (CAF) to utilize a CRC

Summary

Introduction

A quality campus recreation center (CRC) and the activities its staff offer serve as one of the primary recruiting methods for universities in attracting prospective students (Strand, Egeberg & Mozumdar, 2010). Such centers combine multiple sport and exercise facilities such as, weight training, cardio-vascular equipment, indoor and outdoor swimming pools, sport and activity classes, nutritional assessments, foods and beverages and many other amenities. These centers are typically full of users at the beginning of each semester and during the “Spring Break Crunch”, or weeks leading up to spring bread, the number of exercisers usually dwindles down to only avid exercisers for the remainder of the semester (Barney, Miller, & Kensinger, 2010). For CRC managers and staff, increasing center participation and improving the health of the student body is a priority (Fountaine, Liguori, Mozumdar, & Schuna, 2011)

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