Background/Purpose
Despite numerous benefits of regular physical activity, studies consistently found that there was a significant decrease in physical activities during the college years (Department of Health & Human Services, 2000; Youth Risk Behavior Survey Data, 2003). Often, the decrease in physical activity is more prevailing trends among the group of people with certain demographic background such as race. (Buckworth, Janet, Nigg, & Claudio, 2004). Multiethnic studies reported that African-Americans and Asian-Americans have a lower amount of physical activity participation than other race groups (Kenya, Brodsky, Divale, Allegrante, & Fullilove, 2003). Although research has investigated the relationship between race and participation in physical activity, these studies solely focused on the patterns of participation in physical activities of ethnic minority college students who were born in the U.S. and few studies have focused on international students who comprised more than 5% of the total undergraduate and 10% of the graduate collegiate population in the U.S. Council of Graduate Schools (2004) also expressed concerns that although the importance of physical activity has been well documented, international college students do not prioritize the participation in physical activity due to other challenges they face while residing in the U.S. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to investigate motivational attitudes toward participating in physical activity among international students attending colleges in the United States.
Method
Participants for the study were 521 international students from five universities in the Midwestern part of the United States. Descriptive statistics of mean, standard deviation, and percentage were used. ANOVA analyses were also employed to examine if the motivational attitudes in physical activity differ among participants' genders and class levels.
Analysis/Results
Through the varimax rotation, the four major motivations, self-worth, organic development, social-development, and life-time uses, were indentified. The results indicated that the factors of organic development (keeping good health and physical condition, getting regular exercise, developing and maintaining sound and proper physical functioning)and lifetime uses (Developing skills for lifetime and learning activities which could be continued out side of school) were valued as the most important motivations to participate in physical activity among participants. ANOVA found that the motivational attitudes did not significantly differ among participants' class levels. However, the motivational attitudes significantly differed between genders.
Conclusions
Administrator of international students and campus recreation programs need to understand the findings of this study to promote a more physically active lifestyle to international college students in the United States.