Journal of American College Health

ISSN: 0744-8481 (Print) 1940-3208 (Online) Journal homepage: http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/vach20

Perceived Built Environment Characteristics of On-Campus and Off-Campus Neighborhoods Associated With Physical Activity of College Students Andrew A. Peachey DrPH & Stephanie L. Baller PhD To cite this article: Andrew A. Peachey DrPH & Stephanie L. Baller PhD (2015) Perceived Built Environment Characteristics of On-Campus and Off-Campus Neighborhoods Associated With Physical Activity of College Students, Journal of American College Health, 63:5, 337-342, DOI: 10.1080/07448481.2015.1015027 To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/07448481.2015.1015027

Accepted author version posted online: 18 Feb 2015.

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Date: 05 November 2015, At: 15:41

JOURNAL OF AMERICAN COLLEGE HEALTH, VOL. 63, NO. 5

Brief Report

Downloaded by [University of Idaho] at 15:41 05 November 2015

Perceived Built Environment Characteristics of On-Campus and Off-Campus Neighborhoods Associated With Physical Activity of College Students Andrew A. Peachey, DrPH; Stephanie L. Baller, PhD

Abstract. Objective: To identify differences in neighborhood environment and their association with physical activity (PA) levels of on-campus compared with off-campus students. Participants: Participants were 822 undergraduate students at a midsized mid-Atlantic university. Methods: Students completed the Neighborhood Environment Walkability Scale–Abbreviated and the International Physical Activity Questionnaire in October 2013. Results: Lower residential density, traffic safety, and crime scores and higher land-use mix diversity, aesthetics, and lack of parking scores were reported among on-campus residents. On-campus residents reported higher levels of active transportation PA, leisure PA, and total PA. Land-use mix diversity, aesthetics, and lack of cul-de-sacs were associated with physical activity level. Conclusion: The on-campus and off-campus environments differ in ways that may impact the ability of undergraduate students to be physically active. Strategies to promote continued active transportation and leisure PA are discussed.

Decreases in PA levels during college are reduced further by the transition to off-campus housing.5–9 College graduation marks another life change accompanied by decreases in PA.10 HealthyCampus 202011 objectives include increasing the proportion of students meeting recommendations. The parallel goal of HealthyPeople 2020 to increase PA may benefit from an increased proportion of the population earning degrees.12–14 Thus, there are 2 concomitant challenges: how to increase PA of current students and how to foster life span– friendly PA. Within an ecological framework, the built environment influences transportation, leisure, occupational, and household PA.15,16 Urban design and land-use policies are recommended to increase PA.17 Among adults, active transportation, primarily walking, is frequently associated with proximity and number of destinations, infrastructure to support activity, and aesthetics.18,19 The relationship between leisure PA and environmental characteristics is less consistent, but includes aesthetics and maintenance of accessible recreational facilities.20,21 Whereas the promotion of PA on college campuses is supported through fitness courses and campus recreation programming, the built environment has received less attention and may not adequately support physical activity.22,23 There is insufficient knowledge of how campus built environments shape PA.24 College campuses may have fewer active transportation barriers than other environments.25 Among college students, leisure time PA has been associated with reduced traffic, aesthetics, and seeing others being active,26 whereas others have observed an association between moderate intensity PA and the presence of sidewalks.27 PA, as measured by accelerometer and pedometer,

Keywords: built environment, college health, physical activity, walkability

W

idely recognized benefits of adult physical activity (PA) include decreased risk of chronic diseases (type 2 diabetes, coronary heart disease, certain cancers, and depression) and premature death.1 For college students, benefits of PA include lower stress, less depression, and increased sleep.2 Among US adults, meeting PA recommendations is associated with younger age and higher education level.3 Yet, only half of undergraduate students meet aerobic activity recommendations.4 Dr Peachey and Dr Baller are with the Department of Health Sciences at James Madison University in Harrisonburg, Virginia. Copyright Ó 2015 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC 337

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Peachey & Baller

was greater on a campus with higher walkability.28 In objectively measured high-walkability environments, some evidence suggests that perceived low walkability predicted decreased leisure and transport walking as well as increased weight gain when compared with those with a more accurate perception of the walkability of the environment.29 How the college environment differs from the surrounding community remains unclear. Further investigation is warranted, as basing inquiries only in the residential built environment may not clearly depict the full range of a person’s activity.30 The built environments college students interact with most frequently (on-campus versus off-campus environments) result from differing policies and governing agencies. Therefore, environments and perceptions of environments may also differ between on- and off-campus locations, which may impact PA choices. The purposes of this study are to determine (1) perceived walkability differences between on-campus and off-campus environments and (2) the association between built environmental characteristics and student PA levels. METHODS Participants Students enrolled in a general education health course at a mid-sized, mid-Atlantic undergraduate university were invited to complete an online survey. After an in-class presentation detailing the purpose of the study, 1,198 potential participants were e-mailed the informed consent document and survey link. Eight hundred and twenty-nine students (69.2%) completed the survey; however, 7 students who resided with a parent or guardian were excluded in the analyses. The sample was predominantly female (70.9%), white (88.7%), and underclassman (88.7%); the majority lived on campus (71.1%). Females and underclassman were more likely to live on-campus than males (x2 D 25.47, p < .001) and upperclassman (x2 D 141.94, p < .001), respectively. This study was approved by the institutional review board of the university.

Measures Participants completed the Neighborhood Environment Walkability Scale–Abbreviated, NEWS-A.31 The NEWS-A includes 8 subscales and 4 individual items; individual subscale scores used the established scoring procedures unless otherwise noted.32 The residential density subscale assesses the perceived frequency of different housing types. The land-use mix (LUM) diversity subscale considers the walking time required to 23 destinations (clothing stores, coffee shop, pharmacy, etc). For the current study, video store, elementary school, and other schools were excluded in the subscale score due to lack of relevance to the participants. Remaining subscales were based upon Likert-type items (1 D strongly disagree, 2 D disagree, 3 D agree, or 4 D strongly agree). Higher residential density, LUM diversity, LUM access, street connectivity, infrastructure, and safety 338

for walking, aesthetics, lack of parking, and lack of cul-desacs subscales indicate higher walkability. Higher traffic hazards, crime, hilliness, and physical barriers indicate lower walkability. Lack of parking, lack of cul-de-sacs, hilliness, and physical barriers subscales were determined by 1 question; strongly disagree and disagree were combined and agree and strongly agree were combined to dichotomize responses for these 4 subscales. Test–retest reliability of the original NEWS subscales ranged between .58 and .80; validity of the NEWS is based upon comparisons between residents of 2 different neighborhoods (census tracts) characterized as high- and low-walkability.33 NEWS-A scores are consistent with NEWS scores and have similar criterion validity in multiple settings.32,34,35 LUM diversity, access, infrastructure, aesthetics, and crime demonstrated acceptable internal consistency (Cronbach a D .93, .74, .73, .85, and .90).36 The internal consistency of connectivity and traffic subscales was lower (Cronbach a D .23 and .42). The limited number of items in connectivity and traffic subscales may influence the estimate.37 Reliability estimates were not computed for the remaining 4 single-item subscales.38 PA was measured using the International Physical Activity Questionnaire–Long Form (IPAQ).39 Metabolic equivalent of task (MET)–minutes of PA were calculated for the 4 domains (work, active transportation, household and garden, and leisure time) and combined for a total PA score using the established scoring protocol.39,40 The IPAQ has high test-test reliability; criterion validity is greater for dichotomous PA categorization (> 150 min/week).41 Moderate convergent validity is established for walking and for total PA.42 High total PA (> 3,000 MET-min/week) is used as the dependent variable because of the background activity captured by the IPAQ.43 Demographic questions included age, gender, academic year, race, and location of residence. On-campus housing included dormitory/residence hall, sorority or fraternity housing, and other on-campus housing. Off-campus housing included houses or apartments, but excluded residing in a parent/guardian’s home.

Analysis The NEWS-A and IPAQ scores of on- and off-campus residents were compared using independent t tests for comparing means and Mann-Whitney U tests for comparing medians. Univariate and multivariate binary logistic regression models assessed the effects of the NEWS-A scores on being active (> 3,000 MET-min/week). Analyses were conducted using SPSS version 21 (IBM, Armonk, New York). RESULTS Table 1 shows the mean subscale scores of the NEWS-A. Land-use mix diversity (t D ¡7.32, p

Perceived Built Environment Characteristics of On-Campus and Off-Campus Neighborhoods Associated With Physical Activity of College Students.

To identify differences in neighborhood environment and their association with physical activity (PA) levels of on-campus compared with off-campus stu...
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