Exercise motivations for undergraduate college students vary for numerous reasons. Regardless of those reasons, it is important for higher education administrators to understand these motivations to provide opportunities that increase exercise behavior. Undergraduate students attending a Hispanic-serving Institution (HSI) in a metro area in the northeast region of the United States were administered the Exercise Motivations Inventory-2 (EMI-2) (N = 140) to ascertain their motivations to engage in physical activity (PA), particularly to compare the differences between traditional (TS) and non-traditional (NTS) college students. Three variations (i.e., age, children, and employment status) were used to compare the different motivations to engage in PA. NTS over 25 years old or having children scored significantly higher on the physical and psychological health-related motivations (e.g., ill-health avoidance, positive health, stress management, and revitalization). TS scored significantly higher on social-related motivations (e.g., affiliation and competition). There was no significant difference in motivation to engage in PA between students’ employment status. Results highlight different motivations to engage in PA between TS and NTS. This article presents tailored interventions for specific student cohorts to promote an increase in PA participation at HSI.Keywords: Exercise Motivation, Hispanic-Serving Institution, Non-Traditional College Students, Physical Activity, Traditional College Students

Abstract: College students are experiencing a decrease in life satisfaction in recent years. The purpose of this study was to explore the relationship between informal recreation participation and college students’ life satisfaction. This study involved eighteen (n=18) undergraduate college students who participated in unstructured, individual (i.e., informal) recreational activities at least once per week. Using semi-structured interviews, this qualitative study explored the relationship between informal recreation and life satisfaction from the lens of the Inter-association Definition of Well-being (IDW) Framework designed by NIRSA, NASPA, and ACHA. College students attributed their informal recreation participation to an improvement in life satisfaction and academic success. Findings support the importance of collaborations between campus recreation, student health centers, counseling centers, health promotion, athletics, building and grounds, information technology, and faculty and administrators in academic affairs to address college students’ lack of life satisfaction.

The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted the lives of college students in many ways, especially a decrease in leisure time exercise and an increase in sedentary behavior resulting in an increase in stress, particularly in college students enrolled at a Hispanic-serving Institution in New York City. The objective of this quantitative study was to investigate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on college students’ physical activity, sedentary behavior, and perceived stress. A questionnaire was administered to 883 college students to collect leisure exercise and sedentary behavior prior to March 2020 and in April 2022, along with the impact of the pandemic on stress in April 2022. Findings indicated that the closures and isolation guidelines during the pandemic negatively impacted Black, Indigenous, and people of color’s (BIPOC) physical activity and sedentary behavior similarly to their White peers. Without the facilities and services that higher education institutions normally provide, such as recreational and fitness programming, college students were left on their own to find ways to maintain their active routines, which resulted in higher levels of stress after 2 years of campus closures. Governmental and higher education leadership should better consider the impact of closing their college campuses and limiting access to essential services on college student health and well-being in future acute health crises, particularly among the most vulnerable populations.

Sense of belonging among undergraduate college students improves the likelihood of retention and graduation, along with the overall association with positive mental health and well-being. College students build a sense of belonging with their peers through various forms of involvement opportunities, including informal campus recreation activities. This qualitative study investigated the relationship between sense of belonging and participation in informal recreation activities among 18 undergraduate college students. Findings from semi-structured interviews indicate that participation in informal recreation helped participants to create, build, and maintain friendships, and improved participants’ sense of belonging. Recommendations for practice include facilitating greater participant interaction among peers and faculty with similar recreational interests, utilizing existing facilities to incorporate informal activities, and increasing and centralizing various campus services.

Higher education faculty stress was exacerbated by the pandemic. While COVID-19 was an obvious stressor for anyone in a teaching position, there were a number of other factors that remain relatively unexamined. For instance, many full and part-time faculty members, also known as adjunct faculty, were subject to possible lay-offs and full-time faculty suddenly became heavily relied on to be mentors to their less technologically savvy peers. The American Council on Education found that mental health of faculty and staff was one of the top three most pressing issues for university and college presidents between April 2020 and July 2020 (Turk et al., 2020). However, the messaging being sent by higher education administrative officials reflected the exact opposite, with negative consequences on the mental health of its faculty members. It would be expected that perceived stress, "feelings or thoughts that an individual has about how much stress they are under at a given point in time or over a given time period" (Phillips, 2013, p. 1453), would increase for both full-time and part-time faculty members during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic. Faculty members were hoping for reassurances from their higher education institutional leadership, but instead received uncertain or negative communications that further contributed to their perceived stress.

The well-being needs of college students have increased in recent years and were exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly among students of color living in urban environments such as New York City. This qualitative study explored how COVID-19 influenced recreational behavior of college students at a Hispanic-serving institution in New York City after the first year of the pandemic through the lens of the Social Determinants of Health. Findings indicated that participants experienced increased stress and anxiety due to the pandemic, barriers and influences on their recreational behavior, and how they experienced resilience through their recreational behavior. Higher education administrators could utilize these findings in providing an improved response to acute health crises such as the COVID-19 pandemic through additional support and outreach services to their students.Keywords: Recreation, Social Determinants of Health, COVID-19, Student Affairs, Higher Education

The onset of dementia and Alzheimer's disease (AD) is projected to expand over the next several decades in the United States as the population ages. However, the cognitive health burden is not equally distributed among the population, as Hispanics and African Americans are at higher risk of AD when compared with Non-Hispanic Whites. There is some evidence to indicate that cognitive decline may be associated with lifestyle factors and that interventions in these domains may prevent or delay this decline. These lifestyle factors include social engagement, physical activity, both aerobic and strength training, dietary intake, sleep and stress. This review summarizes, in general, what is known about the relationship between risk factors and cognition and, in particular what is known about this relationship in minority populations. The results show that the relationship between these risk factors and cognitive decline is stronger for some of the factors such as physical activity and dietary intake and weaker for the other factors depending on what is measured and in what populations. It does appear, however, that the studies in minority populations is limited and warrants more targeted research and interventions.

Background: The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on higher education institutions was particularly severe for those serving low-income students and/or students of color (BIPOC). Due to systemic inequities and intersectionality, the pandemic likely had a different impact on students depending on their identity. Purpose: This longitudinal study measured the stress of college students at a Hispanic-serving institution during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic to understand how their racial/ethnic and gender identities shaped their experience. Research Design: A survey, including a refined and validated Perceived Stress Scale, was used to measure participants’ stress, academic concerns, and pandemic concerns. Study Sample: Undergraduate students enrolled at Lehman College: n=849 in April 2020, n=701 in October 2020, and n = 686 in April 2021. Data Analysis: Descriptive statistics and ANVOA were used to analyze the data, group participants, and compare stress and concerns across groups. Results: Results indicate that female-identifying BIPOC students exhibited greater resilience than other students (by race/ethnicity and gender). Conclusion: These findings support prior research highlighting the resilience of BIPOC undergraduate students.

The Perceived Stress Scale (PSS) measures general life stress and the Impact of Events Scale (IES) measures retrospective stress from a specific event; both have been validated across various audiences and settings. However, neither measure stress during an evolving public health crisis. The aim was to refine the PSS to measure stress during an event (e.g. COVID-19 pandemic) and examine its psychometric properties within a 4-year Hispanic-Serving Institution in the Bronx, NY. Three items from the IES were added to and one PSS item was removed from the PSS-10, creating a new PSS-12. Cronbach's α for the scale was 0.902 for faculty and 0.903 for students, indicating high internal consistency. Factor analyses also supported calculation of two subtotals similarly across groups. The PSS-12 is a valid instrument to measure perceived stress during a public health crisis, particularly among populations that already experience community health disparities.

Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) suffer disproportionately from coronavirus-related illness, death, and financial loss. The aim of this retrospective, qualitative study was to better understand the experiences of BIPOC students at a Bronx-based public university during the COVID-19 pandemic. Data was collected from a reflective final exam in a health sciences course in May 2020. Responses (n = 28) were coded and analyzed using the Social Determinants of Health (SDH) framework. Several themes were identified in structural and intermediary determinant areas, including occupation, education, social cohesion, and psychosocial factors. Participants demonstrated optimism, resilience, and perseverance—protective factors against exposure to adverse SDH. Findings indicate that COVID-19 negatively impacted BIPOC students in multiple SDH areas which may have a compounding effect, hindering equity and justice. Providers of social and academic support are critical levers in addressing SDH barriers and helping students strengthen protective factors to reduce adverse impacts of health-damaging determinants.

In this study, 18 undergraduate college students were interviewed and identified academics, work, and relationships as primary sources of stress and anxiety. The students attributed their reduced stress and anxiety to their participation in informal recreation. Administrators in student affairs are encouraged to integrate informal recreational opportunities in their collaborative approach to students' mental and emotional well-being through marketing and promotion, easier access to open recreation, partnerships with external organizations, and continued integration of technology.