Perceived severity of the consequences of physical inactivity across the stages of change in college students

The purpose of the study was to determine if perceived severity of the consequences of physical inactivity is an important component for exercise motivation in college students. The participants of the study were 581 college students who had enrolled in HSC 160, Fundamentals of Human Health, at Ball State University during the spring semester of 2001. Using a cross-sectional data collection process, participants completed a survey instrument consisting of the stages of change for exercise scale, the perceived severity of the consequences of physical inactivity scale, and demographic questions.The data were analyzed using both univariate and bivariate analyses. Specific descriptive and inferential statistic analyses were used to: 1) determine the degree of association between the participants' perceived severity and their identified stages of change for exercise, 2) examine the relationship between the stages of change for exercise and the participants' demographic characteristics, and 3) determine the difference between perceived severity of consequences of physical inactivity and the Participants' demographic characteristics.