Science University Research Symposium (SURS)

Physical Activity and Health-Related Quality of Life

Publication Date

Fall 11-25-2024

College

Sciences and Mathematics, College of

Department

Psychological Science, Department of

SURS Faculty Advisor

Dr. Abigail Heller

Presentation Type

Oral Presentation

Abstract

Physical activity is a spectrum of bodily movement ranging from light to strenuous exercise (Godin, 2011). Health-related quality of life (HRQOL) is a multidimensional construct designed to examine how a person views their health status and how they engage in healthy or unhealthy behaviors (Yin et al., 2016). Engagement in physical activity has been shown in previous studies to have moderate associations with vitality and life satisfaction and has been shown to correlate with fewer bad mental health days (Chekroud et al., 2018; Blacklock et al., 2007). Neuroticism is a personality trait that involves negative effects such as anger, anxiety, depression, and emotional instability (Widiger & Oltmanns, 2017). Neuroticism has been shown to correlate with lower levels of HRQOL and is therefore important to control for while examining the relationship between physical activity and HRQOL (Huang et al., 2017). This study examined the relationship between physical activity levels and health-related quality of life (HRQOL) while controlling for neuroticism. Specifically, the study examined whether, after controlling for neuroticism, an individual’s level of physical activity will significantly predict their health-related quality of life. This study's sample consisted of college students from diverse backgrounds (N = 33) who completed a Qualtrics survey measuring physical activity, health, and personality traits. Physical activity was measured using the Godin Time Leisure Exercise Scale (Godin, 2011), health-related quality of life with the HRQOL-14 “Healthy Days Measure” (CDC, 2018), and personality traits with The Big Five Inventory-2 Extra-Short Form (BFI-2-XS) (Soto & John, 2017). Results found that after controlling for neuroticism, physical activity did not significantly predict health-related quality of life, b = -.001, SE = .003, t(29) = -.53, p = .60, 95% CI [-.007, .004], sr2 = .01. However, higher neuroticism did significantly predict lower health-related quality of life, b = -.83, SE = .36, t(29) = -2.30, p = .029, 95% CI [-1.56, -.093], sr2

= .15. Results suggest that the personality trait of neuroticism can have a significant effect on a person’s health-related quality of life.

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