ABSTRACT

There is some evidence that people from lower socio-economic groups (SEGs) are more likely to be either inactive or less active than those from higher SEGs. Currently, there is little evidence to indicate whether this trend is the same for the student population. This study aims to provide this insight to understand the habits and behaviours of university students in sport and physical activity whilst gaining an understanding of barriers to student participation. A mixed methods approach was employed, including an online survey of 729 students from 20 different UK universities, plus qualitative research at one university which included 27 semi-structured interviews with students, four semi-structured interviews with university staff, and a focus group with student sports volunteers. This paper supports previous findings around participation in sport and physical activity amongst different SEGs, finding that students from low SEGs were less active than those from higher SEGs. Key barriers preventing both groups participating in sport and physical activity included time (mainly due to academic commitments), cost and a lack of confidence, alongside some university-specific factors. A greater number of commuter students were in the low SEGs which also influenced behaviour in relation to sport and physical activity participation. Additionally, the research found that students that did not participate in sport and physical activity before university were also less likely to participate once they began university, and this was an important factor regardless of SEG. The paper provides some considerations and implications for both further research in this area and the design of interventions to engage and sustain participation in university students.

摘要

有一些证据表明，与来自较高社会经济群体 (SEG) 的人相比，来自较低社会经济群体 (SEG) 的人更有可能不活跃或不活跃。目前，几乎没有证据表明这种趋势对于学生群体是否相同。本研究旨在提供这种见解，以了解大学生在体育和体育活动中的习惯和行为，同时了解学生参与的障碍。采用混合方法，包括对来自 20 所不同英国大学的 729 名学生进行在线调查，以及在一所大学进行的定性研究，其中包括对学生的 27 次半结构化访谈、对大学工作人员的四次半结构化访谈，以及与学生体育志愿者。本文支持先前关于不同 SEG 参与体育和体育活动的研究结果，发现来自低 SEG 的学生不如来自高 SEG 的学生活跃。阻碍这两个群体参与体育活动的主要障碍包括时间（主要是由于学术承诺）、成本和缺乏信心，以及一些大学特有的因素。更多的通勤学生处于低 SEG，这也影响了与体育和体育活动参与相关的行为。此外，研究发现，在大学之前没有参加体育活动的学生，一旦开始上大学，也不太可能参加，这与 SEG 无关，这是一个重要因素。