The relationship between spirituality, physical activity, and life satisfaction in African American college students

Hester, Imani

2010-2019

The present study seeks to investigate levels of both spirituality and physical activity and the effect of this interaction has on life satisfaction among African American college students. The study was conducted using an on-line survey. In the study participants were presented with questions from the following measures: the Spiritual Well-Being Scale (Paloutzian & Ellison, 1982), the Physical Activity Subscale of the Health Promoting Lifestyle Profile (Walker, Sechrist, & Pender, 1987), and Students' Life Satisfaction Scale (Huebner, 1991). The three scales were randomized so that they appeared in different orders for each participant. After completing the scales, participants were presented with demographic questions (age, classification, institution, and racial/ ethnic background). It was hypothesized that African American students with high levels of spirituality coupled with high levels of physical activity will also have high levels of life satisfaction. A correlational analysis of the data showed that spirituality was negatively correlated with life satisfaction and there was a positively trending significance between physical activity and life satisfaction. Regression analysis further showed that spirituality and the interaction between spirituality and physical activity were negatively significant predictors of life satisfaction. The results of this study may have implications for social programming on college campuses in regards to physical activity and spirituality and provide guidance for young African Americans seeking to maintain a healthy lifestyle.

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Departmental Honors in Psychology

May 2014

thesis

Bachelor of Arts (BA)

Spelman College

Department of Psychology

Patterson, Sandra Sims
Taylor, Valerie Jones

Atlanta University Center Robert W. Woodruff Library
Spelman College

Georgia--Atlanta

2014-05-01

http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12322/psych.honors:2014_hester_imani

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