Predictors of Cycling in College Students

Objectives : To (1) assess cycling-related questions that have been added to the electronic version of the American College Health Association National College Health Assessment II (ACHA-NCHA), (2) examine cycling prevalence, and (3) identify predictors of cycling in college students. Participants : Predominately female (69%), undergraduate (89%), and white (85%) students ( N = 949) from a large, urban, northwestern, bicycle-friendly university completed the electronic version of the ACHA-NCHA II. Methods : Thirty cycling-related questions were added to the ACHA-NCHA II and a subsample of questions was analyzed. Results : Cycling questions added to the ACHA-NCHA II scale were reliable and valid, based on the psychometric data analysis. More than half (59%) of this sample cycled; of those, 58% cycled for transportation and 44% for recreation. Facilitators and barriers to cycling were different for cycling in general and cycling for transportation. Conclusions : Cycling questions added to the ACHA-NCHA II can be utilized to enhance knowledge relative to cycling on college campuses.