Table 1.
Overview of measures used in the present study.
| Construct | Survey question (abbreviated) | Response format | Role in analysis | α/reliability |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gender | Gender (Q1) | Binary: woman/man | Demographic descriptor | – |
| Age | Numeric age in years (Q3) | Open numeric entry | Sociodem. control | – |
| Field of study | Which programme are you enrolled in? (Q4) | 4 categories | Dummy-coded control (ref: Special Education) | – |
| Year of study | Which year of study are you in? (Q5) | Ordinal 1–5 | Sociodem. control | – |
| Study form | What type of training program are you in? (Q6) | Binary: full-time = 1, part-time = 0 | Sociodem. control | – |
| Residence | Permanent place of residence (Q7) | 5 categories | Descriptive only | – |
| Financial situation | Financial situation (Q8) | Scale 1–10 | Sociodem. control | – |
| Parental education | Mother’s (Q10) and father’s (Q11) highest educational attainment | Ordinal 1–4 (collapsed) | Sociodem. control | – |
| Work intensity | Do you work alongside your studies? (Q12) | Ordinal 1–5 | Sociodem. control | – |
| Smoking | Do you smoke? (Q14) | Binary yes/no → 1/0 | Lifestyle covariate | – |
| Alcohol frequency | How often do you consume alcohol? (Q15) | Ordinal 1–5 | Lifestyle covariate | – |
| Sleep | How many hours do you sleep per day on average? (Q16) | Ordinal 1–4 (<5 h to >8 h) | Lifestyle covariate | – |
| Healthy eating attention | How much attention do you pay to healthy eating? (Q19) | Scale 1–5 | Lifestyle covariate (Model B) | – |
| Eating behaviors | 5 items: daily vegetables/fruit, fast food, ready meals, energy drinks (Q27) | Scale 1–6 (endpoints defined) | Individual items as covariates | α = 0.488 (index not used) |
| Chronic illness | Do you have a chronic illness? (Q39) | Ordinal 0–2 | Lifestyle covariate | – |
| Weekly sport frequency | How many times per week do you do sport? (Q20) | Ordinal 0–3 (0 to ≥5 sessions) | Component of PA index (DV1) | – |
| PA type frequency | How often do you engage in: sport, walking, cycling, household activities, work-related activity? (Q31) | Ordinal 1–5 (almost never to daily) | Sport item: component of PA index (DV1) | – |
| Weekly PA minutes | How many minutes per week do you spend on physical activity on average? (Q32) | Ordinal 1–4 (0–60 to >300 min) | Primary DV1 | – |
| Exercise type | What type of physical exercise do you do? (Q33) | Categorical (7 options + open) | Descriptive only | – |
| Exercise environment | In what kind of environment do you usually exercise? (Q34) | Categorical (4 options) | Descriptive only | – |
| Wellbeing index | 5 items: cheerful, calm, active, fresh on waking, interesting days (Q21) | Scale 1–4 per item; mean composite | DV2 | α = 0.808 |
| Motivators (count) | Health, fitness, body, social, competition -endorsed motivators (Q35) | Binary yes/no per item; sum 0–5 | Motivation predictor | – |
| Barriers (count) | Time, motivation, health, money, facilities -endorsed barriers (Q36) | Binary yes/no per item; sum 0–5 | Motivation predictor | – |
| PA importance | How important is regular physical exercise to you? (Q37) | Scale 1–10 | Motivation predictor | – |
| PE enjoyment -secondary | How much did you enjoy PE classes in secondary school? (Q29) | Scale 1–10 | Motivation predictor | – |
| PE enjoyment -university | How much do you enjoy university PE courses? (Q30) | Scale 1–10 | Motivation predictor | – |
Q-numbers refer to the original survey question order. DV1, first dependent variable (physical activity volume); DV2, second dependent variable (wellbeing). α = Cronbach’s alpha.