For students, commitment to health and exercise does not translate into commitment to school

Dr. Loren Dyck and Dr. William Luse presented their paper, COVID-19 Concerns Impact Student Heath Behavior Changes, at the 2022 Western Academy of Management conference. The conference theme was “From Resilience to Thriving: The Crisis Remade.”

Over 300 University of La Verne students responded to a wellness survey administered in the fall of 2020. Dyck and Luse investigated how students’ confidence in their ability to work out despite pandemic restrictions was related to commitment in other areas of life, namely overall health behavior, and commitment to the University of La Verne. They found that students with high confidence did persist in their workout routines. In addition,  student concerns about COVID-19 strengthened the likelihood that students who worked out would be ready to make health behavior changes like practicing good eating habits, handling stress well, and living an overall healthy lifestyle. Surprisingly, student readiness for health behavior change was not related to their commitment to the University.

Luse and Dyck are currently working with the University of La Verne’s Center for Teaching and Learning to collect data from a national survey that examines the impact of students’ perceived organizational support on their commitment to the University. This builds on prior research on the relationship among worksite wellness programs, perceived concern for employee well-being , and employee outcomes such as commitment, satisfaction, and gratitude.