Abstract
Purpose. The purposes of this study were: (1) to determine individual levels of wellness of on-campus freshmen residents' at California State Universities in four areas; (2) to identify areas of interest for personal growth of on-campus freshmen residents for which they desired more information regarding wellness and to determine if there were differences based on the age, gender, and ethnicity of the subjects; and (3) to determine if there is a relationship in choices of students from the four subscales of the Lifestyle Assessment Questionnaire. Methodology. This study utilized ex post facto descriptive research to gather data. The population consisted of freshmen on-campus residents of California State University campuses during fall of 1994. A modified version of the Lifestyle Assessment Questionnaire was used to gather data. From this instrument the researcher collected specific information to answer the research questions for this study. Findings. (1) Students had higher wellness levels on emotional subscales than on physical subscales. (2) No statistically significant differences were found for age groups. (3) Women scored higher than men on Nutrition, Emotional Awareness, and Emotional Management. (4) No statistically significant differences were found among ethnic groups for wellness levels. (5) White students scored highest on Physical Exercise and Nutrition. African American students scored highest on Emotional Awareness and Acceptance. Filipino/Asian students scored lowest of any group on Emotional Awareness and Emotional Management. (6) The four most frequently cited topics from "Topics for Personal Growth" were (a) Enhancing relationships, (b) Stress reduction, (c) Exercise programs, and (d) Educational goal-setting. (7) There were no significant differences between age groups for any of the twenty-two items included in these analyses. (8) There were no significant differences in regards to gender on any of the twenty-two items regarding "Topics of Personal Growth". (9) For the ethnicity analyses, all non-White students were compared, collectively, to White students. White students were more interested than non-White students in Weight Reduction and Recreation and Leisure. (10) Students' interest in topics did not vary as a function of their demographic characteristics. (11) Students who believed they had good physical exercise habits also believed they were careful about their diets, and students who feel they had good emotional awareness also felt they had good emotional management. Being careful about physical health did not mean that students were careful about their emotional health as well. Conclusions and recommendations. Findings indicate a need for wellness programs for on-campus freshmen residents. The LAQ could prove invaluable to Housing and Residential Life staff as a means to identify needs and then develop programs based on those needs. Programs for on-campus freshmen residents should focus attention to develop skills and knowledge for enhancing relationships, stress reduction, exercise programs, educational goal setting, nutrition, weight reduction, sexuality, relaxation, learning skills, and anxiety. Among the recommendations are: (1) This study should be expanded to survey on-campus freshmen residents in all eleven areas of the Lifestyle Assessment Questionnaire to further identify needs of this population. (2) This study should be repeated to maintain current data on student wellness for continuing use. (3) This study should be administered to non-freshmen populations of on-campus and off-campus students to determine the generalizability of these results in colleges and universities outside the California State University system and other geographical locations.