Effect of physical exercise on mental health risks among Chinese left-behind children: chained mediating roles of regulatory emotional self-efficacy and psychological sense of school membership
Article excerpt
ObjectiveLeft-behind children (LBC) refer to youth aged less than 16 years whose parents have been absent for 6 months or longer. Given the absence of parental affection, these children frequently encounter challenges leading to severe mental health concerns. This study…
ObjectiveThis study aimed to examine the associations between exercise adherence and psychological resilience among university students and to explore the chain mediating roles of general self-efficacy and generalized anxiety symptoms within these associations.MethodsA total of 24,979 university students were recruited using a stratified, cluster, and multi-stage sampling method. Data on exercise adherence, general self-efficacy, generalized anxiety symptoms, and psychological resilience were collected via an online questionnaire platform Wenjuanxing.ResultsExercise adherence was significantly and positively associated with psychological resilience, with a total effect of 0.670, a direct effect of 0.382, and an indirect effect of 0.288. Exercise adherence was significantly and positively correlated with general self-efficacy and significantly and negatively correlated with generalized anxiety symptoms. General self-efficacy was significantly and positively correlated with psychological resilience), and significantly and negatively correlated with generalized anxiety symptoms. Generalized anxiety symptoms were significantly and negatively correlated with psychological resilience, and general self-efficacy mediated the association between exercise adherence and psychological resilience, generalized anxiety symptoms likewise mediated this relationship. A mediation effect of general self-efficacy and generalized anxiety symptoms was identified between exercise adherence and psychological resilience.ConclusionExercise adherence is directly and positively associated with psychological resilience in university students, and it shows an indirect association with resilience through higher general self-efficacy, which in turn is associated with lower generalized anxiety symptoms.