ArticleFrontiers in psychology2025
The relationship between physical activity and mental health among university students: a chain mediation effect of self-efficacy and emotion regulation.
Article in Frontiers in psychology, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 15 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Who cites it
15 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Comparative effects of exercise modalities on depression, anxiety, and stress in university students: a systematic review and network meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.Frontiers in public health · 2026Pooled it
- Physical Activity, Psychological Resilience, and Non-Suicidal Self-Injury Among Male College Students: A Cross-Sectional Study.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Phytochemicals in Alzheimer's Disease Prevention and Management: Molecular Mechanisms, Therapeutic Potential, Translational Challenges, and Emerging Research Directions.International journal of molecular sciences · 2026Review
- Physical activity, emotional eating, screen-based sedentary behavior, and physical and mental health in chinese university students: a cross-sectional study.Scientific reports · 2026Article
- The Relationship Between Physical Activity, Emotional Regulation, Psychological Stress, and Mood Among College Students: A Network Analysis Study.Behavioral sciences (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Perceived parental emotional warmth and academic burnout in physical education pre-service teachers: the chain mediating roles of physical activity and smartphone addiction.Frontiers in psychology · 2026Article
- Longitudinal reciprocal associations between physical exercise and aggressive behavior in adolescents: a cross-lagged analysis.Frontiers in public health · 2026Article
- Relationship between physical exercise and perceived stress in university students: a cross-sectional study on the chain mediating role of social support and general self-efficacy.Frontiers in psychology · 2026Article
- Assessing differences in emotional intelligence among lifestyle and AI usage profiles generated via Self-Organizing Maps in first-year university students.Frontiers in psychology · 2026Article
- Physical activity and teacher burnout: parallel and serial mediation by mindfulness and spiritual wellbeing.Frontiers in psychology · 2026Article
- Positive parenting styles and meaning in life in physical education teacher students: a chain mediation of physical activity and smartphone addiction.Frontiers in psychology · 2026Article
- The impact of cumulative ecological risk on exercise procrastination among college students: the mediating role of negative self-schema and the moderating role of self-compassion.Frontiers in psychology · 2026Article
- The mediating role of physical self-perception and the moderating effect of gender in the association between physical activity and psychological well-being among young recreational participants.Frontiers in psychology · 2026Article
- The impact of negative life events on internalizing problems in adolescents: the chain mediating effects of physical activity and emotional competence.Frontiers in psychology · 2026Article
- Psychological resilience, job satisfaction, and anxiety symptoms in private hospital healthcare workers: a cross-sectional study.Frontiers in public health · 2026Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
6 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Background: University students are increasingly vulnerable to mental health challenges, highlighting the need for targeted and theory-driven interventions. Physical activity has been widely recognized for its psychological benefits, yet the underlying psychological mechanisms remain insufficiently explored. Guided by the Conservation of Resources (COR) theory, this study investigates how physical activity influences mental health among university students through the chain-mediating roles of self-efficacy and emotion regulation. Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted among 1,395 university students in China. Validated instruments were used to assess physical activity, self-efficacy, emotion regulation, and mental health. Statistical analyses including descriptive statistics, correlation analysis, and mediation modeling were performed using SPSS 26.0 and PROCESS macro (Model 6) with 5,000 bootstrap samples. Results: The results showed significant correlations among the variables. Physical activity, as a positive resource investment behavior, significantly enhances self-efficacy and emotion regulation. These psychological resources work together to alleviate psychological distress. Chain mediation analysis indicated that self-efficacy and emotion regulation play a chain mediating role in the relationship between physical activity and mental health. Conclusion: This study advances our understanding of the psychological pathways linking physical activity to mental health by revealing a dual-step mediation mechanism. The findings highlight the importance of enhancing self-efficacy and emotional regulation in university-based mental health interventions. Integrating physical activity with psychological skill-building may offer an effective approach to promoting mental well-being in higher education settings.
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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.