ArticleScientific reports2026
Longitudinal effects of physical activity on university students' mental health via self-efficacy and the moderating role of peer support.
Article in Scientific reports, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
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Who cites it
1 citing paper in PubMed.
- Physical Activity, Psychological Resilience, and Non-Suicidal Self-Injury Among Male College Students: A Cross-Sectional Study.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
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4 authors.
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Abstract
To investigate the longitudinal mechanisms through which physical activity (PA) impacts students' mental health (well-being and emotional problems), and to systematically test the mediating role of self-efficacy alongside the moderating role of peer support. A two-wave longitudinal panel design with a 5-month time lag was conducted among 847 Chinese university students. Validated and culturally adapted scales were utilized to precisely assess physical activity (incorporating PE course exertion), well-being, emotional problems, general self-efficacy, and perceived peer support. Data were analyzed using Mplus 8.3 to construct cross-lagged panel models and longitudinal moderated mediation models, rigorously controlling for baseline variables and demographic covariates. (1) Cross-lagged analyses demonstrated that T1 physical activity significantly and positively predicted T2 well-being (β = 0.15, p < 0.01) and negatively predicted T2 emotional problems (β = -0.12, p < 0.01), with no significant reverse causality paths identified. (2) Longitudinal mediation analyses revealed that T2 self-efficacy fully mediated the pathways from physical activity to both mental health indicators, accounting for 61.8% and 64.3% of the total effects, respectively. Upon the inclusion of this mediator, the direct effects of physical activity on mental health were rendered non-significant. (3) Moderated mediation models confirmed that peer support significantly moderated the initial segment of the mediational chain (Physical Activity → Self-efficacy; interaction term β = 0.09, p < 0.01). Simple slope and conditional indirect effect analyses indicated that a high-level peer network synergistically amplified the efficiency with which physical activity translated into self-efficacy. Physical activity exerts a robust temporal protective effect on university students' mental health, a macro-level benefit realized primarily through the cultivation of deep-seated self-efficacy. Furthermore, a high-quality peer support environment serves as a critical socio-ecological catalyst that amplifies these psychological dividends. By partially addressing the temporal limitations of cross-sectional designs, this study provides empirical foundations for a psychologically-oriented paradigm shift in PE curricula and the development of cross-departmental synergistic interventions.
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