Participation, perceived barriers, and course satisfaction in university physical education: a cross-sectional study of non-sport-major undergraduates at a Chinese university.

University physical education (PE) is a structured learning context in which students' participation and perceived barriers may be related to how they evaluate the course. This single-institution cross-sectional study examined associations among PE participation, perceived barriers, and PE course satisfaction among non-sport-major undergraduates at Hainan Normal University, China. Of 350 questionnaires distributed, 300 records retained after eligibility and data-quality screening were analyzed. Participants completed a researcher-developed 55-item Chinese questionnaire covering three participation domains, four satisfaction domains, and four barrier domains. The revised analysis evaluated the questionnaire using internal-consistency estimates, permutation-based parallel analysis, exploratory factor analysis, correlations, and HC3-robust regression with sensitivity analyses. Parallel analysis supported the intended three-, four-, and four-factor structures within this sample, but the instrument still requires independent psychometric confirmation. Higher reported PE participation was associated with higher course satisfaction, whereas greater perceived barriers were associated with lower satisfaction. After adjustment for the other variables included in the regression model, time constraints and lack of interest showed negative associations with satisfaction. These findings are sample-specific and do not establish causal or theory-specific mechanisms. Future multi-institutional studies using independently validated measures and longitudinal or intervention designs are needed.