AUTHOR=Wang Xinzhu , Fu Kaixian 

TITLE=Long-term effects of early adversity on the mental health of college students: The mitigating effect of physical exercise

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Psychology

VOLUME=14

YEAR=2023

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/psychology/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1102508

DOI=10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1102508

ISSN=1664-1078

ABSTRACT=<sec><title>Background</title><p>We aim to investigate the long-term effects of early adversity on university students’ mental health and the mitigating role of physical exercise on this effect.</p></sec><sec><title>Methods</title><p>The survey sample consisted of 895 college students. Descriptive statistics, linear regression, and moderating effect analysis were used to analyze the results.</p></sec><sec><title>Results</title><p>(1) Early adversity negatively predict mental health level (<italic>β</italic> = −0.109, <italic>t</italic> = −4.981, <italic>p</italic> &lt; 0.01); (2) Physical exercise can effectively mitigate the long-term harm of early adversity to mental health (<italic>β</italic> = 0.039, <italic>t</italic> = 2.001, <italic>p &lt;</italic> 0.05); compared to low-level physical exercise (<italic>b</italic><sub>simple</sub> = −0. 067, <italic>t</italic> = −7.88, <italic>p</italic> &lt; 0.01), high-level physical exercise can mitigate the long-term harm of early adversity to mental health (<italic>b</italic><sub>simple</sub> = −0, 025, <italic>t</italic> = −2. 37, <italic>p &lt;</italic> 0.01).</p></sec><sec><title>Conclusion</title><p>Early adversity affects the mental health of university students, but physical exercise can effectively mitigate this effect.</p></sec>