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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Psychol.
Sec. Movement Science
Volume 15 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1356999

Exercise Motivation, Physical Exercise, And Mental Health Among College Students: Examining the Predictive Power of Five Different Types of Exercise Motivation

Provisionally accepted
Jun Li Jun Li 1,2Lingjie Wang Lingjie Wang 3*Ling Pan Ling Pan 2*Ziao Hu Ziao Hu 2Ruiqiang Yin Ruiqiang Yin 4*
  • 1 Dhurakij Pundit University, Lak Si District, Thailand
  • 2 Hainan Vocational University of Science and Technology, Haikou, Hainan Province, China
  • 3 Hengshui University, Hengshui, Hebei Province, China
  • 4 Xianyang Normal University, Xianyang, Shaanxi Province, China

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    The mental health (MH) of college students has long been a crucial concern for families, educational institutions, and society. Extensive research has demonstrated the influential role of exercise motivation in shaping MH. However, further investigation is warranted to ascertain which types of exercise motivation may have more influence on the MH of college students. The present study examined the direct effects of five distinct types of exercise motivation, namely health motivation (HM), appearance motivation (APM), fun motivation (FM), ability motivation (ABM), and social motivation (SM) on MH among a sample of 433 college students in China. Additionally, the study explored the potential mediating role of physical exercise (PE) in these relationships. The findings revealed a significant and positive relationship between all five categories of exercise motivation and the MH of college students. Specifically, FM was found to have the most pronounced impact on MH, followed by HM, ABM, SM, and APM, in descending order of influence. Furthermore, the impacts of HM, FM, ABM, and SM on MH were found to be partially mediated by PE. However, the association between APM and MH was entirely mediated by PE. The present study contributes to enhancing the comprehension of the underlying mechanisms behind different exercise motivations in relation to PE and MH. Additionally, it offers practical implications for developing intervention strategies for improving the MH of college students.

    Keywords: Exercise motivation, physical exercise, Mental Health, college students, predictive power

    Received: 17 Dec 2023; Accepted: 09 Jul 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Li, Wang, Pan, Hu and Yin. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence:
    Lingjie Wang, Hengshui University, Hengshui, 053000, Hebei Province, China
    Ling Pan, Hainan Vocational University of Science and Technology, Haikou, 571126, Hainan Province, China
    Ruiqiang Yin, Xianyang Normal University, Xianyang, Shaanxi Province, China

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.