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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Psychol.
Sec. Sport Psychology
Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1415158

Effects of physical activity participation on subjective well-being of Chinese residents: mediating effects of physical health status and perceived social development

Provisionally accepted
Pingqiang Wei Pingqiang Wei 1Ting Qin Ting Qin 2*Chengyi Zhu Chengyi Zhu 3
  • 1 Xihua University Yibin Branch Management Committee, Yibin, China
  • 2 School of Literature and Journalism and Communication, Xihua University, Chengdu, Sichuan Province, China
  • 3 School of Computer and Software Engineering, Xihua University, Chengdu, Sichuan Province, China

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

    Background: Physical exercise participation can effectively improve the subjective well-being of Chinese residents. However, more in-depth research is needed on how physical exercise participation can improve the subjective well-being of Chinese residents. This study explores the influence mechanism of physical exercise participation on the subjective well-being of Chinese residents, and the mediating role of physical health status and social development cognition in the above relationship. Methods: Based on the data of China's comprehensive social survey in 2021, 7923 valid samples were selected. Three variables, physical exercise participation, physical health status and social development cognition, were used to explore residents' subjective well-being. In the empirical research, multiple linear regression model, structural equation model and Bootstrap method are used to test the mediating effect. Results: (1) Physical exercise participation can improve residents' subjective well-being (=0.084, t=4.67) and promote the development of positive psychology. (2) Physical health status has a mediating effect on the impact of physical exercise participation on residents' subjective well-being (the mediating effect is 0.05, 95% CI is [0.01,0.09]). (3) The cognitive level of social development has a mediating effect in the influence of physical exercise participation on residents' subjective well-being (the mediating effect is 0.04, 95% CI is [0.01,0.08]). (4) Physical health status and social development cognitive level have a chain mediating effect in the process of physical exercise participation affecting residents' subjective well-being (the mediating effect is 0.07, 95% CI is [0.04,0.10]). Conclusion: Participation in physical activity has a positive effect on residents' subjective well-being, and physical health and social development have a chain mediating effect in the above relationship. Therefore, we advocate that the government and all sectors of society strengthen the promotion of physical activity participation and create a favorable environment for physical activity, in order to promote the realization of health and happiness for all.

    Keywords: physical activity participation, Subjective well-being, Physical Health Status, Perceived social development, Mediating effect

    Received: 16 Apr 2024; Accepted: 03 Jan 2025.

    Copyright: © 2025 Wei, Qin and Zhu. 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: Ting Qin, School of Literature and Journalism and Communication, Xihua University, Chengdu, Sichuan 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.