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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Psychol.
Sec. Health Psychology
Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1515101

Impact of Physical Exercise on Life Satisfaction of Chinese Senior College Students: The Mediating Role of Self-Efficacy and Psychological Resilience

Provisionally accepted
Huasen Yu Huasen Yu 1*Xuening Li Xuening Li 2Xin Yu Xin Yu 3Liang Fusheng Liang Fusheng 4Liqiang Li Liqiang Li 5Yuhang Yang Yuhang Yang 6进 吴 进 吴 1
  • 1 School of Physical Education and Health, East China Normal University, Shanghai, Shanghai Municipality, China
  • 2 Department of Physical Education, Nanjing University of Posts and Telecommunications, Nanjing, China
  • 3 School of Physical Education, Nanchang Normal University, Nanchang, Jiangxi, China
  • 4 Department of Physical Education, Huangshan University, Huangshan, China
  • 5 School of Physical Education, Xizang Minzu University, Xian, China
  • 6 Department of Physical Education, College of Education, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Jiangsu Province, China

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

    Objective: This study explored the relationship between physical exercise and life satisfaction among senior college students by focusing on the mediating roles of selfefficacy and psychological resilience, thereby providing theoretical support for the mental health benefits of physical exercise for senior students.A survey was conducted with 600 senior students from 10 universities using the physical exercise rating, life satisfaction, self-efficacy, and psychological resilience scales. Data analysis was performed using SPSS 23.0 for descriptive statistics, correlation analysis, and reliability and validity assessments. In addition, AMOS software (version 24.0) was used to construct a structural equation model to test the hypothesised pathways and the effects of potential mediating variables.Results: There were significant positive correlations among the variables of physical exercise, life satisfaction, self-efficacy, and psychological resilience (r=0.11-0.62, all p<0.01). The structural equation model demonstrated that psychological resilience fully mediated the relationship between physical exercise and life satisfaction among senior students (95% CI: 0.105-0.243); whereas self-efficacy did not mediate this relationship (β= 0.02, p=0.77). However, a chain mediating effect involving self-efficacy and psychological resilience was observed between physical exercise and life satisfaction (95% CI: 0.127-0.235).Enhanced physical exercise can improve self-efficacy and psychological resilience among senior college students, thereby increasing their life satisfaction.

    Keywords: Senior college students, physical exercise, life satisfaction, self-efficacy, psychological resilience

    Received: 22 Oct 2024; Accepted: 27 Jan 2025.

    Copyright: © 2025 Yu, Li, Yu, Fusheng, Li, Yang and 吴. 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: Huasen Yu, School of Physical Education and Health, East China Normal University, Shanghai, 200241, Shanghai Municipality, 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.