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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Psychol.
Sec. Sport Psychology
Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1529829
This article is part of the Research Topic Online Assessment in Health and Sport Psychology View all 11 articles

The influence of physical exercise on achievement motivation among college students: The mediating roles of self-efficacy and life satisfaction

Provisionally accepted
Longan Cao Longan Cao 1,2Qianhang Yu Qianhang Yu 3Xin Feng Xin Feng 4*Lei Wang Lei Wang 1*Jun Lang Jun Lang 1*
  • 1 School of Physical Education, Southwest University, Chongqing, China
  • 2 Southwest University, Chongqing, Chongqing Municipality, China
  • 3 Faculty of Physical Education, Ningbo University, Ningbo City, China
  • 4 Teaching and Research Association，CaiJia primary, Chongqing, China

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

    Background: As an inherent cognitive process in the pursuit of progress among college students, achievement motivation has become an indispensable facet of daily life. This study aims to investigate the association between physical exercise and achievement motivation, while also examining the mediating roles played by self-efficacy and life satisfaction.Methods:This study employed a cross-sectional survey methodology, with a sample of 900 Chinese university students as the research participants. A total of 844 valid questionnaires were collected and analyzed. The participants completed various scales, including measures of sports activity level, self-efficacy, life satisfaction, and achievement motivation. Subsequently, comprehensive descriptive statistical analyses were conducted on the gathered data.A significant positive correlation is present between physical exercise and achievement motivation (r=0.464, p<0.01), self-efficacy (r=0.288, p<0.01), and life satisfaction (r=0.333, p<0.01) among college students. Moreover, achievement motivation demonstrates a positive association with self-efficacy (r=0.506, p<0.01) and life satisfaction (r= 0.399, p<0.01). Furthermore, 2 the relationship between physical exercise and achievement motivation can be influenced by both self-efficacy and life satisfaction as mediators in our constructed mediation model where the total effect is 0.512 with direct effect of 0.348 and indirect effect of 0.163. The results of the constructed mediating effect model demonstrate that self-efficacy and life satisfaction serve as significant mediators and moderators, effectively enhancing the achievement motivation levels of college students. This study provides novel insights for enhancing intervention strategies to improve levels of achievement motivation not only among Chinese but also global college students.

    Keywords: physical exercise, college students, self-efficacy, life satisfaction, achievement motivation

    Received: 17 Nov 2024; Accepted: 10 Jan 2025.

    Copyright: © 2025 Cao, Yu, Feng, Wang and Lang. 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:
    Xin Feng, Teaching and Research Association，CaiJia primary, Chongqing, China
    Lei Wang, School of Physical Education, Southwest University, Chongqing, 400715, China
    Jun Lang, School of Physical Education, Southwest University, Chongqing, 400715, China

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