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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Psychol.
Sec. Health Psychology
Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1545370
The Dual Impact of Physical Exercise on University Students' Mental Health: The Chain Mediating Effects of Mindfulness and Psychological Resilience
Provisionally accepted- Department of Physical Education, Liaoning University of Technology, Jinzhou, China
This study investigates the dual impact of physical exercise on university students' mental health, emphasizing the chain mediating effects of mindfulness and psychological resilience. Utilizing the Conservation of Resources (COR) theory and the Dual-Factor Model of Mental Health, the research captures the comprehensive influence of exercise on both positive and negative dimensions of mental well-being. A cross-sectional survey was conducted among 720 students from Chinese universities, employing validated instruments to assess physical exercise, mindfulness, resilience, and mental health outcomes. The findings highlight that physical exercise serves as a proactive resource investment behavior, significantly enhancing mindfulness and resilience. These psychological resources, in turn foster positive mental health indicators (e.g., life satisfaction and positive affect) while mitigating negative factors (e.g., psychological distress). The chain mediation analysis reveals that mindfulness and resilience function as interconnected resources, supporting the resource "gain spiral" and "resource caravan" effect described in COR theory. This study contributes novel insights by demonstrating how mindfulness and resilience sequentially amplify the psychological benefits of physical exercise, offering a nuanced understanding of the mechanisms underlying mental health improvements in university students. The findings have significant theoretical and practical implications, advocating for the integration of exercise, mindfulness, and resilience-building strategies in mental health interventions for university populations.
Keywords: physical exercise, mindfulness, psychological resilience, Mental Health, university students, The dual-factor model of mental health, the conservation of resources theory
Received: 14 Dec 2024; Accepted: 31 Mar 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Jian. 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:
Guo Jian, Department of Physical Education, Liaoning University of Technology, Jinzhou, China
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