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BRIEF RESEARCH REPORT article

Front. Public Health
Sec. Public Mental Health
Volume 12 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2024.1442632

Physical activity motivations and psychological well-being among university students: A canonical correlation analysis

Provisionally accepted
Tao Zhong Tao Zhong *
  • Henan Normal University, Xinxiang, China

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

    With increasing concern about mental health issues and active lifestyles among university students, understanding the interplay between different physical activity motivations and various dimensions of psychological well-being is important. The present study aims to explore the canonical relationship between physical activity motivations based on self-determination theory and psychological well-being according to Ryff's model in university students. Nine hundred and sixtysix Chinese university students participated in this study. A canonical correlation analysis was conducted using six variables of motivations as predictors of six variables of psychological wellbeing. The canonical correlation analysis yielded two canonical functions. The first canonical function, which was primary, indicated that intrinsic motivation, integrated regulation, identified regulation, and introjected regulation contributed the most to psychological well-being. The second canonical function indicated that a decrease in external motivation and amotivation accounted for an increase in personal growth. This study underscores the importance of elucidating the underlying motivations driving physical activity behaviors in order to enhance psychological well-being in this population.

    Keywords: physical activity, self-determination theory, Motivation, psychological well-being, Canonical correlations, university students

    Received: 02 Jun 2024; Accepted: 26 Sep 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Zhong. 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: Tao Zhong, Henan Normal University, Xinxiang, China

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