Physical activity and academic procrastination in Chinese college students: The serial mediating roles of physical self-perceptions and self-esteem

Studies have demonstrated that physical activity (PA) is negatively associated with academic procrastination. However, there is limited research on the mechanism underlying this relationship. This study aims to explore the relationship between PA and academic procrastination by investigating the roles of physical self-perceptions and self-esteem. 916 college students (650 females; Mean age = 19.11, SD age = 1.04) participated in the study. Participants completed the Physical Activity Rating Scale-3, the Physical Self-Perceptions Profile, the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale, and the Academic Procrastination Questionnaires. Descriptive statistics, Pearson’s correlation, and mediating effect analysis were carried out using SPSS 25.0. The results showed that (a) PA, physical self-perceptions, and self-esteem were negatively correlated with academic procrastination, (b) self-esteem mediated the association between PA and academic procrastination, and (c) physical self-perceptions and self-esteem sequentially mediated the association between PA and academic procrastination. These findings have deepened our understanding on the relationship between PA and academic procrastination, highlighting important approaches to deal with academic procrastination.

The Relationship Between Perceptions of Physical Self-Worth, Subdomain Importance, and Physical Fitness in Adolescents With Low Motor Competence: An Exploratory Study

Purpose: Adolescent perceptions of their physical self-worth (PSW) and the component domains draw upon physical attributes, such as motor competence, physical fitness, and self-perceptions, which in turn enhance the desire to engage in physical activity. Whilst these relationships have been researched in populations with typical motor development, little is known of the interplay of these contributors to PSW with those with low motor competence (LMC). Even less is known of how importance placed on particular physical subdomains may be used by the adolescent with LMC to mitigate negative effects on their perceptions of PSW. Method: Thirty-four adolescents with low motor competence, 25 boys and 9 girls (M_age = 13.89 yrs, SD = 1.49), completed the McCarron Assessment of Neuromuscular Development (MAND), the Children's Physical Self-Perception Questionnaire (C-PSPP) and a range of physical fitness tests. Results: All self-perception subdomain score was lower than importance ratings. Physical fitness measures were also low but were not significantly associated with PSW. However, the higher importance scores relative to physical self-perceptions resulted in greater discrepancy scores in all subdomains. Conclusion: Adolescents with LMC have low PSW, and low self-perceptions relative to importance ratings for most physical self-subdomains. These discrepancies, rather than actual fitness, potentially reduce their motivation to be physically active.

The benefits of need satisfaction depend on their relative importance for people with a unidimensional identity: an idiographic analysis

Self-determination theory proposes that the satisfaction of basic psychological needs is equally beneficial for everyone – the Universal Hypothesis. Equally, there are intra-individual differences in how the satisfaction of differentially important needs might be differentially beneficial, which we term the Intra-individual Hypothesis. We aimed to reconcile these positions. Across four cross-sectional studies (ns = 300 rock climbers, 323 sportspeople, 394 UK and Chinese adults, 320 UK adults), we investigated the needs of individuals with varying dimensions to their identity, and their motivation and self-esteem. In Studies 1, 2, and 4, when individuals strongly related their sense of identity to investment in a specific activity, the association between need satisfaction and self-esteem (and motivation in Studies 1–2) depended on their intra-individual need importance, supporting the Intra-individual Hypothesis. In Studies 3 and 4, for individuals with a multidimensional identity, the association between need satisfaction and self-esteem did not depend on the importance of each need, supporting the Universal Hypothesis. The satisfaction of basic psychological needs is not always uniform in its link with motivation and well-being. The degree to which individuals have a unidimensional or multidimensional self-concept appears fruitful in predicting the relative value of the Universal Hypothesis and the Intra-individual Hypothesis.

Physical self-concept and body dissatisfaction among Special Olympics athletes: A comparison between sex, weight status, and culture

BACKGROUND

Little research has looked at the associations between sex, weight status and culture, and the physical self-perceptions and body dissatisfaction of individuals with intellectual disabilities (ID) involved in Special Olympics (SO) sports.

AIMS

To examine sex- (male vs female), weight status- (non-overweight/obese vs. overweight/obese), and culture-based (North American vs. Asian) differences in physical self-concept and body dissatisfaction among SO athletes.

METHODS AND PROCEDURES

A total of 139 SO athletes (aged 12-30 years) with ID participated in this study and completed measures of physical self-perceptions and body dissatisfaction. Differences according to sex, weight status, culture, and their interactions were examined.

OUTCOMES AND RESULTS

Males SO athletes presented higher levels of self-perceived physical strength and ideal body shape than females. Additionally, non-overweight/obese SO athletes presented higher levels of self-perceived physical appearance and physical condition than their overweight/obese counterparts, as well as lower actual body shape perceptions and body dissatisfaction. Moreover, North-American SO athletes presented higher levels of self-perceived physical appearance and sport competence than their Asians counterparts, as well as lower actual body shapes perceptions and body dissatisfaction.

CONCLUSION AND IMPLICATIONS

This study reveals substantial sex-, weight status-, and culture-based differences in the physical self-concept and body dissatisfaction of SO athletes.

Physical self-esteem--a ten-year follow-up study from early adolescence to early adulthood

INTRODUCTION

One variable that has been consistently associated with adolescents' physical activity is perceived activity competence. Perceived physical (or sport) competence is considered a sub-domain to the physical self-esteem or self-worth (i.e., a person's valuation of what is good and worthy in their self-description).

OBJECTIVE

This study aimed to describe levels of and inter-correlations among physical self-esteem, physical activity, and body mass index in a longitudinal design spanning adolescence to early adulthood.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

At mean ages of 12.7, 15.7, 17.7 and 22.7 years, we measured perceived physical self-esteem in 39 (22 boys) Swedish adolescents. Physical activity (steps/day) for four consecutive schooldays, height, and weight were also measured.

RESULTS

No significant difference between the four time points for any variable of perceived physical self-esteem was seen, neither in boys nor girls. In general, all physical self-variables revealed non-linear trajectories across time, where the general trend was an increase during the younger ages followed by a decrease during older ages. At ages 12 and 15 years in boys and girls physical condition and physical strength as well as body attractiveness and physical strength, respectively, had the strongest correlations to physical self-esteem. At age 17 and 22 years sports competence had the strongest correlation to self-esteem in girls, while body attractiveness and physical strength had the strongest correlation to self-esteem in boys.

CONCLUSION

An overall stability in physical self-esteem was found. However the impact of a sub-domain upon physical self-esteem vary during adolescence and early adulthood. Such information may be useful when creating physical activity programs that support and develop physical self-esteem.

Synergistic Effects of Expectancy and Value on Homework Engagement: The Case for a Within-Person Perspective

Historically, expectancy-value models of motivation assumed a synergistic relation between expectancy and value: motivation is high only when both expectancy and value are high. Motivational processes were studied from a within-person perspective, with expectancies and values being assessed or experimentally manipulated across multiple domains and the focus being placed on intraindividual differences. In contrast, contemporary expectancy-value models in educational psychology concentrate almost exclusively on linear effects of expectancy and value on motivational outcomes, with a focus on between-person differences. Recent advances in latent variable methodology allow both issues to be addressed in observational studies. Using the expectancy-value model of homework motivation as a theoretical framework, this study estimated multilevel structural equation models with latent interactions in a sample of 511 secondary school students and found synergistic effects between domain-specific homework expectancy and homework value in predicting homework engagement in 6 subjects. This approach not only brings the "×" back into expectancy-value theory but also reestablishes the within-person perspective as the appropriate level of analysis for latent expectancy-value models.

Latent-Variable Approaches to the Jamesian Model of Importance-Weighted Averages

The individually importance-weighted average (IIWA) model posits that the contribution of specific areas of self-concept to global self-esteem varies systematically with the individual importance placed on each specific component. Although intuitively appealing, this model has weak empirical support; thus, within the framework of a substantive-methodological synergy, we propose a multiple-item latent approach to the IIWA model as applied to a range of self-concept domains (physical, academic, spiritual self-concepts) and subdomains (appearance, math, verbal self-concepts) in young adolescents from two countries. Tests considering simultaneously the effects of self-concept domains on trait self-esteem did not support the IIWA model. On the contrary, support for a normative group importance model was found, in which importance varied as a function of domains but not individuals. Individuals differentially weight the various components of self-concept; however, the weights are largely determined by normative processes, so that little additional information is gained from individual weightings.