Physical Activity and Anxiety of Chinese University Students: Mediation of Self-System

Mechanisms Linking Physical Activity with Psychiatric Symptoms Across the Lifespan: A Systematic Review

BACKGROUND

Physical activity has been suggested as a protective factor against psychiatric symptoms. While numerous studies have focused on the magnitude of physical activity's effect on psychiatric symptoms, few have examined the potential mechanisms.

OBJECTIVE

The current review aimed to synthesize scientific evidence of the mechanisms through which physical activity might reduce psychiatric symptoms across the lifespan.

METHODS

We included articles that were published before March 2022 from five electronic databases (MEDLINE, Web of Science, PsycINFO, Embase, and Cochrane). A qualitative synthesis of studies was conducted. The risk of bias assessment was performed using The Joanna Briggs Institute Critical Appraisal Tool for Systematic Reviews. Studies were included if they explored the possible mechanisms through which physical activity influences psychiatric symptoms (i.e., internalizing and externalizing symptoms) across the lifespan.

RESULTS

A total of 22 articles were included (three randomized controlled trials, four non-randomized controlled trials, three prospective longitudinal studies, and 12 cross-sectional studies). Overall, most of the studies focused on children, adolescents, and young adults. Our findings showed that self-esteem, self-concept, and self-efficacy were the only consistent paths through which physical activity influences psychiatric symptoms (specifically depressive and anxiety symptoms) across the lifespan. There were insufficient studies to determine the role of neurobiological mechanisms.

CONCLUSIONS

Overall, future physical activity interventions with the purpose of improving mental health should consider these mechanisms (self-esteem, self-concept, self-efficacy) to develop more effective interventions.

CLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRATION

The protocol of this study was registered in the PROSPERO database (registration number CRD42021239440) and published in April 2022.

Relationship among subjective exercise experience, exercise behavior, and trait anxiety in adolescents

OBJECTIVE

To investigate the influence of subjective exercise experience on adolescent trait anxiety and to reveal the mediating effect of exercise behavior.

METHODS

Using the Subjective Exercise Experience Scale (SEES), Physical Exercise Rating Scale (PARS-3), and Trait Anxiety Inventory (T-AI), a questionnaire survey was conducted among 500 adolescents in Southwest China, and the SPSS21.0 and AMOS21.0 statistical analysis software was used to statistics and analysis on the questionnaires.

RESULTS

1) Among adolescents, the exercise behavior of boys was significantly higher than that of girls (p < 0.05), and the subjective exercise experience of students aged 9 to 12 was significantly higher than that of students aged 12 to 15 (p < 0.05). 2) The subjective exercise experience could directly and positively predict exercise behavior (β = 0.45, p < 0.001) and negatively predict trait anxiety (β = -0.26, p < 0.05), and exercise behavior could directly and negatively predict trait anxiety (β = -0.32, p < 0.01). 3) The exercise behavior played a partial mediating effect between subjective exercise experience and trait anxiety (the mediation effect was -0.14). Among them, compared with low- and high-exercise amounts, the exercise behavior of moderate exercise amounts had the strongest mediating effect between subjective exercise experience and trait anxiety.

CONCLUSION

The good subjective exercise experience not only has direct benefits for improving trait anxiety in adolescents but also helps to improve their exercise behavior, enrich daily physical exercise activities, and indirectly promote the reduction of trait anxiety.

The role of boredom proneness and self-control in the association between anxiety and smartphone addiction among college students: a multiple mediation model

Background

Smartphone addiction has been found to be a widespread public health issue, especially among youth. Previous studies reported a significant association between anxiety and smartphone addiction, but the underlying mechanism in this relationship is unclear. The purpose of this study was to investigate the mediating roles of boredom proneness and self-control in the relationship between anxiety and smartphone addiction.

Methods

Self-reported measures of anxiety, boredom proneness, self-control and smartphone addiction were administered to 1,526 Chinese college students.

Results

Smartphone addiction scores varied between 10 and 60 with an average of 30.89 ± 10.57 points. Anxiety had a direct and positive effect on smartphone addiction (effect = 0.18, 95% CI = 0.11-0.25), and an indirect effect on smartphone addiction through boredom proneness (effect = 0.10, 95% CI = 0.06-0.15) and self-control (effect = 0.16, 95% CI = 0.13-0.20). Boredom proneness and self-control sequentially mediated the relationship between anxiety and smartphone addiction (effect = 0.12, 95% CI = 0.10-0.15).

Conclusion

Anxiety is positively associated with smartphone addiction, and boredom proneness and self-control are important mediators in this relationship. Strengthening self-control and mitigating boredom could prevent smartphone addiction in anxious college students.

Relationships between physical activity, body image, BMI, depression and anxiety in Chinese college students during the COVID-19 pandemic

BACKGROUND

Both depression and anxiety are worldwide burden that is not being abated with our current knowledge and treatment of the condition. Numerous clinical trials have supported that physical activity (PA) can reduce the depression and anxiety in adolescents, but little is known about its mechanism of action. Therefore, the study objectives were to explore the potential relationship between physical activity and depression and anxiety from the perspective of body image and body mass index (BMI), and to provide an important reference for future self-esteem education and health promotion intervention.

METHODS

The participants in this study were 251 Chinese college students between 17 and 22 years old. Participants completed the International Physical Activity Questionnaire-Short Form (IPAQ-SF), the Body Image Questionnaire (BIQ), the Self-rating Depression Scale (SDS) and the Self-rating Anxiety Scale (SAS). A descriptive and correlational approach was used, using the PROCESS macro for Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS).

RESULTS

(1) Physical activity was significantly negatively correlated with both depression and anxiety (t = -0.216, p < 0.001; t = -0.184, p < 0.01). (2) Body image had a significant moderating effect on the relationship between physical activity and anxiety among college students, but there was no moderating effect between depression and physical activity. BMI has no moderating effect on the two interrelationships.

CONCLUSION

There is only body image that moderates the relationship between anxiety and physical activity.

The Effect of Physical Activity on Anxiety: The Mediating Role of Subjective Well-Being and the Moderating Role of Gender

PURPOSE

To explore the role of subjective well-being in the relationship between physical activity (PA) and anxiety and whether the model is moderated by gender.

METHODS

We conducted a questionnaire survey by selecting 1153 college students from Shanghai Jiao Tong University in China, and data were analyzed using SPSS, Process, and AMOS.

RESULTS

1) Correlation analysis showed that PA, subjective well-being, and anxiety were significantly related. Also, we found subjective well-being to differ significantly on the demographic variable registered residence. 2) Subjective well-being played a mediating role between PA and anxiety. 3) Gender played a moderating role in the direct effect of PA on anxiety, shown by the significant difference in the path coefficients between the male and female models (male: β = -0.03, p > 0.05, female: β = 0.10, p < 0.05).

CONCLUSION

Subjective well-being mediated the relationship between PA and anxiety, and gender moderated the mediating model. These findings highlight the importance of PA in reducing anxiety and increasing subjective well-being in the context of an epidemic.

Motivational Climate, Anxiety and Physical Self-Concept in Trainee Physical Education Teachers-An Explanatory Model Regarding Physical Activity Practice Time

There is an increase in sedentary lifestyles among young people. However, the development of a certain motivational climate can play a key role in the prevention of such lifestyles. Taking into account the aforementioned, the present research aims to establish the relationship between the motivational climate towards sport, anxiety and physical self-concept and to identify and clarify the existing relationships between anxiety, motivational climate and physical self-concept, by breaking down this objective into (a) developing an explanatory model of the motivational climate towards sport and its relationship with anxiety and physical self-concept and (b) contrasting the structural model by means of a multi-group analysis, according to the time spent doing physical activity per week. For this purpose, a cross-sectional descriptive and comparative study was carried out with a total of 568 university students (M = 25.09; SD = 6.22). A sociodemographic questionnaire, the Spanish version of the Perceived Motivation Climate Questionnaire in Sport, the Self-Concept Form-5 and the Beck Anxiety Inventory were used for data collection. The results show that more time spent doing physical activity brings benefits in terms of physical self-concept and homework climate, helping to reduce anxiety levels. As conclusions, it is observed that a longer time spent doing physical activity brings benefits in the channelling of disruptive states and improvements in physical self-concept.

An empirical study of physical activity and sports affecting mental health of university students

Physical activity (PA) and sports are extremely essential elements for physical and mental health among adolescents. Around 30% of 16 years old and above in Malaysia have mental health issues. For this purpose, 512 university students from Malaysia were surveyed through social media, with 74% response rate. Structural equation model partial least square (SEM-PLS) was used to examine the effect of PA and sports on mental health. The results revealed that both PA (b = 0.402, p < 0.001) and sports (b = 0.330, p < 0.001) significantly predict mental health among university students. The model explained 35.8% variance in mental health. The study suggests that PA and sports activity need to be promoted among university students to control prevailing mental health issues in adolescents.

A School-Based Multilevel Intervention to Increase Physical Activity of Adolescents in Pakistan: From a Social-Ecological Perspective

This study aimed to develop an intervention strategy based on the social-ecological model’s individual, interpersonal, and organizational levels for increasing adolescents’ physical activity in Pakistan. Based on the social-ecological model, an 8-week intervention was conducted for 618 school students in Rawalpindi, Pakistan. A quantitative method with a quasi-experimental design was adopted, administering self-report measures before and after the intervention. Intervention materials were delivered by leaflet once a week to the intervention group. Repeated measure analysis of variance was applied to verify the intervention effects at pre- and post-test conditions. The results show that a significant intervention effect was identified from the repeated measure analysis of variance for the intervention group’s physical activity participation compared to the control group from baseline (M = 12.01, SD = 0.136) to the 8-week post-test (M = 16.30, SD = 0.125). The intervention based on the social-ecological model has sufficiently and effectively improved physical activity among school adolescents in Pakistan.

Does Prenatal Physical Activity Affect the Occurrence of Postnatal Anxiety and Depression? Longitudinal Study

The aim of the foregoing study was to assess whether physical activity during pregnancy affects the occurrence of anxiety and depression during pregnancy, postpartum and 6 months following childbirth. This study tried to answer the following questions: How was the incidence of depression and anxiety different in the pre- and postpartum periods? What intensity level of physical activity protects against the symptoms of anxiety and depression? Does the time spent engaged in sedentary activities and MVPA affect the occurrence of depression and anxiety before and after childbirth? The study group under analysis consisted of 187 women aged 19–41 years. The research was conducted between April 2016 and November 2020. The study was divided into four stages: T0—qualification to participate in the study; T1—medical history acquisition, consisting of a short questionnaire and two long questionnaires (the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) and General Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD-7)), as well as an assessment of 7-day physical activity using Actigraph accelerometers during the pregnancy; T2—the completion of the EPDS and GAD-7 questionnaires after the birth; T3—the completion of the EPDS and GAD-7 questionnaire 6 months after giving birth. The obtained results were statistically processed in the Statistica 13.3 software package. A significance level of p < 0.05 was assumed. The highest percentage of depression occurred immediately after the delivery, followed by 6 months after delivery, and the smallest number of women suffered from depression before the birth (p < 0.001). The analysis of correlations of physical activity with anxiety symptoms did not show significant correlations. However, the situation is different in the case of depression symptoms. Women taking fewer steps before delivery showed a greater tendency to develop depressive symptoms before, immediately after and 6 months after the delivery (p < 0.001). Women who were less active (took fewer steps per day, spent less time in moderate-to-vigorous physical (MVPA) activities or spent more time being sedentary) showed symptoms of depression on the EPDS scale. It appeared that those with severe anxiety symptoms had the highest sedentary time scores before the delivery (p = 0.020). Reduced physical activity promotes the onset of postnatal depression, while being active reduces this risk. Interestingly, even light physical activity “protects” against the occurrence of depression and is better than sedentary activities. Such clear conclusions cannot be drawn in relation to anxiety symptoms. Sedentary behaviour may promote anxiety symptoms immediately after childbirth, but this study should be continued in order to confirm it during other time periods.

An explanatory model of the relationships between sport motivation, anxiety and physical and social self-concept in educational sciences students

Motivation plays a key role in the physical-sports field, in the control of disruptive states and in the mental image that people have of themselves. In view of the above, the present study reflects the objectives of identifying and establishing the relationship between sport motivation, anxiety, physical self-concept and social self-concept, broken down into (a) developing an explanatory model of sport motivation and its relationship with anxiety and social and physical self-concept and (b) contrasting the structural model by means of a multi-group analysis according to sex. To this end, a quantitative, non-experimental (ex post facto), comparative and cross-sectional study was carried out on a sample of 556 students (23.06 ± 6.23). The instruments used were an ad hoc questionnaire, the Spanish version of the Perceived Motivational Climate in Sport Questionnaire (PMCSQ-2), the Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI) and the Self-Concept Form-5. The results show that the male sex orients sport motivation towards climate, obtaining higher levels of anxiety, however, the female sex, anxiety has a negative impact on the development of social self-concept. In conclusion, it can be affirmed that gender is a fundamental factor in the orientation of sport practice, as well as the development of anxiety and physical and social self-concept.