The influence of college students' exercise participation on feelings of self-deficiency: the mediating effect of social support.

OBJECTIVE

To explore the influence of college students' exercise participation on their feelings of self-deficiency and its mechanisms, with social support as a mediating variable.

METHODS

The study utilized the Physical Activity Rating Scale (PARS-3), the Feelings of Inadequacy Scale (FIS), and the Social Support Rating Scale (SSRS). A stratified random sampling method was used to select 981 college students from different provinces and universities for a questionnaire survey. Statistical methods, including confirmatory factor analysis, regression analysis, and the Bootstrap method, were employed for data analysis.

RESULTS

Exercise participation significantly and negatively predicted college students' feelings of self-deficiency. Social support exhibited a significant mediating effect between exercise participation and self-deficiency. Furthermore, the three dimensions of social support-subjective support, objective support, and support utilization-showed significant indirect effects. The mediation pathways were as follows: exercise participation → subjective support → self-deficiency, exercise participation → objective support → self-deficiency, and exercise participation → support utilization → self-deficiency.

CONCLUSION

Exercise participation significantly reduces feelings of self-deficiency among college students, either directly or indirectly through social support. In the future, universities can help mitigate students' self-deficiency and promote their physical and mental wellbeing by optimizing physical activity spaces and constructing social support networks from the perspectives of exercise participation and social support.