Niu Mingtian, Dong Mingyuan, Shi Panpan, Choi Yongchul, Li Ning
Department of Public Physical Education, Xinyang College, Xinyang, China.
Department of Physical Education, Gangneung-Wonju National University, Gangneung, Republic of Korea.
Front Psychol. 2025 Jun 25;16:1596841. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1596841. eCollection 2025.
With the increasing health awareness among Chinese college students, the relationship between social support, self-efficacy, and participation in physical activities has become a focal point of research. Particularly in the context of gender differences, exploring how these factors influence college students' exercise behaviors is significant.
This study aims to examine how social support influences college students' self-efficacy and their participation in physical activities, and whether self-efficacy mediates this relationship. It should be noted that in the context of this study, college students are considered late adolescents or emerging adults, as defined in developmental psychology.
A survey was conducted among 489 college students from universities in Henan Province, China. The survey included the Physical Activity Questionnaire (PAQ), the Social Support Scale, and the Exercise Self-Efficacy Scale (ESES). Exploratory factor analysis, linear regression analysis, and structural equation modeling were used to examine the relationship between social support and college students' participation in physical activities.
The regression effects of social support on college students' participation in physical activities ( = 47.898) and self-efficacy ( = 224.247) were significant ( < 0.01). Self-efficacy also significantly predicted participation in physical activities ( = 136.706, < 0.01). Among female students, both the effect of social support ( = 0.177, = 2.332*) and self-efficacy ( = 0.307, = 5.810**) on participation in physical activities were significant. The mediating effect of self-efficacy accounted for 59.6% of the total effect, while the direct effect accounted for 40.4%.
To promote female college students' participation in physical activities, particular attention should be paid to the critical role of self-efficacy. At the same time, it is also important not to overlook the competitive sports preferred by male students, which require stronger self-efficacy to cope with competitive pressures and social expectations.
随着中国大学生健康意识的不断提高，社会支持、自我效能感与体育活动参与之间的关系已成为研究的焦点。特别是在性别差异的背景下，探讨这些因素如何影响大学生的运动行为具有重要意义。
本研究旨在探讨社会支持如何影响大学生的自我效能感及其体育活动参与情况，以及自我效能感是否在这种关系中起中介作用。需要注意的是，在本研究的背景下，大学生被视为发展心理学中定义的青少年晚期或新兴成年人。
对来自中国河南省高校的489名大学生进行了一项调查。该调查包括体育活动问卷（PAQ）、社会支持量表和运动自我效能量表（ESES）。采用探索性因素分析、线性回归分析和结构方程模型来检验社会支持与大学生体育活动参与之间的关系。
社会支持对大学生体育活动参与（β = 47.898）和自我效能感（β = 224.247）的回归效应显著（p < 0.01）。自我效能感也显著预测了体育活动参与（β = 136.706，p < 0.01）。在女学生中，社会支持（β = 0.177，t = 2.332*）和自我效能感（β = 0.307，t = 5.810**）对体育活动参与的影响均显著。自我效能感的中介效应占总效应的59.6%，直接效应占40.4%。
为促进女大学生参与体育活动，应特别关注自我效能感的关键作用。同时，也不应忽视男学生偏好的竞技运动，这类运动需要更强的自我效能感来应对竞争压力和社会期望。
