The Relationship Between Exercise Habits and Mental Health Among University Students in China: a Cross-sectional Study Based on Instrumental Variable Analysis

Overview

Journal BMC Public Health

Publisher Biomed Central

Specialty Public Health

Date 2024 Dec 2

PMID 39623405

Authors

Lixian Zhu

Xuan Xiong

Zhongquan Li

Shuqiao Meng

Yifei Zhai

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Background: Exercise habits significantly influence the mental health of university students. However, previous research has often neglected the endogeneity issues in this context, leading to biased estimates and limiting the ability to establish a clear causal relationship. This study aimed to address endogeneity issues and investigate the causal effect of exercise habits on the mental health of university students.

Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted involving 1,120 university students from China. Data on demographic characteristics, exercise habits, and mental health were collected using both online and offline questionnaires. To evaluate the mental health benefits of exercise habits, we employed both the instrumental variable (IV) approach and ordinary least squares (OLS) regression.

Results: The OLS estimates revealed a positive association between exercise habits and positive affect (β = 0.179, p < .001), life satisfaction (β = 0.134, p < .001), and self-actualization (β = 0.086, p < .001) among university students. The IV analysis indicated that exercise habits positively influenced positive affect (β = 0.263, p < .001), life satisfaction (β = 0.151, p = .006 < .01), and self-actualization (β = 0.102, p = .013 < .05). A comparison of the estimation results suggests that the OLS approach underestimates the mental health benefits of exercise habits.

Conclusions: This study provides preliminary causal evidence that exercise habits contribute to the promotion of mental health in university students. These findings offer valuable insights into potential preventive strategies for addressing mental health issues in this population through exercise interventions.

References

Gardner B, de Bruijn G, Lally P . A systematic review and meta-analysis of applications of the Self-Report Habit Index to nutrition and physical activity behaviours. Ann Behav Med. 2011; 42(2):174-87. DOI: 10.1007/s12160-011-9282-0. View

Baghurst T, Kelley B . An examination of stress in college students over the course of a semester. Health Promot Pract. 2013; 15(3):438-47. DOI: 10.1177/1524839913510316. View

Strohle A . Physical activity, exercise, depression and anxiety disorders. J Neural Transm (Vienna). 2008; 116(6):777-84. DOI: 10.1007/s00702-008-0092-x. View

WATSON D, Clark L, Tellegen A . Development and validation of brief measures of positive and negative affect: the PANAS scales. J Pers Soc Psychol. 1988; 54(6):1063-70. DOI: 10.1037//0022-3514.54.6.1063. View

Puterman E, Weiss J, Beauchamp M, Mogle J, Almeida D . Physical activity and negative affective reactivity in daily life. Health Psychol. 2017; 36(12):1186-1194. PMC: 5709165. DOI: 10.1037/hea0000532. View

Herbert C, Meixner F, Wiebking C, Gilg V . Regular Physical Activity, Short-Term Exercise, Mental Health, and Well-Being Among University Students: The Results of an Online and a Laboratory Study. Front Psychol. 2020; 11:509. PMC: 7264390. DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2020.00509. View

Berrie L, Feng Z, Rice D, Clemens T, Williamson L, Dibben C . Does cycle commuting reduce the risk of mental ill-health? An instrumental variable analysis using distance to nearest cycle path. Int J Epidemiol. 2024; 53(1). PMC: 10859133. DOI: 10.1093/ije/dyad153. View

Atlantis E, Chow C, Kirby A, Fiatarone Singh M . An effective exercise-based intervention for improving mental health and quality of life measures: a randomized controlled trial. Prev Med. 2004; 39(2):424-34. DOI: 10.1016/j.ypmed.2004.02.007. View

Phillips L, Gardner B . Habitual exercise instigation (vs. execution) predicts healthy adults' exercise frequency. Health Psychol. 2015; 35(1):69-77. DOI: 10.1037/hea0000249. View

10.

Hicdurmaz D, Inci F, Karahan S . Predictors of Mental Health Symptoms, Automatic Thoughts, and Self-Esteem Among University Students. Psychol Rep. 2017; 120(4):650-669. DOI: 10.1177/0033294117707945. View

11.

Khalsa S, Hickey-Schultz L, Cohen D, Steiner N, Cope S . Evaluation of the mental health benefits of yoga in a secondary school: a preliminary randomized controlled trial. J Behav Health Serv Res. 2011; 39(1):80-90. DOI: 10.1007/s11414-011-9249-8. View

12.

Mikkelsen K, Stojanovska L, Polenakovic M, Bosevski M, Apostolopoulos V . Exercise and mental health. Maturitas. 2017; 106:48-56. DOI: 10.1016/j.maturitas.2017.09.003. View

13.

Abd El-Kader S, Al-Jiffri O . Exercise alleviates depression related systemic inflammation in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease patients. Afr Health Sci. 2017; 16(4):1078-1088. PMC: 5398455. DOI: 10.4314/ahs.v16i4.25. View

14.

Jung M, Brawley L . Concurrent self-regulatory efficacy as a mediator of the goal: exercise behaviour relationship. J Health Psychol. 2013; 18(5):601-11. DOI: 10.1177/1359105313479238. View

15.

Kerling A, Tegtbur U, Gutzlaff E, Kuck M, Borchert L, Ates Z . Effects of adjunctive exercise on physiological and psychological parameters in depression: a randomized pilot trial. J Affect Disord. 2015; 177:1-6. DOI: 10.1016/j.jad.2015.01.006. View

16.

MacDonald L . Associations between spatial access to physical activity facilities and frequency of physical activity; how do home and workplace neighbourhoods in West Central Scotland compare?. Int J Health Geogr. 2019; 18(1):2. PMC: 6352429. DOI: 10.1186/s12942-019-0166-z. View

17.

Diener E, Oishi S, Lucas R . National accounts of subjective well-being. Am Psychol. 2015; 70(3):234-42. DOI: 10.1037/a0038899. View

18.

Gidlow C, Cerin E, Sugiyama T, Adams M, Mitas J, Akram M . Objectively measured access to recreational destinations and leisure-time physical activity: Associations and demographic moderators in a six-country study. Health Place. 2019; 59:102196. DOI: 10.1016/j.healthplace.2019.102196. View

19.

Pasco J, Jacka F, Williams L, Brennan S, Leslie E, Berk M . Don't worry, be active: positive affect and habitual physical activity. Aust N Z J Psychiatry. 2011; 45(12):1047-52. DOI: 10.3109/00048674.2011.621063. View

20.

Diener E, Emmons R, Larsen R, Griffin S . The Satisfaction With Life Scale. J Pers Assess. 1985; 49(1):71-5. DOI: 10.1207/s15327752jpa4901_13. View