Association between exercise-related social media use and exercise self-efficacy: a PLS-SEM approach

In the era of digital media, social media has become a crucial platform shaping college students' exercise behaviors. However, the structural pathways linking exercise-related social media use and exercise self-efficacy remain largely unresolved, particularly regarding how external digital interactions translate into internal psychological resources. Integrating social capital and psychological capital within the Social Cognitive Theory framework, this study explores the structural and indirect associations between exercise-related social media use and exercise self-efficacy. Using a cross-sectional survey design, data were collected from a valid sample of 385 Chinese college students. Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) was employed to evaluate a structural model incorporating peer relationships and psychological resilience, while the out-of-sample predictive validity was assessed via the PLSpredict procedure. The findings reveal that exercise-related social media use has no significant direct association with exercise self-efficacy; rather, it exhibits a significant overall positive relationship (β = 0.196). This overall path operates primarily through indirect pathways, with a significant sequential indirect pathway from peer relationships to psychological resilience (β = 0.081, p < 0.01). These results indicate that digital contextual resources are structurally linked to self-efficacy through sequential social and psychological factors. This study demonstrates that external digital resources must be embedded within social relationships and internalized as individual psychological capital to be genuinely associated with behavioral beliefs. Consequently, university health interventions should shift their focus from mere information provision to fostering supportive environments that build peer connections and psychological resilience.