Related Experiment Videos
Structural Relationships Among Physical Activity, Sleep, and Resilience: A Multi-Group Structural Equation Modeling
Hesong You1, Chengfei Bao1, Yunchen Meng1
1Department of Physical Education and Research, China University of Mining and Technology-Beijing, Beijing 100083, China.
Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland)
|August 13, 2026
Summary
Physical activity positively impacts university students' resilience, with sleep quality mediating this relationship. Tailored interventions are crucial, especially for students with physical weaknesses, to enhance mental health.
Area of Science:
- Psychology
- Sports Science
- Public Health
Background:
- Resilience is vital for university students' mental health and stress management.
- Students with physical limitations may face heightened risks due to physiological factors.
- Understanding the interplay of physical activity, sleep, and resilience is critical for student well-being.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the associations between physical activity (PA), sleep quality, and resilience in university students.
- To examine these relationships using multi-group structural equation modeling (SEM).
- To identify differences in these associations across student subgroups.
Main Methods:
- A cross-sectional study involving 2040 university students in Beijing.
- Stratified cluster sampling was used to recruit participants.
- Validated questionnaires assessed physical activity (IPAQ-SF), sleep quality (PSQI), and resilience (CD-RISC).
- Multi-group SEM analyzed direct and indirect effects and compared structural paths across General, Fitness-Remediation, and Rehabilitation samples.
Main Results:
- Physical activity was positively linked to resilience and negatively to poor sleep quality in the total sample.
- Sleep quality significantly mediated the relationship between physical activity and resilience (18.2% of total effect).
- The association between physical activity and sleep quality varied across groups, being significant only in the General Sample.
- The direct link between physical activity and resilience remained significant across all student groups.
Conclusions:
- University mental health strategies require tailored, not one-size-fits-all, approaches.
- Adaptive physical activity and targeted sleep interventions are recommended for physically weaker students.
- Promoting resilience in university students necessitates personalized health promotion programs.
Related Concept Videos
01:24Sources of Self-Esteem II: Performance Feedback
Self-esteem is intricately tied to our perception of competence and our ability to exert control over our lives. One of the primary sources of this perception is performance feedback — the ongoing evaluation of our actions in terms of success and failure. According to Franks and Marolla (1976), people derive self-worth from experiencing themselves as causal agents, capable of achieving goals and overcoming obstacles. This process nurtures a critical component of self-esteem: self-efficacy,...
01:29Self-Evaluation Maintenance Model
The Self-Evaluation Maintenance (SEM) model offers a psychological framework to understand how individuals’ self-esteem is influenced by the achievements of others, particularly those with whom they share close personal bonds. The SEM model operates when personal rather than social identity guides individuals. Central to this model is the notion that individuals have an inherent desire to preserve a favorable self-image, which is continuously shaped by interpersonal comparisons and...
02:20Longitudinal Research
Sometimes we want to see how people change over time, as in studies of human development and lifespan. When we test the same group of individuals repeatedly over an extended period of time, we are conducting longitudinal research. Longitudinal research is a research design in which data-gathering is administered repeatedly over an extended period of time. For example, we may survey a group of individuals about their dietary habits at age 20, retest them a decade later at age 30, and then again...