ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Psychol.
Sec. Sport Psychology
Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1569009
This article is part of the Research TopicEnhancing Physical Activity in Women Across the Lifespan: Evidence-based Insights into Quantification, Intervention, Outcomes, and LimitationsView all 9 articles
Gender Stereotypes and Female Exercise Behavior: Mediating Roles of Psychological Needs and Negative Emotions
Provisionally accepted
Kai Guo1,2
Qian Huang3*- 1Wuhan Sports University, Wuhan, China
- 2School of Economics and Management, Wuhan Sports University, Wuhan Sports University, Wuhan, Hubei, 430079, China, China
- 3College of Intelligent Sports Engineering, Wuhan Sports University, Wuhan Sports University, Wuhan, Hubei, 430079, China, China
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Integrating Expectancy-Value Theory, Basic Psychological Needs Theory, and Social Identity Theory, this study examines the impact of gender stereotypes on female exercise behavior, testing the chain mediation effects of psychological needs satisfaction in exercise and negative exercise emotions. Based on this, a chain mediation model is constructed. The study uses adapted scales for gender stereotypes, psychological needs satisfaction in exercise, exercise-related emotions, and exercise behavior to survey 790 women in China. The results show that gender stereotypes are significantly negatively associated with female exercise behavior. The psychological needs satisfaction in exercise mediates the relationship between gender stereotypes and female exercise behavior. Negative exercise emotions also mediate this relationship. Furthermore, psychological needs satisfaction in exercise and negative exercise emotions jointly mediate the relationship between gender stereotypes and female exercise behavior. The findings suggest that gender stereotypes are associated with lower levels of women's psychological needs satisfaction in exercise, which is in turn related to higher levels of negative exercise emotions and lower levels of exercise behavior.
Keywords: physical activity participation, Psychological Theory, self-determination theory, Sexism in sports, Gender stereotypes
Received: 31 Jan 2025; Accepted: 17 Jun 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Guo and Huang. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Qian Huang, College of Intelligent Sports Engineering, Wuhan Sports University, Wuhan Sports University, Wuhan, Hubei, 430079, China, China
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