The Relationship Between Social Support and College Students' Physical Activity Participation in China: The Mediating Effect of Self-Efficacy

Mingtian Niu¹Mingyuan Dong^2*Panpan Shi²Yongchul Choi²Ning Li³

• ¹Department of Public Physical Education, Xinyang College, Xinyang, China
• ²Department of Physical Education, Gangneung–Wonju National University, Gangneung, Republic of Korea
• ³School of Computer Science, Wuhan University, Wuhan, Hubei Province, China

Background: With the increasing health awareness among Chinese college stud ents, the relationship between social support, self-efficacy, and participation in physical activities has become a focal point of research. Particularly in the con text of gender differences, exploring how these factors influence college student s' exercise behaviors is significant.Objective: This study aims to examine how social support influences college s tudents' self-efficacy and their participation in physical activities, and whether s elf-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. Methods: A survey was conducted among 489 college students from universiti es in Henan Province, China. The survey included the Physical Activity Questi onnaire (PAQ), the Social Support Scale, and the Exercise Self-Efficacy Scale (ESES). Exploratory factor analysis, linear regression analysis, and structural eq uation 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' participati on in physical activities (F=47.898) and self-efficacy (F=224.247) were signific ant (P < 0.01). Self-efficacy also significantly predicted participation in physica l activities (F = 136.706, P < 0.01). Among female students, both the effect o f social support (B = 0.177, t = 2.332*) and self-efficacy (B = 0.307, t = 5.8 10**) on participation in physical activities were significant. The mediating eff ect of self-efficacy accounted for 59.6% of the total effect, while the direct eff ect accounted for 40.4%.To promote female college students' participation in physical activi ties, particular attention should be paid to the critical role of self-efficacy. At t he same time, it is also important not to overlook the competitive sports prefer red by male students, which require stronger self-efficacy to cope with competi tive pressures and social expectations.