ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Psychol.
Sec. Sport Psychology
This article is part of the Research TopicPsychological Factors in Physical Education and Sport - Volume VIView all 62 articles
Latent Profiles of Exercise Motivation and Exercise-Induced Emotions: Associations with Physical Activity and Gender among Chinese College Students
Provisionally accepted
- 1Minnan Science and Technology College, Nanan, China
- 2Sanming University, Sanming, China
- 3Yiyang Medical College, Yiyang, China
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Abstract Although the specific reasons for exercise motivation and the emotions felt during it are both important for physical activity (PA), little is known about how they combine to form distinct psychological profiles. This study used a person-centered approach to identify these latent profiles based on specific exercise motives and exercise-induced emotions among Chinese college students, and examined their associations with gender and PA. We recruited 1,586 undergraduates from a university in southern China (Mage = 19.13, SD = 1.23; 468 males, 1118 females). They completed the Motives for Physical Activities Measure-Revised (MPAM-R), the Exercise-Induced Feeling Inventory (EFI), and the International Physical Activity Questionnaire-Short Form (IPAQ-SF). Latent profile analysis (LPA) was conducted to identify subgroups based on their motivational and emotional patterns. The results supported a three-profile model: Low-Enjoyment and High-Exhaustion Profile (14.7%), Appearance-Driven and Ambivalent-Affect Profile (50.6%), and Enjoyment-Driven and High-Vitality Profile (34.8%). Gender significantly predicted profile membership, with male students more likely to belong to the Enjoyment-Driven and High-Vitality Profile. Physical activity levels differed significantly across the latent profiles in a specific pattern. The Enjoyment-Driven and High-Vitality Profile demonstrated a higher level of physical activity than both the Low-Enjoyment and High-Exhaustion Profile and the Appearance-Driven and Ambivalent-Affect Profile. No significant difference in physical activity was found between the latter two profiles. These findings reveal three distinct experiential patterns and highlight the large subgroup driven by appearance concerns as a key target for interventions aimed at fostering more autonomous motivation and positive affective experiences.
Keywords: Exercise-induced emotions, gender differences, latent profile analysis, Motivation, physical activity
Received: 03 Dec 2025; Accepted: 16 Feb 2026.
Copyright: © 2026 Dai, Zhao and He. 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: Pan He
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