ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Public Health
Sec. Public Mental Health
Volume 13 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2025.1613384
This article is part of the Research TopicExploring physical activity as a complementary strategy in managing mental illnessView all articles
Tai Chi as a preventive intervention for improving mental and physical health in non-depressed college students with high perceived stress.
Provisionally accepted
- 1Sports and Health Research Center, Department of Physical Education, Tongji University, Shanghai, China
- 2Department of Quality-of-Life Studies, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy
- 3International College of Football, Tongji University, Shanghai, China
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Aim: Non-depressed college students with high perceived stress represent a distinct preclinical population at elevated risk for psychological deterioration. While Tai Chi is established as a mind-body exercise for improving well-being in clinical and older populations, its targeted efficacy in this specific at-risk subgroup—particularly regarding integrated physical and mental health benefits—remains inadequately explored. This study aimed to investigate the effects of a 16-week Tai Chi program on comprehensive fitness outcomes in this population. Methods: Eighty-eight non-depressed students with high perceived stress (Perceived Stress Scale scores between 38-56, Self-Rating Depression Scale scores below 50) were randomly assigned to a Tai Chi group (n = 47), which underwent a 16-week supervised program (3 sessions/week, 90 min/session), or a control group (n = 41) that maintained usual activities. Assessments pre- and post-intervention covered health-related physical fitness and mental health status (Perceived Stress Scale, Self-Rating Depression Scale, Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index, Fatigue Scale-14, Hamilton Anxiety Scale, and SF-36). Results: Compared to controls, the Tai Chi group showed significant between-group improvements in lower-limb muscular endurance (squat test), perceived stress, sleep quality, somatic anxiety, role limitations due to physical health, and social functioning (all p < 0.05). Significant enhancements were also observed in physical functioning, fatigue, and general mental health (all p < 0.05). Conclusion: The 16-week Tai Chi intervention yielded concurrent benefits in physical and mental health among non-depressed college students with high perceived stress. These findings support Tai Chi as a feasible, multi-targeted preventive strategy against stress-related morbidity in this at-risk campus population.
Keywords: Tai Chi exercise, high perceived stress, non-depressed, mental andphysical outcomes, college students
Received: 17 Apr 2025; Accepted: 10 Oct 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Sun, Yao, Zhao, Li and Cicchella. 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: Antonio Cicchella, antonio.cicchella@unibo.it
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