Frontiers in psychology · 2026
Effects of a structured physical activity intervention on mental health and psychological resilience among Chinese college students: a randomized controlled trial with mediation analysis.
СтатьяНазвание и аннотация: Перевод пока не подготовлен
Обработка статьи · этапы, ошибки и управление
Загрузка состояния…
Ошибки и ограничения
История · было → стало
Состояние обновляется каждые 5 секунд, пока блок открыт. Процент показывается только там, где известен объём работы. Пауза останавливает продолжение этапа; текущий запрос к источнику может завершиться.
Zhang Wei, Yang Jianlou
Аннотация
BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: Mental health challenges among Chinese college students represent a significant public health concern. While physical activity is recognized as beneficial for mental health, high-quality randomized controlled trials (RCTs) examining the efficacy of structured interventions and their underlying mechanisms in this population are limited. This study investigated the effects of an 8-week structured physical activity intervention on depression, anxiety, and psychological resilience among Chinese college students, and tested whether resilience mediates the intervention effects.
METHODS: A three-arm RCT was conducted with 120 students exhibiting mild-to-moderate depression/anxiety symptoms. Participants were recruited through convenience sampling and randomly allocated to a team-based sports group (n = 40), an individual aerobic exercise group (n = 40), or a waitlist control group (n = 40). The 8-week intervention involved three supervised 60-min sessions per week. Outcomes including depressive symptoms (PHQ-9), anxiety symptoms (GAD-7), and psychological resilience (CD-RISC-10) were assessed at baseline, post-intervention, and 1-month follow-up. Data were analyzed using linear mixed-effects models (LMM) for primary outcomes and the PROCESS macro bootstrap mediation procedure for mechanistic pathways.
RESULTS: Both exercise groups demonstrated significant, large reductions in depressive and anxiety symptoms compared to the control group at post-intervention (p < 0.001, Cohen's d = 1.14-1.38), with effects maintained at follow-up. Psychological resilience increased significantly in both intervention groups (p < 0.001). No significant differences were found between the team-based and individual exercise modalities. Mediation analysis revealed that increases in psychological resilience accounted for approximately 45% of the intervention effects on reducing depression and anxiety symptoms.
CONCLUSION: Structured physical activity, whether team-based or individual, appears to be an effective intervention for reducing depression and anxiety and enhancing psychological resilience among Chinese college students. Psychological resilience appears to serve as a significant mediator of these mental health benefits. These findings suggest the integration of structured exercise programs into university mental health promotion strategies. Future research should investigate long-term sustainability through multi-site RCTs, longer follow-up periods, cross-cultural replication, and neurobiological mediating mechanisms.
METHODS: A three-arm RCT was conducted with 120 students exhibiting mild-to-moderate depression/anxiety symptoms. Participants were recruited through convenience sampling and randomly allocated to a team-based sports group (n = 40), an individual aerobic exercise group (n = 40), or a waitlist control group (n = 40). The 8-week intervention involved three supervised 60-min sessions per week. Outcomes including depressive symptoms (PHQ-9), anxiety symptoms (GAD-7), and psychological resilience (CD-RISC-10) were assessed at baseline, post-intervention, and 1-month follow-up. Data were analyzed using linear mixed-effects models (LMM) for primary outcomes and the PROCESS macro bootstrap mediation procedure for mechanistic pathways.
RESULTS: Both exercise groups demonstrated significant, large reductions in depressive and anxiety symptoms compared to the control group at post-intervention (p < 0.001, Cohen's d = 1.14-1.38), with effects maintained at follow-up. Psychological resilience increased significantly in both intervention groups (p < 0.001). No significant differences were found between the team-based and individual exercise modalities. Mediation analysis revealed that increases in psychological resilience accounted for approximately 45% of the intervention effects on reducing depression and anxiety symptoms.
CONCLUSION: Structured physical activity, whether team-based or individual, appears to be an effective intervention for reducing depression and anxiety and enhancing psychological resilience among Chinese college students. Psychological resilience appears to serve as a significant mediator of these mental health benefits. These findings suggest the integration of structured exercise programs into university mental health promotion strategies. Future research should investigate long-term sustainability through multi-site RCTs, longer follow-up periods, cross-cultural replication, and neurobiological mediating mechanisms.