A Questionnaire-Based Study to Compare the Psychological Effects of 6 Weeks of Exercise in 123 Chinese College Students

BACKGROUND: The aim of this study was to explore the mechanisms underlying the association between exercise intervention and mental health, and our questionnaire-based study aimed to compare the psychological effects of 6 weeks of exercise among 123 Chinese university students. MATERIAL/METHODS: A total of 123 college students were randomly divided into the experimental group (80 patients) and the control group (43 patients). The experimental group participated in a 6-week exercise intervention, and the control group received no intervention. Questionnaires were used to study emotion regulation and mental health. RESULTS: The exercise intervention has a significant effect on reducing the anxiety and depression levels of college students [F(1,122)=10.83, p<0.01, F(1,122)=9.63, p<0.01]. Male students were superior to female students in perceived self-efficacy in managing despondency/distress [F(1,122)=26.77, p<0.01] and emotion suppression [F(1,122)=6.13, p<0.05]. The anxiety factors of female students [F(1,122)=10.06, p<0.05] and depression factors [F(1,122)=9.86, p<0.01] were significantly higher than in male students. CONCLUSIONS: Our study shows that a 6-week exercise intervention significantly improved the mental health of college students. Aiming to determine the mechanism underlying the influence of exercise intervention on college students’ mental health, this paper proposes a new structural relationship. Emotion regulation self-efficacy and emotion regulation strategy play a mediating role in the relationship between physical education and mental health. Physical education teachers in colleges and universities should actively carry out physical education, make full use of the distinctive characteristics and advantages of physical education, and purposefully and systematically guide college students to actively participate in physical exercise.