The relationship between physical literacy and quality of life among university students: The role of motivation as a mediator

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVE: The literature has discussed the potential for nurturing, integrating, and optimizing physical literacy to thereby enhance quality of life. Progression could be made through the disposition of acquiring movements and engaging in physical activity, but data supporting such an argument remains limited. This cross-sectional study attempted to empirically investigate these two variables by assessing the levels of motivation and satisfaction among university students in Taiwan. The hypothesis posited a positive correlation between physical literacy and quality of life, with the mediating effects of motivation and satisfaction taken into consideration. METHODS: By applying the time segregation method, participants were asked to complete a set of questionnaires at the beginning and the end of the first semester during the 2021 – 2022 academic year. The initial phase involved gathering demographic information and assessing the perceived physical literacy score. The scores for motivation, satisfaction, and quality of life were measured in the subsequent phase. SmartPLS version 3.3 was used to conduct data analysis. After ratifying the model's goodness-of-fit, partial least squares structural equation modeling was used to test the hypotheses in the research model. RESULTS: A total of 388 students (male n = 320, female n = 68; mean age: 18.5 years) participated in this study. Moderate explanatory power was found in the relationships of perceived physical literacy to physical education satisfaction (β(PPLI → PES) = 0.137, t = 6.439, R(2) = 0.642) and motivation (β(PPLIA → SIMS) = 0.511, t = 32.701, R(2) = 0.607). Results then indicated that motivation is the mediator of the relationship between physical literacy and physical education satisfaction (β(PPLI → SIMS → PES) = 0.373, t = 4.015). Furthermore, this satisfaction mediated the relationship between physical literacy and quality of life (β(PPLI → PES → QoLS) = 0.070, t = 4.47). CONCLUSION: This study connected theoretical knowledge regarding physical literacy with practice, suggesting that ongoing physical education may nurture the habit of lifelong participation in physical activity, thus further improving quality of life.