Physical Activity and College Students’ Subjective Well-being: The Mediating Roles of Basic Psychological Needs and Self-Efficacy

Subjective well-being stands as a pivotal and comprehensive psychological indicator reflecting an individual’s quality of life, often intertwined with physical activity. However, the complex mechanisms through which physical activity influences an individual’s subjective well-being have not been thoroughly explored. Consequently, this study aims to investigate the influence of physical activity on the subjective well-being of college students, examining the chain-mediated effects of basic psychological needs and self-efficacy. This study recruited 389 college students, and data were collected using validated instruments: the Physical Activity Rating Scale, Subjective Well-Being Scale, Basic Psychological Needs Scale, and Self-Efficacy Scale. Statistical analysis were conducted using IBM SPSS Statistics version 24.0 (IBM Corp., Armonk, NY, USA). A chain mediation model was employed to examine the potential mediating effects of basic psychological needs and self-efficacy in the effects of physical activity on college students’ subjective well-being. Analysis revealed significant positive correlations among physical activity, subjective well-being, basic psychological needs, and self-efficacy ( p < .05). The chain mediation model indicated that physical activity indirectly influenced college students’ subjective well-being through two pathways: The mediation model indicated that physical activity indirectly influenced college students’ subjective well-being through two pathways: (1) via basic psychological needs (indirect effect = 0.055, 95% CI [0.022, 0.096]), and (2) via self-efficacy (indirect effect = 0.052, 95%CI [0.019, 0.090]). Additionally, a sequential mediation effect was observed, with physical activity influencing subjective well-being through basic psychological needs and subsequently self-efficacy (indirect effect = 0.026, 95% CI [0.009, 0.047]). Basic psychological needs and self-efficacy serve as chain mediators in explaining the relationship between physical activity on the subjective well-being of college students.