Exercise motivation, physical exercise, and mental health among college students: examining the predictive power of five different types of exercise motivation

The mental health (MH) of college students has long been a crucial concern for families, educational institutions, and society. Extensive research has demonstrated the influential role of exercise motivation in shaping MH. However, further investigation is warranted to ascertain which types of exercise motivation may have more influence on the MH of college students. The present study examined the direct effects of five distinct types of exercise motivation, namely health motivation (HM), appearance motivation (APM), fun motivation (FM), ability motivation (ABM), and social motivation (SM) on MH. Additionally, the study explored the potential mediating role of physical exercise (PE) in these relationships.