Article Highlights
- Perceived social support played a mediating role between exercise adherence and meaning in life.
- Optimism played a mediating role between exercise adherence and meaning in life.
- Perceived social support and optimism play a chain mediating role between exercise adherence and meaning in life.
Meaning in life is the core element for people pursuing a better life, and its sources mainly include happiness, achievement, intimacy, relationship, self-transcendence, self-acceptance, and fairness beyond the material level (Wong, 2011). Meaning in life refers to people comprehending and understanding the meaning of their lives and realizing their goals and missions in life, including having and seeking a sense of meaning (Steger et al., 2009). Studies have found that exercise adherence is closely related to meaning in life (Dong & Mao, 2020). College students with a higher sense of the meaning in life tend to face the goals and tasks in their lives with an optimistic and proactive attitude of self-encouragement and are more likely to adapt to university life (Makola, 2014). This study investigated how exercise adherence affects college students’ meaning in life, and provides theoretical guidance for learning whether social support and optimism play a mediating role between the two.
Exercise adherence refers to the implicit psychological characteristics and explicit behavioral quasi-states of individuals who adhere to long-term, regular, and long-held physical exercise (Dong & Mao, 2018). According to self-determination theory, individuals who perceive external autonomic support can satisfy their basic psychological needs and produce further autonomous motivation, and then ultimately affect the corresponding behavioral results (Deci, 2004). Exercise persistence is strongly related to intelligence, emotion, personality, sense of self-concept, and meaning in life (H.-C. Yin & Fu, 2004). Exercise adherence is strongly associated with interpersonal relationships, which increase a person’s confidence, happiness, and sense of meaning in life (Shen, 2008). Therefore, we proposed the following hypothesis:
Hypothesis 1: Exercise adherence will be positively associated with a sense of meaning in life.
Perceived social support refers to an individual’s expectation of the social support they can obtain (Norris & Kaniasty, 1996). It is the individual’s emotional experience and satisfaction with being respected, supported, and understood, which is a primary supporting force for the development of meaning in life (Fu et al., 2018). Xiang and Hou (2013) showed that perceived social support has a strong correlation with meaning in life, and can play a positive role in enhancing meaning in life. Numerous studies have shown a positive correlation between exercise adherence and perceived social support (Li, 2015). In addition, Zhao et al. (2023) found that exercise adherence positively predicted college students’ physical and mental health, life satisfaction, and happiness, which directly determined the level of meaning in life (S. Wang et al., 2020). Therefore, we proposed our second hypothesis:
Hypothesis 2: Perceived social support will play a mediating role between exercise adherence and meaning in life.
Optimism is defined as an individual’s expectation of positive results in the future, and it is an important positive personality trait (Scheier & Carver, 1985). People with optimism have a more positive evaluation of past life events, and more positive expectations and positive predictions of future life events (Leung et al., 2005). Optimism has a significant positive relationship with the sense of meaning in life, and high optimism of college students has been shown to raise their sense of meaning in life (Z. M. Yin et al., 2019). Q. F. Wang (2019) showed that high (vs. low) levels of optimism were related to significantly higher (vs. lower) levels of health, quality of life, life satisfaction, subjective happiness, and positive emotional experience. Other scholars found a significant and positive association between exercise adherence and optimism, and that exercise adherence predicted college students’ optimism (J. L. Wang, 2015). Therefore, we proposed our third hypothesis:
Hypothesis 3: Optimism will play a mediating role between exercise adherence and meaning in life.
Chain Mediating Effect of Perceived Social Support and Optimism
Perceived social support and optimism are positive mental qualities. Perceived social support is significantly correlated with optimism, and perceived social support can positively predict the sense of meaning in life and reduce negative emotions and behaviors (Li, 2015). Perceived social support is an important factor in optimism (X. Chen et al., 2019). Individuals with a high level of perceived social support can improve their coping efficiency, maintain a positive and optimistic attitude in the face of difficulties, and reduce anxiety (Song & Zhang, 2016). Therefore, we proposed our fourth hypothesis:
Hypothesis 4: Perceived social support and optimism will play a chain mediating role between exercise adherence and meaning in life.
This review of the literature has shown that there is much research on the relationship between exercise adherence and meaning in life, but it has not fully explained how exercise adherence predicts the meaning in life of college students. In this study, we constructed a chain mediation model to explore the relationship mechanism between exercise adherence, perceived social support, optimism, and meaning in life in college students. It has important practical significance to effectively improve the meaning in life of college students.
Method
Participants and Procedure
We used stratified cluster sampling to survey 1000 students enrolled in Zhaoqing University, China. We conducted the test by class unit, with five classes randomly selected from the freshman, sophomore, junior, and senior years, for a total of 20 classes. After eliminating surveys with missing data or suspiciously regular responses, we retained valid surveys from 945 students, Mage = 19.72 years, SD = 1.46, for analysis. There were 579 (61.3%) men and 366 (38.7%) women; 298 (31.5%) of them were freshmen, 362 (38.3%) sophomores, 166 (17.6%) juniors, and 119 (12.6%) seniors.
Data were collected March 20–30, 2022, using a paper and pen survey. The experimenters were all professionally trained students majoring in sports psychology, and we obtained the consent of school leaders, teachers, and participants before the survey was completed. Before the students took part, they were informed of the anonymity and confidentiality of the survey responses, and that they were completing the survey on a voluntary basis. Participants were given 10 minutes to fill out the survey and then the completed forms were collected.
Measures
Exercise Adherence
We used the Exercise Adherence Scale formulated by Liu et al. (2011) and revised by Dong and Mao (2018) to measure individual exercise adherence. The scale is a one-dimensional structure with six items, such as “Participating in physical exercise has become a habit of mine.” The students responded to the items on a 5-point Likert scale (1 = strongly disagree, 5 = strongly agree), and the total score has a range of 6 to 30. The higher the score, the higher the level of exercise adherence. The scale has shown good reliability and validity in Chinese college students (Dong & Mao, 2020). In the current study, the Cronbach’s alpha coefficient of the scale was .90 indicating it was reliable.
Perceived Social Support
We used the Perceived Social Support Scale (X. D. Wang et al., 1999) to measure perceived social support. The scale consists of 12 items, three subscales with four items each. These subscales are family support (e.g., “My family can help me in concrete ways”), friend support (e.g., “My friends can really help me”), and support of others (e.g., “In my life, there are people who care about my feelings”). We used a 7-point Likert scale (1 = strongly disagree, 7 = strongly agree) with the total score ranging from 12 to 84. The higher the score, the greater perceived social support. The scale has shown good reliability and validity in Chinese college students (D. J. Zhang et al., 2021). In this study, the Cronbach’s alpha coefficient of the scale was .96 indicating it was reliable.
Optimism
We used the Life Orientation Test developed by Scheier et al. (1985) and revised by Scheier et al. (1994) to measure optimism. The scale consists of six items, included three items for positive descriptions (e.g., “I am full of hope for my future”) and three items for negative descriptions (e.g., “I never expect good things will happen to me”). The measure uses a 5-point Likert scale (1 = strongly disagree, 5 = strongly agree) and the total score had a range of 5 to 30. The negatively described items were scored in reverse, and then all items were summed to find the total score. The higher the score, the greater the optimism. The scale has shown good reliability and validity in Chinese college students (Li, 2015). In this study, the Cronbach’s alpha coefficient of the scale was .84 indicating it was reliable.
Meaning in Life
We used the Chinese Meaning in Life Questionnaire compiled by Steger et al. (2006) and adapted by M. C. Wang and Dai (2008). There are 10 items in total, with two dimensions containing five items each. The two dimensions are the presence of meaning in life (e.g., “I know the meaning of my life”) and the search for meaning in life (e.g., “I’m always looking for a purpose in my life”). We used a 7-point Likert scale (1 = no match at all, 7 = excellent match). The total score had a range from 7 to 70, and the higher the score the greater the meaning in life. The scale has shown good reliability and validity in Chinese college students (F. T. Zhang et al., 2023). In this study, the Cronbach’s alpha coefficient of the scale was .93 indicating it was reliable.
Statistical Analysis
Pearson correlation analysis and mediation effect tests were conducted by using SPSS version 26.0 and the PROCESS macro.
Results
Common Method Deviation Test
We used Harman’s single-factor test to check for common method deviation of the measures. The results show that the variance explained by the first factor was 35.41%, which is less than the critical value of 40%. Therefore, we concluded that there was no serious problem of common method bias.
Descriptive Statistics and Correlation Analysis
As shown in Table 1, analysis showed that exercise adherence was positively correlated with perceived social support, optimism, and meaning in life. Perceived social support was positively correlated with optimism and meaning in life, and optimism was positively correlated with meaning in life. In addition, gender was negatively correlated with exercise adherence, perceived social support, and meaning in life, but had no prominent correlation with optimism.
Table 1. Means, Standard Deviations, and Correlations Among Variables
Note. N = 945.
** p < .01.
Mediating Effect Analysis
On the basis of the correlation analysis, the mediation effect was tested directly by the bootstrap method in Model 6 of the SPSS PROCESS macro, and the results are shown in Table 2. Firstly, we examined the direct pathway of exercise adherence to meaning in life. The results show that exercise adherence positively predicted meaning in life, β = .19, p < .01. Therefore, Hypothesis 1 was supported.
Table 2. Mediating Effect and Effect Size of Perceived Social Support and Optimism
Note. CI = confidence interval; LL = lower limit; UL = upper limit.
Secondly, we examined the mediating effects of perceived social support and optimism on exercise adherence and meaning in life (see Figure 1). The results show that exercise adherence significantly and positively predicted perceived social support, β = .57, p < .01, and perceived social support significantly and positively predicted meaning in life, β = .312, p < .01. Therefore, Hypothesis 2 was supported.
Exercise adherence significantly and positively predicted optimism, β = .23, p < .01, and optimism significantly and positively predicted meaning in life, β = .40, p < .01. Therefore, Hypothesis 3 was supported.
Perceived social support significantly and positively predicted optimism, β = .57, p < .01, and thus Hypothesis 4 was supported. The mediating effect test (see Table 2) shows that the chain mediating effect of perceived social support and optimism was significant (confidence interval does not include 0), and the simple mediating effect of perceived social support and optimism was significant (confidence interval does not include 0).
Figure 1. Chain Mediation Model
** p < .01.
Discussion
Exercise Adherence and Meaning in Life
We found that there was a significant positive correlation between exercise adherence and meaning in life, which was consistent with previous research results (Dong & Mao, 2020), and which supported Hypothesis 1. It has been shown that exercise adherence promotes the secretion of endorphins, which makes people feel happy and refreshed, and makes individuals feel energized, excited, and fulfilled (Ding & Fan, 2002). Due to long-term adherence to physical exercise, which can cultivate students’ will power and help students transfer this positive character trait into daily study and life, students have stronger anti-pressure ability and psychological adjustment ability in the face of stresses, and can cope with study and general life with more optimism (Q. Y. Zhang, 2021).
Independent Mediating Effects of Perceived Social Support
We found that perceived social support played a mediating role in the relationship between exercise adherence and meaning in life, which verified Hypothesis 2. This is consistent with previous research evidence, namely, exercise adherence significantly and positive predicts perceived social support (Miao et al., 2020), and perceived social support significantly predicts meaning in life (Xiang & Hou, 2013).
We found exercise adherence was positively correlated with perceived social support. As a special social and cultural activity, physical exercise forms a common value norm through competition and cooperation, exchange and communication. As college students can feel the emotional experience of respect, support, and understanding while engaged in physical exercise, and their psychological needs can be satisfied, they can directly obtain higher perceived social support. Individuals with high levels of perceived social support are likely to feel the care and recognition from parents, friends, and teachers. Second, because college students feel that they receive social support, they have a high level of cognition and better moods, which creates a psychological advantage and a positive attitude towards life and clear life goals. As a result, they realize their own value, are more confident, and can obtain a higher level of meaning in life (Q. T. Chen & Li, 2015).
Independent Mediating Effects of Optimism
We found that optimism played a mediating role between exercise adherence and meaning in life. This is consistent with previous evidence that exercise adherence can significantly predict optimism (S. Wang et al., 2016), and optimism can significantly predict an individual’s meaning in life (Y. Wang, 2016). Therefore, Hypothesis 3 was supported.
First, we found exercise adherence is positively correlated with optimism. The essence of sports is social activities and interpersonal communication (Lu, 2001). Our teaching observations are that participation in sport allows people to meet and build relationships with those with the same interests and hobbies, so participants avoid loneliness and social isolation. Exercise adherence can not only directly control weight and reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease, but also relieve work or study stress and anxiety, and make people produce positive emotions, such as joy, gratitude, hope, pride, motivation, love, and so on, to promote optimism.
Second, we found optimism was positively correlated with meaning in life. Previous research shows that individuals with a high (vs. low) level of optimism scored significantly higher (vs. lower) on measures such as health, quality of life, life satisfaction, subjective well-being, and positive affective experience (Y. Wang, 2016). Positive psychological elements can help prevent and eliminate psychological disorders, help people explore and excavate their positive strengths and virtues of human nature, and find a sense of meaning in the value of life (Y. F. Wang & Zhu, 2007). College students with high levels of optimism have more self-efficacy, hope, and so forth, and when they encountered difficulties, they can focus on making full use of their own positive resources to solve problems, and obtain more successful experience and sense of achievement, thus resulting in greater meaning in life (Q. F. Wang, 2019).
Chain Mediating Effects of Perceived Social Support and Optimism
We found that perceived social support and optimism played a chain mediating role between exercise adherence and meaning in life, which was similar to the results of Zhu and Zhong (2020). Thus, Hypothesis 4 was supported. Firstly, perceived social support helps individuals shape optimism, which predicts satisfaction with life and depressive symptoms, and thus promotes the development of well-being (Karademas, 2006). According to expectancy–value theory, the motivation of an individual to complete a task is determined by their expectation of success and the value assigned to the task (Wigfield & Eccles, 2000). Therefore, individuals with a higher level of perceived social support can improve their operational effectiveness, maintain a positive and optimistic attitude in the face of difficulties, and reduce individual anxiety. In addition, perceived social support and optimism do not exist in isolation, instead being connected to each other, so perceived social support and optimism have a general positive effect on individuals. Therefore, exercise adherence predicts meaning in life by promoting the development of both perceived social support and optimism.
Limitations and Prospects
In this study we were unable to infer the causal relationship between variables. Longitudinal follow-up or experimental intervention designs could be adopted in the future. In addition, in this study we considered only the mediating effects of perceived social support and optimism. In fact, there may be other mediating variables, such as ruminant thinking and physical self-esteem, which need to be further explored.
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