{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,20]],"date-time":"2026-08-20T06:23:53Z","timestamp":1787207033826,"version":"build-2736575974"},"reference-count":39,"publisher":"Frontiers Media SA","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,20]],"date-time":"2026-08-20T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1787184000000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["frontiersin.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Front. Psychol."],"abstract":"<jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Objective<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>This study aimed to explore the association between physical exercise and perceived stress among college students and its underlying psychological transmission pathways, and to examine the independent and chain mediating roles of social support and general self-efficacy in this relationship.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Methods<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>A cross-sectional study design was adopted, and a questionnaire survey was conducted among 750 college students from 5 universities in a Chinese city. The SPSS macro PROCESS (Model 6) was applied to test the chain mediation model at the 95% confidence interval via 5,000 bootstrap resamplings.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Results<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Physical exercise was significantly and negatively associated with perceived stress (\u03b2 = \u22120.367, 95% CI [\u22120.429, \u22120.304]). The total indirect effect of social support and general self-efficacy was \u22120.225 (95% CI [\u22120.270, \u22120.185]), accounting for 61.31% of the total effect. Specifically, three indirect pathways were identified: physical exercise \u2192 social support \u2192 perceived stress (indirect effect = \u22120.034, 9.26% of the total effect), physical exercise \u2192 general self-efficacy \u2192 perceived stress (indirect effect = \u22120.155, 42.23% of the total effect), and the chain mediation pathway of physical exercise \u2192 social support \u2192 general self-efficacy \u2192 perceived stress (indirect effect = \u22120.036, 9.81% of the total effect).<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Conclusion<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>College students\u2018 participation in physical exercise is significantly associated with lower levels of perceived stress, and social support and general self-efficacy play a key chain mediating role in this relationship. This study theoretically reveals the internal psychological mechanism of the association between physical exercise and perceived stress, and provides empirical reference for universities to implement mental health improvement interventions. This study empirically elucidates the possible mechanisms underlying the association between physical exercise and perceived stress, providing empirical reference for intervention practices aimed at improving college students' mental health in higher education settings.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.3389\/fpsyg.2026.1836913","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,20]],"date-time":"2026-08-20T05:28:42Z","timestamp":1787203722000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Relationship between physical exercise and perceived stress in university students: a cross-sectional study on the chain mediating role of social support and general self-efficacy"],"prefix":"10.3389","volume":"17","author":[{"given":"Hao","family":"Sun","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Sports, Shandong University of Finance and Economics","place":["Jinan, Shandong, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Yihu","family":"Zhao","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Sports, Shandong University of Finance and Economics","place":["Jinan, Shandong, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1965","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,20]]},"reference":[{"key":"B1","volume-title":"Self-Efficacy: The Exercise of Control","author":"Bandura","year":"1997"},{"key":"B2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"9","DOI":"10.1177\/0149206311410606","article-title":"On the functional properties of perceived self-efficacy revisited","volume":"38","author":"Bandura","year":"2012","journal-title":"J. Manage."},{"key":"B3","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1012","DOI":"10.70252\/EERP4920","article-title":"The effect of outdoor and indoor group exercise classes on psychological stress in college students: a pilot study with randomization","volume":"16","author":"Bramwell","year":"2023","journal-title":"Int. J. Exerc. Sci."},{"key":"B4","first-page":"563","article-title":"It is necessary to explore the physical and mental health of college students from the perspective of physical exercise: a review of \u201cResearch on college students' physical exercise and mental health problems\u201d","volume":"40","author":"Chen","year":"2023","journal-title":"Chin. Health Serv. Manage."},{"key":"B5","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"991","DOI":"10.3724\/SP.J.1042.2022.00991","article-title":"Meta-analysis of the detection rate of mental health problems among college students in mainland China from 2010 to 2020","volume":"30","author":"Chen","year":"2022","journal-title":"Adv. Psychol. Sci."},{"key":"B6","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"393","DOI":"10.1186\/s40359-024-01902-7","article-title":"Enhancing psychological well-being in college students: the mediating role of perceived social support and resilience in coping styles","volume":"12","author":"Dong","year":"2024","journal-title":"BMC Psychol"},{"key":"B7","first-page":"139","article-title":"Adolescents' emotion regulation self-efficacy and subjective well-being: the mediating role of emotion regulation strategies","volume":"36","author":"Dou","year":"2013","journal-title":"Psychol. Sci."},{"key":"B8","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"98","DOI":"10.1186\/1479-5868-10-98","article-title":"A systematic review of the psychological and social benefits of participation in sport for children and adolescents: informing development of a conceptual model of health through sport","volume":"10","author":"Eime","year":"2013","journal-title":"Int. J. Behav. Nutr. Phys. Act."},{"key":"B9","first-page":"33","article-title":"Study on the impact of physical exercise and exercise social support on subjective well-being under the new development goal of national fitness","volume":"57","author":"Ge","year":"2023","journal-title":"J. Wuhan Sports Univ."},{"key":"B10","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"145","DOI":"10.1002\/smi.2589","article-title":"Relationships among positive emotions, coping, resilience and mental health","volume":"32","author":"Gloria","year":"2016","journal-title":"Stress Health"},{"key":"B11","first-page":"130","article-title":"Self-efficacy theory and its application","volume":"5","author":"Guo","year":"2003","journal-title":"J. Northeast Normal Univ."},{"key":"B12","first-page":"25","article-title":"How academic stress affects college students' mental health problems: the joint moderating role of academic self-efficacy and stress coping styles","volume":"5","author":"Guo","year":"2023","journal-title":"China High. Educ. Res."},{"key":"B13","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1362816","DOI":"10.3389\/fspor.2024.1362816","article-title":"Effects of physical activity on subjective well-being: the mediating role of social support and self-efficacy","volume":"6","author":"Guo","year":"2024","journal-title":"Front. Sports Act. Living"},{"key":"B14","volume-title":"Introduction to Mediation, Moderation, and Conditional Process Analysis: A regression-Based Approach","author":"Hayes","year":"2013"},{"key":"B15","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"509","DOI":"10.3389\/fpsyg.2020.00509","article-title":"Regular physical activity, short-term exercise, mental health, and well-being among university students: the results of an online and a laboratory study","volume":"11","author":"Herbert","year":"2020","journal-title":"Front. Psychol."},{"key":"B16","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"337","DOI":"10.1111\/1464-0597.00062","article-title":"The influence of culture, community, and the nested-self in the stress process: advancing conservation of resources theory","volume":"50","author":"Hobfoll","year":"2001","journal-title":"Appl. Psychol."},{"key":"B17","first-page":"47","article-title":"The relationship between mental health and social support of college students","volume":"9","author":"Hu","year":"2013","journal-title":"Soc. Sci."},{"key":"B18","first-page":"132","article-title":"Effects, mechanisms, and prospects of exercise in promoting mental health","volume":"51","author":"Li","year":"2015","journal-title":"China Sports Sci. Technol."},{"key":"B19","first-page":"66","article-title":"Social support and individual mental health","volume":"1","author":"Li","year":"1998","journal-title":"Tianjin Soc. Sci."},{"key":"B20","first-page":"5","article-title":"Stress level of college students and its relationship with physical exercise","volume":"1","author":"Liang","year":"1994","journal-title":"Chin. Mental Health J."},{"key":"B21","first-page":"102","article-title":"The impact of physical exercise on college students' negative emotions: the mediating and moderating roles of self-efficacy and psychological resilience","volume":"27","author":"Liu","year":"2020","journal-title":"J. Phys. Educ."},{"key":"B22","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"361","DOI":"10.2147\/PRBM.S510207","article-title":"The impact of physical exercise on sleep quality among college students: the chain mediating effects of perceived stress and ruminative thinking","volume":"18","author":"Liu","year":"2025","journal-title":"Psychol. Res. Behav. Manag."},{"key":"B23","first-page":"64","article-title":"The impact of exercise intervention on junior high school students' sense of meaning in life: the chain mediating role of gratitude and social support","volume":"58","author":"Lu","year":"2024","journal-title":"J. Wuhan Sports Univ."},{"key":"B24","first-page":"848","article-title":"Effects of physical exercise on the mental health of college freshmen","volume":"31","author":"Ma","year":"2010","journal-title":"Chin. J. Sch. Health"},{"key":"B25","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"61","DOI":"10.1590\/S1807-59322005000100012","article-title":"Physical activity and mental health: the association between exercise and mood","volume":"60","author":"Peluso","year":"2005","journal-title":"Clinics"},{"key":"B26","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"282","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jad.2021.03.054","article-title":"Prevalence and risk factors for mental health problems in university undergraduate students: a systematic review with meta-analysis","volume":"287","author":"Sheldon","year":"2021","journal-title":"J. Affect. Disord."},{"key":"B27","first-page":"37","article-title":"Study on the reliability and validity of the general self-efficacy scale","volume":"7","author":"Wang","year":"2001","journal-title":"Appl. Psychol."},{"key":"B28","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1681753","DOI":"10.3389\/fpsyg.2025.1681753","article-title":"The relationship between physical activity and mental health among university students: a chain mediation effect of self-efficacy and emotion regulation","volume":"16","author":"Wang","year":"2025","journal-title":"Front. Psychol."},{"key":"B29","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"519","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jad.2020.07.051","article-title":"Association between childhood trauma and depression: a moderated mediation analysis among normative Chinese college students","volume":"276","author":"Wang","year":"2020","journal-title":"J. Affect. Disord."},{"key":"B30","first-page":"2998","article-title":"The relationship between bullying and non-suicidal self-injury among middle school students in Jiangxi Province: the chain mediating role of social support and self-efficacy","volume":"51","author":"Wang","year":"2024","journal-title":"Mod. Prev. Med."},{"key":"B31","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"653","DOI":"10.1016\/j.amepre.2016.12.008","article-title":"Domain-specific physical activity and mental health: a meta-analysis","volume":"52","author":"White","year":"2017","journal-title":"Am. J. Prev. Med."},{"key":"B32","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"100415","DOI":"10.1016\/j.ijchp.2023.100415","article-title":"Relationship between physical activity and coping with stress in people with multiple sclerosis: a moderated mediation model with self-efficacy and disability level as variables","volume":"24","author":"Wilski","year":"2024","journal-title":"Int. J. Clin. Health Psychol."},{"key":"B33","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1210","DOI":"10.3390\/brainsci12091210","article-title":"Relationship between physical activity and emotional regulation strategies in early adulthood: mediating effects of cortical thickness","volume":"12","author":"Wu","year":"2022","journal-title":"Brain Sci."},{"key":"B34","first-page":"945","article-title":"The impact of work stress on the mental health of college student village officials and the potential mechanism of social support","volume":"29","author":"Xue","year":"2012","journal-title":"Chin. Health Serv. Manage."},{"key":"B35","first-page":"11","article-title":"An epidemiological study on psychological stress in urban residents in social transition","volume":"9","author":"Yang","year":"2003","journal-title":"Chin. J. Epidemiol."},{"key":"B36","first-page":"456","article-title":"Development of the social support rating scale for college students","volume":"5","author":"Ye","year":"2008","journal-title":"Chin. J. Clin. Psychol."},{"key":"B37","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"5488","DOI":"10.1038\/s41598-024-56149-4","article-title":"The association between physical activity, self-efficacy, stress self-management and mental health among adolescents","volume":"14","author":"Zhang","year":"2024","journal-title":"Sci. Rep."},{"key":"B38","first-page":"44","article-title":"Experimental study on the impact of college students' participation in physical exercise on self-efficacy","volume":"31","author":"Zhang","year":"2015","journal-title":"J. Jilin Prov. Inst. Educ."},{"key":"B39","first-page":"942","article-title":"Statistical remedies for common method biases","volume":"6","author":"Zhou","year":"2004","journal-title":"Adv. Psychol. Sci."}],"container-title":["Frontiers in Psychology"],"original-title":[],"link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/www.frontiersin.org\/articles\/10.3389\/fpsyg.2026.1836913\/full","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,20]],"date-time":"2026-08-20T05:28:45Z","timestamp":1787203725000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/www.frontiersin.org\/articles\/10.3389\/fpsyg.2026.1836913\/full"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,20]]},"references-count":39,"alternative-id":["10.3389\/fpsyg.2026.1836913"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/fpsyg.2026.1836913","relation":{},"ISSN":["1664-1078"],"issn-type":[{"value":"1664-1078","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,20]]},"article-number":"1836913"}}