{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,19]],"date-time":"2026-08-19T05:25:11Z","timestamp":1787117111154,"version":"build-2736575974"},"reference-count":50,"publisher":"Frontiers Media SA","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,19]],"date-time":"2026-08-19T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1787097600000},"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>Background\/objective<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Psychological well-being disorders are increasingly prevalent among young people. While physical activity is known to benefit psychological well-being, the mechanisms\u2014particularly the role of physical self-perception and gender in recreational context remain underexplored. Grounded in the Conservation of Resources (COR) Theory, this study investigates the mediating role of physical self-perception in the relationship between recreational physical activity and psychological well-being and examines whether gender moderates this mediation among youth aged 15\u201324.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Methods<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>A descriptive-relational survey design was employed. The sample comprised 468 young adults (58.5% male, 41.5% female; M_age\u202f=\u202f20.08) who regularly participated in recreational physical activities. Data were collected using the International Physical Activity Questionnaire-Short Form (IPAQ-SF), the Physical Self-Perception Profile (PSPP), and the Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Well-being Scale (WEMWBS). Mediation and moderation analyses were conducted using PROCESS macro-Models 4 and 7.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Results<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>\n                      The direct effect of physical activity on psychological well-being was not significant. However, physical self-perception fully mediated the relationship between physical activity and psychological well-being (indirect effect:\n                      <jats:italic>\u03b2<\/jats:italic>\n                      \u202f=\u202f0.219, 95% CI [0.151, 0.290]). Among the sub-dimensions of physical self-perception, body attractiveness had the strongest mediating effect. Moderation analysis revealed that gender did not significantly moderate the mediation pathways (a path:\n                      <jats:italic>p<\/jats:italic>\n                      \u202f=\u202f0.156; b path:\n                      <jats:italic>p<\/jats:italic>\n                      \u202f=\u202f0.954). The mediation mechanism operated with similar strength in both males and females.\n                    <\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Conclusion<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Recreational physical activity improves psychological well-being entirely through the enhancement of physical self-perception, supporting the COR theory that physical activity acts as a resource investment. This mechanism is universal across genders in recreational settings. Interventions aiming to improve youth psychological well-being should not only promote physical activity but specifically focus on fostering positive physical self-perception and body image in inclusive, non-judgmental environments.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.3389\/fpsyg.2026.1886525","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,19]],"date-time":"2026-08-19T04:39:11Z","timestamp":1787114351000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["The mediating role of physical self-perception and the moderating effect of gender in the association between physical activity and psychological well-being among young recreational participants"],"prefix":"10.3389","volume":"17","author":[{"given":"Ozlem","family":"Ekizoglu","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Sports Sciences, Erzincan Binali Yildirim University","place":["Erzincan, T\u00fcrkiye"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Sibel","family":"Tetik","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Sports Sciences, Erzincan Binali Yildirim University","place":["Erzincan, T\u00fcrkiye"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Omer","family":"Zambak","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Sports Sciences, Gumushane University","place":["Gumushane, T\u00fcrkiye"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Canan Sayin","family":"Temur","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Sports Sciences, Ankara Yildirim Beyazit University","place":["Ankara, T\u00fcrkiye"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Yusuf","family":"Can","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Sports Sciences, Istanbul Gelisim University","place":["Istanbul, T\u00fcrkiye"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Utku","family":"Isik","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Sports Sciences, Ege University","place":["Izmir, T\u00fcrkiye"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Mustafa Can","family":"Koc","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Sports Sciences, Mersin University","place":["Mersin, T\u00fcrkiye"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1965","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,19]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"100513","DOI":"10.1016\/j.mhpa.2023.100513","article-title":"Reciprocal associations between physical activity, physical self-concept, somatic symptoms, and depression from adolescence to young adulthood: disaggregating within- and between-person effects","volume":"24","author":"Ames","year":"2023","journal-title":"Ment. 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