{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,29]],"date-time":"2026-06-29T04:45:10Z","timestamp":1782708310139,"version":"3.54.5"},"reference-count":33,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"7","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,25]],"date-time":"2026-06-25T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1782345600000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"The Youth Project of Jiangsu Philosophy and Social Science Foundation","award":["24TYC008"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["24TYC008"]}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Behavioral Sciences"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Background: Physical exercise is known to promote positive psychological functioning among college students; however, its relationship with meaning in life within naturally occurring friendship dyads remains underexplored. This study examined both actor and partner associations between physical exercise, social support, and meaning in life. Methods: A cross-sectional dyadic survey was conducted among 415 friendship dyads (830 Chinese college students, aged 17\u201323 years). Participants completed validated measures of physical exercise, perceived social support, and meaning in life. Intraclass correlations, Pearson correlations, actor\u2013partner interdependence models (APIMs), and an indistinguishable APIM mediation model were applied to assess within-dyad nonindependence, actor and partner effects, and indirect pathways through social support. Results: Intraclass correlations revealed within-dyad similarities in physical exercise, social support, and meaning in life, with ICCs of 0.101, 0.188, and 0.253, respectively. The constrained indistinguishable mediation model demonstrated acceptable fit: \u03c72(6) = 12.81, p = 0.046; CFI = 0.973; TLI = 0.933; RMSEA = 0.052; SRMR = 0.028. Physical exercise was positively associated with social support at both the actor level (B = 0.150, p &lt; 0.001) and partner level (B = 0.095, p &lt; 0.001). Social support, in turn, was positively linked to meaning in life at both actor (B = 0.174, p &lt; 0.001) and partner levels (B = 0.206, p &lt; 0.001). Direct effects of physical exercise on meaning in life remained significant for both actor (B = 0.055, p = 0.001) and partner pathways (B = 0.067, p &lt; 0.001). Bootstrap analyses confirmed significant total indirect effects for actors (B = 0.046, 95% CI [0.030, 0.063]) and partners (B = 0.047, 95% CI [0.032, 0.065]). Conclusions: Physical exercise is associated with meaning in life not only via intrapersonal pathways but also through interpersonal pathways within friendship dyads. Social support serves as a key mediating factor in this relationship.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/bs16071056","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,25]],"date-time":"2026-06-25T12:37:55Z","timestamp":1782391075000},"page":"1056","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Associations Among Physical Exercise, Social Support, and Meaning in Life in College Students: An Actor\u2013Partner Interdependence Model"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"16","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-7868-5378","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Baole","family":"Tao","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"College of Physical Education, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou 225012, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Zhenwu","family":"Li","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"College of Physical Education, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou 225012, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Jie","family":"Han","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"College of Physical Education, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou 225012, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Tianci","family":"Lu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"College of Physical Education, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou 225012, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Hanwen","family":"Chen","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"College of Physical Education, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou 225012, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Jun","family":"Yan","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"College of Physical Education, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou 225012, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,25]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"310","DOI":"10.1037\/0033-2909.98.2.310","article-title":"Stress, social support, and the buffering hypothesis","volume":"98","author":"Cohen","year":"1985","journal-title":"Psychological Bulletin"},{"key":"ref_2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"101","DOI":"10.1080\/01650250444000405","article-title":"The actor\u2013partner interdependence model: A model of bidirectional effects in developmental studies","volume":"29","author":"Cook","year":"2005","journal-title":"International Journal of Behavioral Development"},{"key":"ref_3","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"101486","DOI":"10.1016\/j.lanwpc.2025.101486","article-title":"The prevalence and associated disability burden of mental disorders in children and adolescents in China: A systematic analysis of data from the Global Burden of Disease Study","volume":"55","author":"Dong","year":"2025","journal-title":"The Lancet Regional Health\u2013Western Pacific"},{"key":"ref_4","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"135","DOI":"10.1186\/1479-5868-10-135","article-title":"A systematic review of the psychological and social benefits of participation in sport for adults: Informing development of a conceptual model of health through sport","volume":"10","author":"Eime","year":"2013","journal-title":"International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity"},{"key":"ref_5","first-page":"127","article-title":"Analysis on the phenomenon of lack of life consciousness among contemporary college students and countermeasures","volume":"23","author":"Gai","year":"2016","journal-title":"Guide of Ideological and Theoretical Education"},{"key":"ref_6","first-page":"477","article-title":"The relationship between negative life events and meaning in life among college students: The role of social anxiety and belief in a just world","volume":"13","author":"Gao","year":"2025","journal-title":"Psychology: Techniques and Applications"},{"key":"ref_7","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Goldbeck, L., and Klink, A. 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