Physical activity habits prevent psychological distress in female academic students: The multiple mediating role of physical and psychosocial parameters.
| Autor: | Levante A; Department of Human and Social Sciences, University of Salento, Via di Valesio, 73100 Lecce, Italy.; Lab of Applied Psychology, Department of Human and Social Sciences, University of Salento, Via di Valesio, 73100 Lecce, Italy., Quarta S; Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences and Technologies (DISTEBA), University of Salento, 73100 Lecce, Italy., Massaro M; Institute of Clinical Physiology (IFC), National Research Council (CNR), 73100 Lecce, Italy., Calabriso N; Institute of Clinical Physiology (IFC), National Research Council (CNR), 73100 Lecce, Italy., Carluccio MA; Institute of Clinical Physiology (IFC), National Research Council (CNR), 73100 Lecce, Italy., Damiano F; Institute of Clinical Physiology (IFC), National Research Council (CNR), 73100 Lecce, Italy., Pollice F; Department of Human and Social Sciences, University of Salento, Via di Valesio, 73100 Lecce, Italy., Siculella L; Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences and Technologies (DISTEBA), University of Salento, 73100 Lecce, Italy., Lecciso F; Department of Human and Social Sciences, University of Salento, Via di Valesio, 73100 Lecce, Italy.; Lab of Applied Psychology, Department of Human and Social Sciences, University of Salento, Via di Valesio, 73100 Lecce, Italy. |
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| Jazyk: | angličtina |
| Zdroj: | Heliyon [Heliyon] 2024 Feb 18; Vol. 10 (4), pp. e26626. Date of Electronic Publication: 2024 Feb 18 (Print Publication: 2024). |
| DOI: | 10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e26626 |
| Abstrakt: | Background: Psychological distress is recognised as the most common mental health difficulty in emerging adult (18-to-24-year-old) female academic students. This study aimed to test a novel model positing physical activity habits as a protective factor for psychological distress through the mediating role of physical and psychological parameters. Adherence to the Mediterranean diet and self-reported physical health status were included as physical parameters. Self-reported psychological health status and time spent on leisure activities were the psychological parameters considered. Method: Data were collected between April and May 2021. Correlation analyses and a multiple mediation model were computed on 411 online questionnaires filled out by 18-to-24-year-old female students from the University of blind (Italy). Results: The multiple indirect effects were significant ( β = -0.088; p < 0.001). This means that physical activity habits reduce psychological distress through high adherence to the Mediterranean diet, a good self-assessment of one's physical and psychological health status, and more time spent on leisure activities outdoors, with friends, and with family members. Conclusions: Results show that academic policies should be adopted so as to design physical activity programmes that may improve the students' healthy behaviours and social interactions, which, in turn, mitigate the detrimental effects of psychological distress. Competing Interests: The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper. (© 2024 The Authors.) |
| Databáze: | MEDLINE |
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