Examining the Relationship between Cellphone Use Behavior, Perceived Exercise Benefit and Physical Exercise Level among University Students in Taiwan

Abstract

This study investigated how perceived exercise benefit affects the relationship between cellphone usage and physical activity level. This cross-sectional study performed a survey of Taiwanese university students selected using cluster sampling. A total of 975 students were recruited (male = 367, female = 608, average age = 20.10 ± 1.42). Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, correlation analysis, and hierarchical regression. The results show that cellphone usage was negatively correlated with physical activity level, whereas perceived exercise benefit was negatively correlated with cellphone usage and positively correlated with physical activity level. In hierarchical regression, the main effects of cellphone usage and perceived exercise benefit explained 22% of the variance in physical activity level. After controlling for the main effect, the interaction term accounted for an additional 1% of the variance. Cellphone usage and perceived exercise benefit thus had significant power to explain physical activity level. The results of this study reveal a novel phenomenon—that students who perceived the benefits of exercise to be greater are more physically active.

Inadequate Mental Health Literacy and Insufficient Physical Activity Potentially Increase the Risks of Anxiety and Depressive Symptoms in Chinese College Students

“…Individuals with a better-developed health literacy have skills and competences that enable them to engage in various personal health promoting behaviors (e.g., regular physical activity) ( 45 ). As the extension of the concept of health literacy, mental health literacy has similar functions, which could increase the level of physical activity in students through improving the in-depth understanding of perceived exercise benefit ( 15 , 20 ). Addition, past researches that have revealed self-efficacy may not always directly affect physical activity, instead acting in conjunction with behavioral capability (knowledge and/or skill) variables, such as health literacy ( 26 , 46 ).…”

“…Possible reasons may involve that the inadequacy of an individual's mental health literacy may lead to difficulty in identifying symptoms of mental illness, lack of understanding as well as negative attitude toward professional treatment, thus showing unfavorable attitudes toward seeking professional psychological help as well as poorer adherence to treatment regimens ( 18 ). Furthermore, adequate mental health literacy can significantly improve adults' understanding of exercise style and intensity, and promote the recognition of exercise effect, meanwhile, students who perceived the benefits of exercise usually exhibit more physical activities ( 19 , 20 ).…”

Investigation of the Relationship Between Mobile Phone Addiction and Physical Activity Level in Adolescents

“…There are 22 items in the scale. The scale has nine items (8,11,13,14,15,16,20,21,22) in the Deprivation sub-dimension, six items in the second sub-dimension Uncontrolled/Problems (1, 2, 3, 4, 7, 10), and the third sub-dimension Tolerance/Inhibition consists of seven items (5,6,9,12,17,18,19) and a total of three factors. Scoring of the scale consists of two parts.…”

Effects of a 14-day social media abstinence on mental health and well-being: results from an experimental study

“…It has already been discussed if the increase in social media use paved the way for the increase is psychopathologies, but establishing causality remains difficult [3]. Despite this, studies have linked problematic social media use to problems such as symptoms of depression and anxiety, [4][5][6] stress, negative body image and low physical activity [7][8][9][10].…”