Exercise health belief model mediates the relationship between physical activity and peer support among Chinese college students: A cross-sectional survey

Abstract

This study explored the influence of the exercise health belief model and peer support on university students’ physical activity PA and clarified the related mechanism. Three hundred and thirty-six healthy university students (aged 19.4 ± 1.3 years, 166 male and 170 female) from Sichuan University of Arts and Science in China were evaluated by the peer support scale, the health belief model scale for exercise, and the physical activity scale (short volume). The results showed that the male students’ exercise self-efficacy and PA were markedly higher than female university students. Peer support was positively correlated with perceived benefits, exercise self-efficacy, perceived severity, and cues to action, and was adversely associated with perceived objective and subjective barriers. PA was positively correlated with perceived benefits and exercise self-efficacy, and negatively correlated with perceived objective and subjective barriers. Among the components of the exercise health belief model, only exercise self-efficacy was suitable for constructing a structural equation model (SEM) with peer support and PA. The analysis showed that the predictive effect of exercise self-efficacy on PA was more significant than peer support, and exercise self-efficacy played a critical intermediary role. It is worth noting that, in the grouping model, the effect of male college students’ exercise self-efficacy on PA was greater than that of female students, and the model fit of male peer support was better than that of female students. Although the impact of peer support on PA was less than that of exercise self-efficacy and the direct effect of peer support was less than the indirect effect, the impact of peer support on the PA of female university students was higher than that of male university students. This study revealed the impact of exercise self-efficacy and peer support on university students’ PA and suggested that exercise self-efficacy is the main path to promoting university students’ PA, followed by peer support. Peer support could affect university students’ PA not only through direct effects but also through indirect effects. This study also suggested that female university students’ peer support has a higher impact on PA than male students. Therefore, when formulating physical exercise courses in the future, it is necessary to give more peer support to female university students to compensate for their low exercise self-efficacy.

Effect of health belief model-based training and social support on the physical activity of overweight middle-aged women: a randomized controlled trial

“…The study population comprised middleaged women enrolled in the "middle-aged health program" at health centers affiliated with Shiraz University of Medical Sciences. The first important component of HBM for physical activity is self-efficacy, which strengths interventions and sustains the behavior (17,(23)(24)(25)(26)(27), so based on the mean ± SD difference of the self-efficacy score in the intervention group (56.14 ± 3.76) from a similar study (14), the sample size was calculated as 40 participants in each group (total 80 women) using the relevant formula (32), a type I error rate of 0.05%, a test power of 95%, and a 20% attrition rate.…”

“…Consequently, establishing positive health beliefs through education and training affects physical activity motivation and conduct (15). The health belief model (HBM) applied to various age and cultural groups is the earliest and most applicable model that explains and predicts physical activity based on individual beliefs and is more concerned with prevention (16)(17)(18). Four components comprise the original HBM model: perceived benefits, perceived susceptibility, perceived severity, and perceived barriers.…”

“…The two most important components of the model for physical activity are self-efficacy and perceived barriers; both are influenced by social support, which helps to strengthen interventions and the continuation of the behavior (17,(23)(24)(25)(26)(27). Four dimensions can be used to define, measure, and present social support: emotional (empathy and love), instrumental (tangible assistance), informational (consulting), and evaluation (constructive feedback) (28).…”

Effects of personal and interpersonal factors on changes of food choices and physical activity among college students

“…Peer support can provide emotional, appraisal, and informational assistance to address a health-related issue for college students [ 17 , 18 ]. Greater peer support for their healthy behaviors were associated with American college students’ more intake of fruit and vegetables [ 19 ], fewer intake of snacks [ 20 ], as well as Chinese college students’ more engagement in PA [ 21 ]. However, most of the relevant existing evidence was based on cross-sectional data [ 22 ], and rarely explored the associations between the above personal and interpersonal factors and health behaviors (e.g., food choices, PA) changes.…”

Factors Affecting the Physical Fitness of College Students and Improvement Strategies

“…In terms of physical fitness data, incorporating data from more grades and additional features, such as psychological health information and overall physical well-being, could further enhance the research. Additionally, employing various algorithms like machine learning, logistic regression, and decision trees may lead to more effective analysis [15] .…”