Observational Study
Copyright ©The Author(s) 2023. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Psychiatry. Dec 19, 2023; 13(12): 1121-1132
Published online Dec 19, 2023. doi: 10.5498/wjp.v13.i12.1121
Influence of physical education on anxiety, depression, and self-esteem among college students
Hai-Yan Fu, Jing Wang, Jia-Xi Hu
Hai-Yan Fu, Jing Wang, Jia-Xi Hu, School of Physical Education, Guangzhou Sport University, Guangzhou 510500, Guangdong Province, China
Author contributions: Fu HY designed and conducted the research, and authored the paper; Wang J designed the research and supervised the report; Hu JX designed the research and contributed to the analysis.
Institutional review board statement: The study procedures were approved by the Ethics Committee of the School of Physical Education, Guangzhou Sport University (2023LCLL-23).
Informed consent statement: Written informed consent was obtained from all participants.
Conflict-of-interest statement: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.
Data sharing statement: The raw data supporting the conclusion of this article can be obtained from the corresponding author.
STROBE statement: The authors have read the STROBE Statement—a checklist of items, and the manuscript was prepared and revised according to the STROBE Statement— a checklist of items.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Hai-Yan Fu, PhD, Lecturer, School of Physical Education, Guangzhou Sport University, No. 1268 Guangzhou Avenue Central, Tianhe District, Guangzhou 510500, Guangdong Province, China. missfhy@163.com
Received: September 19, 2023
Peer-review started: September 19, 2023
First decision: October 8, 2023
Revised: October 20, 2023
Accepted: November 29, 2023
Article in press: November 29, 2023
Published online: December 19, 2023
Processing time: 91 Days and 5 Hours
ARTICLE HIGHLIGHTS
Research background

College students experience varying levels of anxiety, depression, and self-esteem. As this reflects the quality of education reform in China, the correlation between physical activity and students’ anxiety, depression, and self-esteem must be explored.

Research motivation

This study aimed to identify the factors related to anxiety, depression, and self-esteem among college students, and provide guidelines for interventions. Considering the influence and adjustability of physical activity in students, we speculated that the amount of physical activity among college students may be related to anxiety, depression, and self-esteem.

Research objectives

To analyze the influence of physical activity on anxiety, depression, and self-esteem among college students.

Research methods

We investigated 478 first-year college students using the Physical Activity Rank Scale-3 (PARS-3), Self-Rating Anxiety Scale (SAS), Self-Rating Depression Scale (SDS), and Self-Esteem Scale (SES). A multivariate logistic regression model, receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC), area under the curve (AUC), and Spearman’s correlation analysis were employed to determine the correlation between PARS-3 and SAS, SDS, and SES scores.

Research results

PARS-3 was negatively correlated with SAS and SDS scores (r = -0.190, -0.267, both P < 0.001) and positively correlated with SES scores (r = 0.313, P < 0.001). SES was negatively correlated with SAS and SDS scores (r = -0.125, P = 0.016; r = -0.143,P = 0.002).

Research conclusions

Physical activity was negatively correlated with anxiety and depression and positively correlated with self-esteem.

Research perspectives

Based on the multi-factor logistic regression model, ROC, AUC, and Spearman’s correlation analysis, we comprehensively analyzed the correlation between college students’ PARS-3 scores and SAS, SDS, and SES scores. We demonstrated that college students’ PARS-3 scores were negatively correlated with SAS and SDS scores and positively correlated with SES scores. This could guide future interventions to reduce anxiety, depression, and low self-esteem among college students.