Abstract
Objectives: The objective of the study is to examine the relationship among physical literacy, mental health, and resilience in college students.Methods: The study is a cross-sectional study. Participants (N = 5,265; 46.6% males) completed perceived physical literacy instruments, mental health continuum short forms, and the 12-item child and youth resilience measures. Mediation models were applied to explore the association among three concepts.Results: Physical literacy, resilience, and mental health were significantly linked with each other. In the mediation model, the direct effect of physical literacy on mental health was 0.49. The indirect effect of physical literacy on mental health through the mediation of resilience was 0.97. The mediating effect of resilience accounts for 66.30% of the total effect, indicating the partial mediating effect of resilience in the relationship between physical literacy and mental health. In more detailed models, resilience was found to mediate the relationship between physical literacy and social and psychological wellbeing, accounting for 61.02% and 56.92% of the total effect, respectively. In addition, resilience acted as full mediator in the relationship between physical literacy and emotional wellbeing (>100%). These findings suggest that physical literacy increases mental health by improving resilience.Conclusions: This is the first time to connect physical literacy with mind factors. The mediating effect of resilience on the relationship between physical literacy and mental health was found. Our findings support the development of physical literacy in universities as part of a holistic approach to supporting the wellbeing and mental health of undergraduates. This study provides a new perspective for the development of large-scale interventions in the health of body and mind in college students.
Highlights
Physical literacy is a multidimensional concept that includes physical, affective, and cognitive factors and is defined as the motivation, confidence, physical competence, knowledge, and understanding to value and take responsibility for engagement in physical activities for life [1, 2]
Standard linear regression was used to assess the association among physical literacy, mental health, and resilience (Table 1)
The results of this study indicated that physical literacy, mental health, and resilience were significantly related to each other
Summary
Physical literacy is a multidimensional concept that includes physical, affective, and cognitive factors and is defined as the motivation, confidence, physical competence, knowledge, and understanding to value and take responsibility for engagement in physical activities for life [1, 2]. A growing body of research has suggested that physical literacy is the foundation of lifetime physical activity participation [4,5,6,7]. Previous studies demonstrate the positive relationships between physical literacy and physical activity levels [8, 9]. Most studies have focused on linking physical literacy with the physical domain, expecting the positive impact on approaches to promote participation in physical activities through physical literacy [3]. The embodiment of physical literacy supports the belief that body and mind cannot be separated [3]. Expecting that physical and mental factors are linked with physical literacy is reasonable. As an integral aspect of physical literacy, the mental health factor has not yet captured attention in this area
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