Expectations regarding school decreases emotional distress among college students in Western China: the buffering role of physical exercises

Di Su; Lina Huang; Helin Zou; Lulu Zhang; Yi Feng

doi:10.3389/fpubh.2024.1412199

Expectations regarding school decreases emotional distress among college students in Western China: the buffering role of physical exercises

Front Public Health. 2024 Nov 6:12:1412199. doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2024.1412199. eCollection 2024.

Authors

Di Su^#^{1

2}, Lina Huang^#³, Helin Zou^#⁴, Lulu Zhang⁵, Yi Feng^#⁶

Affiliations

¹ Mental Health Counselling Centre, Ningxia University, Yinchuan, China.
² Department of Psychology, School of Social Sciences, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China.
³ School of Sport Economics and Management, Central University of Finance and Economics, Beijing, China.
⁴ School of Statistics and Mathematics, Central University of Finance and Economics, Beijing, China.
⁵ Mental Health Education and Counseling Center, China University of Petroleum-Beijing at Karamay, Xinjiang, China.
⁶ Mental Health Center, Central University of Finance and Economics, Beijing, China.

^# Contributed equally.

Abstract

Background: College students in Western China face unique economic, cultural, and educational environments, yet limited studies have specifically investigated the factors or interventions concerning emotional distress within this population.

Aim: This study aimed to explore whether school belongingness mediates the relationship between expectations regarding school and emotional distress among college students in Western China, and whether physical exercise moderates this mediation.

Methods: Employing a cross-sectional design, 1,063 college students in Xinjiang, China were recruited for this study. A self-administered electronic questionnaire assessed expectations regarding school, school belongingness, physical exercise, anxiety, and depression. Structural equation modeling was utilized to analyze mediating and moderating effects.

Results: Expectations regarding school was negatively associated with emotional distress. School exclusion and school acceptance fully mediated the effect of expectations regarding school on emotional distress. Physical exercise moderated the mediating effect of school exclusion, but not that of school acceptance.

Conclusion: Expectations regarding school and school belongingness, particularly the exclusion component, emerge as pivotal factors influencing emotional distress among college students in Western China. Furthermore, physical exercise presents itself as a promising targeted intervention for alleviating emotional distress within this demographic.

Keywords: emotional distress; expectations regarding school; physical exercise; school belongingness; school exclusion.

MeSH terms

Adolescent
Adult
Anxiety / psychology
China
Cross-Sectional Studies
Depression / psychology
Exercise* / psychology
Female
Humans
Male
Psychological Distress
Schools*
Stress, Psychological / psychology
Students* / psychology
Surveys and Questionnaires
Universities
Young Adult

Grants and funding

The author(s) declare that financial support was received for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article. This work was supported by the International Joint Research Project of Faculty of Education, Beijing Normal University (No. ICER202201).