Ke Shen, Yue Li, Jiaxing Tang, Gaopeng Chen
Perceived social support and negative emotions serve as mediators in the relationship between green exercise and mobile phone addiction, with a total indirect effect estimate of -0.240. This study indicates that green exercise is not only directly associated with mobile phone addiction but is also indirectly associated with it through the chain mediating effects of perceived social support and negative emotions.
OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to investigate the correlational mechanisms linking green exercise, perceived social support, negative emotions, and mobile phone addiction among university students.
METHODS: Using a stratified cluster sampling method, a total of 1,000 university students (aged 19.15 ± 1.08 years) were recruited from six universities randomly selected across Anhui, Shandong, and Jiangsu provinces. Participants completed Intentional Nature Exposure Scale (INES), the Perceived Social Support Scale, the Depression Anxiety Stress Scale (DASS-21), and the Smartphone Addiction Scale for College Students. Data were analyzed using SPSS 23.0 and Hayes' PROCESS macro. Reliability and validity analyses, correlation analysis, regression analysis, structural equation modeling, and bias-corrected percentile bootstrap tests were sequentially conducted on the study variables.
RESULTS: (1) Green exercise was significantly and negatively associated with mobile phone addiction (β = -0.214, p < 0.01). (2) Green exercise was significantly and positively associated with perceived social support (β = 0.645, p < 0.01) and significantly and negatively associated with negative emotions (β = -0.326, p < 0.01). (3) Perceived social support was significantly and negatively associated with both negative emotions (β = -0.314, p < 0.01) and mobile phone addiction (β = -0.144, p < 0.01). (4) Negative emotions were significantly and positively associated with mobile phone addiction (β = 0.278, p < 0.01).
CONCLUSION: Perceived social support and negative emotions serve as mediators in the relationship between green exercise and mobile phone addiction, with a total indirect effect estimate of -0.240. This study indicates that green exercise is not only directly associated with mobile phone addiction but is also indirectly associated with it through the chain mediating effects of perceived social support and negative emotions.