The relationship between physical activity and depressive symptoms in college students: the sequential mediation effects of emotion regulation self-efficacy and sense of life meaning

Objective: This research explores how emotion regulation self-efficacy and sense of life meaning affect the relationship between physical activity and depressive symptoms among college students. Methods: A total of 1,333 university students were evaluated with the Physical Activity Scale, Emotion Regulation Self-Efficacy Scale, Sense of Life Meaning Scale, and Depressive symptoms Scale. A sequential mediation model was established, and the mediating effects were examined via the bootstrap resampling approach. Results: (1) Physical activity was positively associated with both emotion regulation self-efficacy and sense of life meaning. A strong positive link emerged between emotion regulation self-efficacy and sense of life meaning. Physical activity was inversely associated with depressive symptoms, whereas emotion regulation self-efficacy and sense of life meaning similarly demonstrated inverse associations with depressive symptoms. (2) Emotion regulation self-efficacy and sense of life meaning serve as sequential mediators in the link between physical activity and depressive symptoms. The detailed mediation pathways are outlined below: Physical activity → Emotion regulation self-efficacy → Depressive symptoms (effect = -0.150, accounting for 20.41% of the total effect). Physical activity → sense of life meaning → Depressive symptoms (effect = -0.098, accounting for 13.33% of the total effect). Physical activity → Emotion regulation self-efficacy → sense of life meaning → Depressive symptoms (effect = -0.168, accounting for 22.86% of the total effect). Conclusion: (1) Physical activity is significantly and negatively associated with depressive symptoms among college students. (2) In college students, emotion regulation self-efficacy and sense of life meaning partially mediated the relationship between physical activity and depressive symptoms. (3) Emotion regulation self-efficacy and sense of life meaning together serve as sequential mediators linking physical activity to depressive symptoms among college students.