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The effects of physical activity on social physique anxiety in college students—the mediating and moderating role of mental toughness and negative physical self

BMC Psychology volume 13, Article number: 54 (2025) Cite this article

Abstract

Purpose

To examine the effects of physical activity on college students' social physique anxiety and the mediating and moderating roles of negative physical self and mental toughness in it, and to provide empirical evidence that physical activity improves college students' social physique anxiety.

Methods

Stratified whole cluster convenience sampling was used to survey 1177 university students, 53.8% male and 46.2% female, with a mean age of (19.12 ± 1.21) years. Mediated and moderated effects were analysed using SPSS 26.0 and AMOS 28.0.

Results

(1) Physical activity negatively predicted social physique anxiety (2) Negative physical self and mental toughness (individual power) played a significant partial mediating role between physical activity and social physique anxiety, with mediating effects accounting for 40.09% and 27.11% of the total effect, respectively; (3) The R2 change in the interaction term of physical activity and family support in mental toughness (supporting force) reached a significant level, and family support played a significant negative moderating role between physical activity and social physique anxiety, whereas the interaction term of interpersonal assistance and physical activity was not significant and could not moderate the interrelationship between physical activity and social physique anxiety.

Conclusion

Physical activity affects college students' levels of social physique anxiety through negative physical self and mental toughness (individual power); the effect of physical activity on social physique anxiety is negatively moderated by the family support dimension of mental toughness (supporting force).

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Introduction

Physical activity is a physical activities with a certain intensity, frequency and duration for the purpose of enhancing physical fitness, with physical activity as the content and means [1]. According to the Affective Effects Theory of Exercise Psychology, physical activity can improve and treat negative emotions such as depression, anxiety and stress [2, 3]. Social Physique Anxiety as a specific subtype of social anxiety that develops in response to physical fitness [4].Empirical studies have proved that regular and moderate physical activity can effectively reduce the level of social physique anxiety in college students [5, 6]. Accordingly, this study proposes Hypothesis H1: Physical activity is significantly and negatively related to social physique anxiety among college students.

Negative Physical Self, also known as body imagery dysregulation, refers to an individual's negative perceptions of the body, negative emotional experiences, and corresponding behavioral regulation [7]. American scholars Cox et al. proposed a cognitive-behavioral hypothesis in the relationship between physical activity and mental health, arguing that physical activity can lead to positive self-evaluation and change negative cognitive thinking [8]. Tang Wenjie et al. experimental results show that physical activity can generally enhance the physical self-concept of college students. Psychological symptoms such as anxiety and depression are very closely related to the negative physical self [9]. An investigation showed that an individual's perception and evaluation of his or her physical appearance can predict the subject's anxiety level [10, 11], and this predictive ability still exists after controlling for self-esteem and body mass index (BMI) [12]; In addition, the experimental results of Xu Hui et al. showed that the higher the level of negative Physical Self is, the higher the level of his or her social anxiety is [13]. Social physique anxiety as a specific subtype of social anxiety, so it can be assumed that negative physical self has a significant predictive effect on social physique anxiety. Therefore, it can be assumed that there is a negative correlation between physical activity and negative physical self. In summary, this study proposes the hypothesis H2: Negative physical self mediates the relationship between physical activity and college students' social physique anxiety.

The mental toughness process doctrine suggests that mental toughness is a dynamic process in which life events, such as stress and adversity, act simultaneously with protective factors [14]. Empirical studies have shown that physical activity helps to strengthen students' mental toughness, improve their problem-solving ability and their concentration on characters [15, 16]. And mental toughness, as a psychological protective mechanism, can have a direct protective effect on college students' negative emotions [17]. Among them, negative emotions are categorized into three dimensions: anxiety, depression, and stress [18]. Social physique anxiety, as a specific subtype of negative emotions, is directly affected by mental toughness. Based on the process model of mental toughness, Hu Yueqin et al. analyzed and validated mental toughness into two major factors, namely, individual power (goal focus, emotional control, positive cognition) and supporting force (family support, interpersonal assistance) [19]. According to the three-dimensional theoretical model of social physique anxiety in Chinese youth proposed by Xu Xia, social physique anxiety is a combination of three first-order factors, namely, worry about negative evaluations of others, discomfort with physique self-representation, and uneasiness with social comparisons [4]. The model is basically consistent with the individual power (internal factors) and supporting force (external factors) in mental toughness, according to which it is believed that mental toughness has a good internal and external moderating effect on social physique anxiety [20]. According to the theory of exercise psychology, physical activity has a positive effect in regulating attentional orientation, improving cognitive functions, and regulating emotional levels [21]. Accordingly, this study proposes the hypothesis H3: Mental toughness (individual power) mediates the relationship between physical activity and college students' social physique anxiety.

The concept of social physique anxiety was first proposed by Hart et al. [22], which refers to "the degree of anxiety experienced by individuals when they are faced with other people's evaluation of their own body image", and the higher the individual's social physique anxiety, the worse the individual's self-perceived physical appearance, and the more likely the individual is to doubt his or her ability to present physical appearance to others in certain situations. Wu Jiao's study found that two dimensions of social physique anxiety, worry about negative evaluations of others and uneasiness with social comparisons, were associated with physical activity [23]. Guo Lei et al. empirical study showed that family support plays a moderating role between acute stress disorder and negative emotions such as anxiety [24]. Given the high correlation between mental toughness and negative emotions such as anxiety among college students [25,26,27], it is reasonable to hypothesize that the supportive aspects of mental toughness (family support, interpersonal assistance) will have an impact on physical activity as well as social Physique Anxiety. This study proposes hypothesis H4: Mental toughness (supporting force) plays a moderating role between physical activity and college students' social physique anxiety.

In summary, this study intends to examine the effects of physical activity on college students' social physique anxiety and the mediating and moderating roles of negative physical self and mental toughness in it with college students as subjects, so as to provide empirical evidence for the improvement of college students' social physique anxiety by physical activity. Four hypotheses are proposed:

  • H1: Physical activity is significantly and negatively related to social physique anxiety among college students.

  • H2: Negative physical self mediates the relationship between physical activity and college students' social physique anxiety.

  • H3: Mental toughness (individual power) mediates the relationship between physical activity and college students' social physique anxiety.

  • H4: Mental toughness (supporting force) plays a moderating role between physical activity and college students' social physique anxiety.

Synthesising the research hypotheses, a mediation model with a moderating role was constructed as shown in Fig. 1.

Fig. 1
figure 1

Conceptual model proposed in this study

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Research objects and research methods

Objects of study

Control methods for common method bias are categorised as procedural control and statistical control. The researcher can separate the measurement time during the study for procedural control to reduce the participants' guessing about the purpose of the measurement [28]. In order to reduce the interference of common method bias, reduce the memory effect of participants, and avoid systematic bias due to memory associations, the questionnaires in this study were administered in two sessions with a 2-week interval. Stratified whole group convenience sampling was used, with December 2023 to select general undergraduate college students in grades 1 ~ 3 from eight universities in Dalian to conduct an online electronic questionnaire survey, with 50 people in each grade conveniently sampled according to administrative classes, totalling 1,200 people.

The questionnaire survey time was set before the start of the official class, the participants and the first time participants consistent, after obtaining the consent of the school, the teacher and myself to fill out the questionnaire in the classroom centrally, the whole survey process is quiet and comfortable, while reminding the participants to fill out the questionnaire in accordance with their own actual situation. In addition, clear and easy-to-understand instructions were given at the beginning of the questionnaire to avoid misunderstanding of the questionnaire by the participants.

In the end, excluding 23 invalid questionnaires such as short filling time and regular answers, the effective sample size of this study was 1177 people, with a sample validity rate of 96.80%. Among them, 53.8% were male and 46.2% were female; 381 (32.4%) were first-year university students, 390 (33.1%) were second-year university students, and 406 (34.5%) were third-year university students; 451 (38.3%) were from urban families and 726 (61.7%) were from rural families, and the average age was (19.12 ± 1.21) years.

Research tools

Physical activity scale

The Physical Activity Rating Scale (PARS-3), revised by Liang Deqing [29], was used for the measurements. The scale consists of three questions, ranging from the intensity of physical activity (entitled ‘What kind of physical activity do you do regularly?’), frequency (entitled ‘How many times a month do you do the above mentioned physical activities?’) and duration (entitled ‘How many minutes at a time do you perform physical activity at the above intensity?’). Three dimensions were used to assess the level of physical activity, using the Likert 5-point scale, with corresponding scores ranging from 1 to 5. The score for the amount of physical activity = intensity score × (duration score-1) × frequency score, with higher scores indicating a greater amount of physical activity. Based on the total score, the scale was categorised sequentially into three grades: small physical activity ≤ 19 points, medium physical activity = 20 ~ 42 points, and large physical activity ≥ 43points. The Cronbach's coefficient for this scale in this study was 0.85.

Social physique anxiety scale

The Social Physique Anxiety Scale (SPAS), revised by Xu Xia [4], was used for the measurements. The scale consists of 15 questions and consists of three dimensions: worry about negative evaluations of others (including items such as ‘I feel relaxed and comfortable even if others do not rate my body type and physique highly’), discomfort with physique self-representation(including items such as ‘I always feel uneasy and uncomfortable when showing my body type or physique to others’), and uneasiness with social comparisons (including items such as ‘I always feel uneasy and uncomfortable when showing my body type or physique to others’). The scale is based on a 5-point Likert scale ranging from 1 ‘not at all’ to 5 ‘completely’, with higher scores indicating higher levels of social physique anxiety. The Cronbach coefficient for the scale in this study was 0.83.

Negative physical self scale

The Adolescent Negative Physical Self Scale developed by Chen Hong [30], was used for the measurement. The scale consists of 48 questions, including ‘I know very well that being short is a big regret for me’, ‘I think I am fat in other people's eyes’, ‘I think I am thin’ and so on. A 5-point Likert scale was used, ranging from 1 ‘never’ to 5 ‘always’, with higher scores indicating higher levels of negative physical self. The Cronbach's coefficient for this scale in this study was 0.91.

Mental toughness scale

The Mental Toughness Scale for Adolescents developed by Hu Yueqin [19], was used for the measurement. The scale consists of 21 questions and consists of five dimensions: goal focus (including items such as ‘I have clear goals in my life’), emotional control (including items such as ‘I have difficulty controlling my unpleasant emotions’), positive cognition (including items such as ‘Failure always discourages me’), family support (including items such as ‘My parents are very discouraging’) and interpersonal assistance (including items such as “I can't find a suitable person to talk to when I encounter unpleasant things”). Goal Focus, Emotional Control, and Positive Cognition measure individual power factors, while family Support and Interpersonal Assistance measure supporting force factors. The scale is rated on a 5-point Likert scale, ranging from 1 ‘not at all’ to 5 ‘completely’, with higher scores indicating better mental toughness. The Cronbach coefficient for this scale in this study was 0.94.

Statistical methods

Descriptive, correlation, ANOVA, and hierarchical regression analyses of relevant variables were performed using SPSS 26.0, while the mediating effects of negative physical self and mental toughness (individual manpower) on the relationship between physical activity and social physique anxiety were analyzed using AMOS 28.0.

As this study mainly used self-reporting to collect relevant data, there may be serious common method bias issues. Therefore, after data collection, the Harman one-way test was used to statistically verify the possible serious common method bias problems. The results showed that there were five common factors with eigenroots greater than 1, and the amount of variation explained by the first common factor was only 31.23%, which was significantly less than the criterion of the critical value of 40%, so there was no serious common method bias problem in this study.

Results and analysis

The effects of physical activity, negative physical self, and mental toughness on college students' social physique anxiety

To test the direct effects of physical activity, negative physical self, and mental toughness on college students' social physique anxiety, bivariate Pearson correlation analyses were conducted for each of the four variables, and the correlation coefficients are shown in Table 1.

Table 1 Correlation analysis of variables
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Descriptive statistics and correlation analyses of the variables are shown in Table 1, which shows that significant correlations were found between physical activity and three dimensions of social physique anxiety (worry about negative evaluations of others, discomfort with physical self-representation, uneasiness with social comparisons), five dimensions of mental toughness (goal focus, emotional control, positive cognition, family support, interpersonal assistance), and the negative physical self (r = 0.104 ~ 0.570, p < 0.001). Significant correlations (r = 0.251 ~ 0.858, p < 0.001) were found between the negative physical self and all three dimensions of social physique anxiety (worry about negative evaluations of others, discomfort with physical self-representation, uneasiness with social comparisons); Significant correlations were found between five dimensions of mental toughness (goal focus, emotional control, positive cognition, family support, interpersonal assistance) and three dimensions of social physique anxiety (worry about negative evaluations of others, discomfort with physical self-representation, uneasiness with social comparisons) (r = 0.014 ~ 0.553, p < 0.001).

The results of the correlation analyses in Table 1 indicate significant correlations between the four variables: college students' level of physical activity, social physique anxiety, mental toughness, and negative physical self. The results suggest a mediating and moderating effect of mental toughness and negative physical self between college students' physical activity on social physique anxiety.

In order to more clearly and accurately observe the changes in the effects of the amount of physical activity on college students' social physique anxiety, the means of the three dependent variables of social physique anxiety were examined. The results in Table 2 show that the social physique anxiety levels of college students with medium and large exercise levels are significantly lower than those of the group with small exercise levels (p < 0.001), indicating that the social physique anxiety levels of college students gradually decrease as the level of physical activity continues to increase, and that there is a significant negative correlation between physical activity and college students' social physique anxiety. The establishment of hypothesis 1 was verified.

Table 2 Analysis of variance results of the effect of the amount of physical activity on social Physique Anxiety in college students
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Regression analysis of physical activity, negative physical self, mental toughness, and social physique anxiety

The results in Table 3 indicate that physical activity was a highly significant predictor of social physique anxiety. Specifically, the ability to predict college students' worry about negative evaluations of others (β = −0.329, p < 0.001) > uneasiness with social comparisons (β = −0.314, p < 0.001) > discomfort with physical self-representation (β = −0.293, p < 0.001).

Table 3 Results of regression analyses of physical activity, negative physical self, mental toughness (individual power), and social physique anxiety
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Negative physical self and mental toughness (individual power) were also highly significant predictors of social physique anxiety in college students. The predictive power of negative physical self for uneasiness with social comparisons (β = 0.801, p < 0.001) > worry about negative evaluations of others (β = 0.747, p < 0.001) > discomfort with physical self-representation (β = 0.159, p < 0.001); and the predictive power of mental toughness (individual power) for worry about negative evaluations of others (β = −0.423, p < 0.001) > uneasiness with social comparisons (β = −0.421, p < 0.001) > discomfort with physical self-representation (β = −0.416, p < 0.001). In predicting worry about negative evaluations of others, positive cognition (β = −0.339, p < 0.001) > emotional control (β = −0.325, p < 0.001) > goal focus (β = −0.226, p < 0.001); In predicting discomfort with physical self-representation, emotional control (β = −0.385, p < 0.001) > positive cognition (β = −0.346, p < 0.001) > goal focus (β = −0.214, p < 0.001); In predicting uneasiness with social comparisons, positive cognition (β = −0.397, p < 0.001) > emotional control (β = −0.355, p < 0.001) > goal focus (β = −0.348,p < 0.001).

Mediating effects of negative physical self and mental toughness

The amount of physical activity, negative physical self, mental toughness (individual power) and social physique anxiety variables were statistically significant (p < 0.01), which qualified for the test of mediating effect. Using the standard procedure of mediation effect test proposed by Wen Zhonglin [31] et al., the mediating effects of negative physical self and mental toughness (individual power) on the relationship between physical activity and social physique anxiety were examined after centring physical activity volume, social physique anxiety, negative physical self and mental toughness (individual power) data in SPSS. Step 1 tested the total effect of the amount of physical activity of the independent variable on the dependent variable of social physique anxiety c. If significant, proceed to step 2 to test the path coefficients of the independent variable on the mediator variable, a, as well as the path coefficients of the mediator variable and the independent variable on the dependent variable when both the independent variable and the mediator variable are included in the model, b and c. If all are significant, the mediating variable has a partial mediating effect, then the value of the mediating effect is calculated by ab/c.

The results in Table 4 show that physical activity has a significant negative correlation on social physique anxiety with a total effect value of c = −0.513, p < 0.001. The results of the stepwise stratified regression analysis of negative physical self showed that the path coefficient of physical activity on negative physical self a = 0.788, p < 0.001, and the path coefficient of negative physical self on social physique anxiety b = 0.261, p < 0.001, which gives the mediating effect of negative physical self between physical activity and social physique anxiety as a proportion of the total effect of 40.09% [ ab/c = (0.788 × 0.261)/0.513≈0.4009; The results of stepwise stratified regression analyses of mental toughness (individual power) showed that the path coefficient of physical activity on mental toughness (individual power) a = 0.365, p < 0.001, and the path coefficient of mental toughness (individual power) on social physique anxiety b = 0.381, p < 0.001, which gives the mediating effect of mental toughness (individual power) between physical activity and social physique anxiety as a percentage of the total effect is 27.11% [ab/c = (0.365 × 0.381)/0.513 ≈ 0.2711].

Table 4 Results of stepwise hierarchical regression analyses of negative physical self and mental toughness (individual power)
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To further validate the H2 and H3 proposed in the previous section, the fit analysis of the hypothesized model was conducted using AMOS28.0. Since the negative physical self is a unidimensional scale with more topics, it was packaged using the randomized packaging method, in which the 48 topics in the scale were randomly divided into 2 packages with 24 topics in each package as the observations of the negative physical self. A mediation effect model was established with the amount of physical activity as the independent variable, social Physique Anxiety as the dependent variable, and negative physical self and mental toughness (individual power) as the mediator variables, and the results showed that:x2 = 131.871, x2/d f = 4.121, CFI = 0.934, NFI = 0.927, RFI = 0.951, IFI = 0.936, AGFI = 0.946, RMSEA = 0.071. According to Wu Minglong [32], in SEM, x2/df ≤ 5.00, RMSEA ≤ 0.08, CFI, NFI, RFI, IFI, AGFI ≥ 0.90, which indicates that the model is fit. All the indicators in the model of this study meet the fitness criteria and fit well, and the standardized path coefficients are shown in Fig. 2.

Fig. 2
figure 2

Mediation model of physical activity, negative physical Self, mental toughness, and social physique anxiety

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The results in Fig. 2 demonstrate that physical activity significantly predicts mental toughness in college students (β = 0.37, p < 0.001), and that mental toughness increases as a result of the increase in the level of physical activity rating; mental toughness significantly predicts the level of social physique anxiety in college students (β = −0.38, p < 0.001), college students' social physique anxiety levels were reduced by increased mental toughness. It is known that the mental toughness has a mediating effect between physical activity and college students' social physique anxiety. Physical activity was a significant predictor of negative physical self among college students (β = −0.79, p < 0.001), and negative physical self decreased as a result of increasing levels of physical activity ratings; Negative physical self significantly predicted the level of social physique anxiety in college students (β = 0.26, p < 0.001), the level of social physique anxiety in college students increased as a result of negative physical self. It is known that negative physical self has a mediating effect between physical activity and college students' social physique anxiety. The results indicated that both negative physical self and mental toughness mediated the effect between physical activity and social physique anxiety. The establishment of hypothesis 2 and 3 were verified.

Moderating effects of mental toughness

According to the standard procedure for testing the moderating effect proposed by Wen Zhonglin et al. [31], After centring the amount of physical activity, social physique anxiety, the family support dimension and the interpersonal assistance dimension of mental toughness in SPSS, hierarchical regression was used to examine the moderating effect of mental toughness (supporting force) between physical activity and social physique anxiety. The regression of the dependent variable on the independent variable and the moderator variable was done in step 1, and the regression of the dependent variable on the independent variable, the moderator variable, and the interaction term between the independent variable and the moderator variable was done in step 2, which indicates a moderating effect of the moderator variable if the interaction term is significant. From the results in Table 5, it can be seen that the amount of change in R2 of the interaction term between physical activity and family support (ΔR2 = 0.005, F = 0.039) in mental toughness (supporting force) reached a significant level, indicating that there is a moderating effect of family support in the relationship between physical activity and college students' social physique anxiety. However, the interaction term of interpersonal assistance with physical activity was not significant (ΔR2 = 0.002, F = 0.218), so interpersonal assistance in mental toughness (supporting force) could not significantly modulate the interrelationship between physical activity and social physique anxiety.

Table 5 Results of the moderating effect test for mental toughness(supporting force)
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Discussion

The relationship between physical activity and social physique anxiety in college students

The results of the study indicate that participation in physical activity positively predicts the level of social physique anxiety in college students, proving the validity of Hypothesis H1. The positive moderating significance of physical activity on social physique anxiety has been validated [33], with the duration, intensity, and frequency of physical activity being key indicators of the effectiveness of social physique anxiety interventions for college student [34, 35]. According to the existing relevant research results, it is speculated that the mechanism of action may be that physical activity can promote the production and release of β-endorphin in the human body, reduce the activities of adrenaline and cortisol, stimulate cognitive thinking and affective cognition, and reduce the level of college students' social physique anxiety [36].

The mediating role of the negative bodily self

The present study further confirmed the mediating role of negative physical self between physical activity and college students' social physique anxiety, physical activity not only directly improves the level of college students' social physique anxiety, but also indirectly improves the level of college students' social physique anxiety by decreasing college students' negative physical self, which validates the establishment of hypothesis H2 and is consistent with the results of the previous study. This suggests that reducing negative physical self is an important way for physical activity to affect college students' social physique anxiety. First, physical activity can help college students develop good behavioral habits and healthy psychology, and reduce the level of negative physical self of college students [6]. Whether it is after a single session of strenuous physical activity or a long-term exercise intervention, it can have a positive effect on college students' negative physical self [37]. Second, college students with low levels of negative physical self tended to be more positive and confident when facing others' evaluation of their own body image, and also tended to be more capable of presenting their own body image to others in certain situations, which in turn lowered their own level of social physique anxiety [38].

The mediating and moderating role of mental toughness

The present study further examined the mediating and moderating role of mental toughness between physical activity and college students' social physique anxiety, and found that physical activity positively predicted college students' mental toughness (individual power) and indirectly affected college students' social physique anxiety level through mental toughness (individual power), mental toughness (individual power) played a partially mediating role, which validates the establishment of hypothesis H2 and is consistent with the results of the previous study. First of all, the function of sports is diversified, and physical activity can not only promote the physical and mental health of college students, but also be an important way to enhance the will quality of college students [39]. Through physical activity, it can regulate the goal orientation of college students [40], improve their cognitive function, and enhance their emotional regulation level, which are all related to the internal formation factors of college students' mental toughness [41]. Secondly, college students often experience anxiety related to physical fitness in public, especially in exercise situations, which can easily lead to the emergence of social physique anxiety [42]. College students who are more mentally resilient have a more resilient will quality and are less likely to be bothered by negative emotions such as anxiety, thus showing lower levels of social physique anxiety [43]. The mediator effect value of negative physical self in this study was stronger than the mediator effect value of mental toughness (individual power), which can be hypothesised based on the social cognitive theory [44], which suggests that the cognitive stability of negative physical self is stronger than that of mental toughness in physical activity scenarios. Mental toughness, as a relatively flexible psychological trait, is only significantly mobilised in physical activity scenarios when an individual encounters a setback or stressor, and it is influenced by a variety of factors such as personality and experience in different individuals.

In addition, this study found that the variable of family support dimension in mental toughness (supporting force) moderated the effect of physical activity on college students' social physique anxiety, thus partially verifying the establishment of hypothesis H4. According to the dynamic model of mental toughness [45], external protective factors from family, school, and peer groups are likewise potential forces that promote individual mental toughness. The higher the level of support from parents and friends, the stronger the mental toughness of college students, and the lower the baseline level of social physique anxiety, so the effect of physical activity on college students' social physique anxiety may be weakened. However, the present study found that the interpersonal assistance dimension did not have a significant moderating effect on physical activity on college students' social physique anxiety, which is not quite consistent with the viewpoints of previous studies. The reason for this may be that with the development of the Internet, the social scope of college students has changed dramatically, with an increase in online virtual social interaction and a decrease in real interpersonal communication ability [46], so the interpersonal assistance dimension did not have a moderating effect between physical activity and college students' social physique anxiety.

Conclusion

Overall, the moderated mediation model proposed in this study provides more insight into the mechanisms of physical activity's effects on college students ‘ social physique anxiety: physical activity affects college students’ levels of social physique anxiety through negative physical self and mental toughness (individual power); the effect of physical activity on social physique anxiety is negatively moderated by the family support dimension of mental toughness (supporting force). Both mediating and moderating effects were found in the relationship between physical activity and social physique anxiety. It is recommended that college students choose appropriate exercise methods such as aerobic exercise, strength training and group exercise, formulate a gradual, persistent and diversified scientific exercise program, pay attention to physical and mental changes during exercise, keep an exercise log and seek professional guidance when necessary, as well as cultivate positive physical imagery, cultivate positive cognition, set up reasonable goals, avoid excessive focus on appearance, and then combine with a reasonable diet, adequate sleep and establishing a healthy social network to reduce negative physical self to improve mental toughness, thus preventing and reducing social physique anxiety more effectively.

Limitations and future prospects

Although this study dissected the mechanism of action by which physical activity affects college students' social physique anxiety, there are shortcomings. The data collected in this study has a large scale, but the survey respondents may have regional variability, and it is still necessary to supplement the research data from more regions in the future in order to observe the possibilities and variability in a larger scope, and then better test the mechanism of physical activity's effect on college students' social physique anxiety.

Data availability

Data is provided within the manuscript or supplementary information files.

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Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank the 1,200 university students from eight colleges and universities in Dalian who agreed to participate in this study.

Funding

The project outcomes of the Ministry of Education's Humanities and Social Sciences Research entitled “Research on the Value-added Evaluation of Physical Education Academic Achievement for Primary and Secondary School Students under the Background of the 'Double Reduction' Policy”.

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  1. College of Physical Education, Liaoning Normal University, Dalian, China

    Yong Jiang & Xiaoyu Wang

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  1. Yong Jiang
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A.Yong Jiang was responsible for data analysis and methodology. Yong Jiang was responsible for the conceptualization, writing, reviewing and editing the draft, and funding acquisition. B. Xiaoyu Wang was responsible for the data analysis and writing of the original draft preparation. Xiaoyu Wang was responsible for the conceptualization, writing, reviewing and editing the draft.

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Correspondence to Yong Jiang.

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The design of this study followed the guidelines and regulations of the Declaration of Helsinki and approved by Ethics Committee of Liaoning Normal University (LL2024073), and all participants signed an informed consent form and were paid for their participation.

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The authors declare no competing interests.

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Jiang, Y., Wang, X. The effects of physical activity on social physique anxiety in college students—the mediating and moderating role of mental toughness and negative physical self. BMC Psychol 13, 54 (2025). https://doiorg.publicaciones.saludcastillayleon.es/10.1186/s40359-025-02377-w

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BMC Psychology

ISSN: 2050-7283

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