Factors Affecting the Development of Physical Fitness among University Students in Shanxi Province
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Abstract
The objectives of this study were to: (1) explore factors influencing physical exercise among higher-education students; (2) analyze which factors have direct or indirect effects on the development of physical fitness among higher-education students; and (3) provide a basis for developing policies to promote physical fitness among higher-education students. The study examined the relationships between (a) exercise intensity and frequency, (b) the organization of sports activities in higher-education institutions, (c) sports resources and the sports environment in higher-education institutions, (d) social support and social interaction, and (e) sport-related cognition and motivation, and their effects on the development of physical fitness among higher-education students in Shanxi Province. A causal model developed from empirical data was tested for model fit, and the direct and indirect effects of the causal variables were examined. The population comprised approximately 150,000 students from five universities in Shanxi Province (including Shanxi University). Data were collected using a questionnaire. Simple random sampling and stratified sampling were used to select 538 participants. Data were analyzed using SPSS 27 and AMOS 26. The questionnaire content validity (IOC) ranged from 0.6 to 1.0, and reliability was 0.976. Path analysis showed that each variable was significantly and positively related to physical fitness development at the 0.01 level. The hypothesized causal model was consistent with the empirical data (χ2/df = 1.19, GFI = 0.844, AGFI = 0.836, RMSEA = 0.019, SRMR = 0.07). The largest total effect on physical fitness development was exercise intensity and frequency (0.254), followed by sports environment and resources in higher-education institutions (0.251), social support and interaction (0.224), exercise motivation and cognition (0.193), and the organization of sports activities in higher-education institutions (0.134). The largest direct effect was social support and interaction (0.224), followed by exercise motivation and cognition (0.193), sports environment and resources (0.169), exercise intensity and frequency (0.155), and the organization of sports activities (0.134). The largest indirect effects were social support and interaction (0.417) and exercise motivation and cognition (0.379).
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