# The influence of exercise identity on college students' perceived social self-efficacy: chain mediating effect test

## TL;DR

This study shows that a strong exercise identity helps college students feel more confident in social situations, both directly and through better emotion regulation and motivation.

## Contribution

The study identifies a chain-mediating pathway involving emotion regulation and motivation linking exercise identity to social self-efficacy.

## Key findings

- Exercise identity directly increases perceived social self-efficacy by 44.3%.
- Motivation alone explains 37.25% of the effect of exercise identity on social self-efficacy.
- The chain mediation path (exercise identity → emotion regulation → motivation → PSSE) accounts for 14.88% of the total effect.

## Abstract

This study aimed to examine the influence of exercise identity on college student's perceived social self-efficacy (PSSE), and to explore the chain-mediating roles of emotion regulation and motivation for physical activity in this relationship.

A total of 1,029 Chinese college students (mean age = 18.9 years, SD = 0.80) completed standardized measures, including the Exercise Identity Scale (EIS), Perceived Social Self-Efficacy Scale (PSSE), Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale (DERS-16), and Motivation for Physical Activity Measure-Revised (MPAM-R). Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, correlation analysis, and mediation analysis (PROCESS Model 6 with 5,000 bootstrap samples), controlling for gender and age.

Exercise identity showed a significant positive direct effect on PSSE (β = 0.443, p < 0.001). Emotion regulation and physical activity motivation each served as independent mediators, and also functioned sequentially in a chain-mediation pathway. Specifically, motivation alone accounted for 37.25% of the total effect, emotion regulation alone for 7.45%, and the sequential path (Exercise Identity → Emotion Regulation → Motivation → PSSE) explained an additional 14.88%. The results collectively supported a significant chain mediation model.

A stronger exercise identity is associated with higher perceived social self-efficacy among college students, both directly and through the mediating roles of emotion regulation and autonomous motivation for physical activity. Emotion regulation facilitates higher-quality motivation, which in turn enhances social confidence, forming a positive psychological pathway from exercise identity to social adaptation. These findings underscore the value of promoting exercise identity and emotion regulation skills to support college student's psychosocial wellbeing and adaptive functioning.