# The mediating role of quality of life in the relationship between teachers’ participation in physical activity and empathic and social self-efficacy

## TL;DR

This study explores how quality of life, particularly job satisfaction, connects teachers' physical activity to their empathic and social self-efficacy.

## Contribution

This is the first study to investigate quality of life as a mediator between teachers' physical activity and self-efficacy.

## Key findings

- Quality of life significantly mediates the relationship between physical activity and empathic self-efficacy.
- Job satisfaction is moderately positively linked to both empathic and social self-efficacy.
- Physical activity's impact on social self-efficacy is mediated through quality of life.

## Abstract

There is no study in the literature examining whether quality of life plays a mediating role in the relationship between teachers’ participation in physical activity and self-efficacy.

The aim of this study is to examine the mediating role of quality of life in the relationship between teachers’ participation in physical activity and their perceived empathic and social self-efficacy.

The participants were between 23 and 40 years old, with a mean age of 29.3 ± 7.79 years. As data collection instruments, the International Physical Activity Questionnaire-Short Form adapted into Turkish by Öztürk (2005), the Quality of Life of Employees Scale developed by Stamm (2005) and adapted into Turkish by Yeşil, Ergün, Amasyalı, Er, Olgun, and Aker (2010), and the Perceived Empathic and Social Self-Efficacy Scale developed by Di Giunta et al. (2010) and adapted into Turkish by Akın and Başören (2015) were used. Construct validity of the scales was tested using confirmatory factor analysis, and the analyses were conducted via SPSS, AMOS, and the PROCESS Macro plugin.

The results revealed moderate positive relationships between job satisfaction and both empathic and social self-efficacy.

Mediation findings indicated that quality of life (job satisfaction) played a significant mediating role in the relationship between physical activity and empathic self-efficacy, as well as in the relationship between physical activity and social self-efficacy.