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ORIGINAL ARTICLE
The roles of exercise tolerance and resilience in the
effect of physical activity on emotional states among
college students
Zhihao Zhang
a
, Ting Wang
a
, Jin Kuang
a
, Fabian Herold
b
, Sebastian Ludyga
c
, Jingming Li
a
,
Daniel L Hall
d
, Alyx Taylor
e
, Sean Healy
f
, Albert S Yeung
g
, Arthur F. Kramer
g,h
, Liye Zou
a,
*
a
Body-Brain-Mind Laboratory, School of Psychology, Shenzhen University, 518060, China
b
Research Group Degenerative and Chronic Diseases, Movement, Faculty of Health Sciences Brandenburg, University of Potsdam,
Potsdam 14476, Germany
c
Department of Sport, Exercise and Health, University of Basel, Grosse Allee 6, Basel 4052, Switzerland
d
Mongan Institute, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, USA
e
School of Rehabilitation, Sport and Psychology, AECC University College, United Kingdom
f
School of Nursing, Psychotherapy, and Community Health, Dublin City University, Ireland
g
Center for Cognitive & Brain Health, Northeastern University, Boston, USA
h
Beckman Institute, University of Illinois, Illinois, USA
Received 16 March 2022; accepted 24 March 2022
Available online xxx
Abstract
Background/objective: Negative emotional states, such as depression, anxiety, and stress chal-
lenge health care due to their long-term consequences for mental disorders. Accumulating evi-
dence indicates that regular physical activity (PA) can positively influence negative emotional
states. Among possible candidates, resilience and exercise tolerance in particular have the
potential to partly explain the positive effects of PA on negative emotional states. Thus, the aim
of this study was to investigate the association between PA and negative emotional states, and
further determine the mediating effects of exercise tolerance and resilience in such a relation-
ship. Method: In total, 1117 Chinese college students (50.4% female, M
age
=18.90, SD=1.25) com-
pleted a psychosocial battery, including the 21-item Depression Anxiety Stress Scale (DASS-21),
the Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale (CD-RISC), the Preference for and Tolerance of the Inten-
sity of Exercise Questionnaire (PRETIE-Q), and the International Physical Activity Questionnaire
short form (IPAQ-SF). Regression analysis was used to identify the serial multiple mediation, con-
trolling for gender, age and BMI. Results: PA, exercise intensity-tolerance, and resilience were
significantly negatively correlated with negative emotional states (Ps<.05). Further, exercise
tolerance and resilience partially mediated the relationship between PA and negative emotional
states. Conclusions: Resilience and exercise intensity-tolerance can be achieved through
KEYWORDS
Exercise tolerance;
Resilience;
Physical activity;
Emotion;
Depression
* Corresponding author.
E-mail address: liyezou123@gmail.com (L. Zou).
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijchp.2022.100312
1697-2600/© 2022 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license
(http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).
International Journal of Clinical and Health Psychology 22 (2022) 100312
International Journal
of Clinical and Health Psychology
www.elsevier.es/ijchp
regularly engaging in PA, and these newly observed variables play critical roles in prevention of
mental illnesses, especially college students who face various challenges. Recommended amount
of PA should be incorporated into curriculum or sport clubs within a campus environment.
© 2022 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY-
NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).
Introduction
College students undergo a critical developmental transition
from adolescence to adulthood. Although these emerging
adults strive to achieve high levels of intellect, ambition,
and self-esteem (Pedrelli et al., 2015), they still have to
face typical challenges for this developmental stage, such as
finding an accommodation, engaging in relationships, coping
with competitive and academic difficulties, financial stress,
and struggling to make important decisions (Parker et al.,
2004). Consequently, a considerable number of college stu-
dents develop stress-related mental disorders (e.g., depres-
sion and anxiety), which limit their daily activities and
academic performance (Fam, 2018;Sobocki et al., 2006).
Specifically, stress, anxiety, and depression are typically eli-
cited in individuals (including college students) when faced
with an unpredictable or challenging situation or event
(Ketata et al., 2021). Additionally, individuals have reported
feeling emotionally worse during the COVID-19 pandemic as
compared to how they felt pre-pandemic (Chi et al., 2020;
Chi et al., 2022;Chi, Liang, et al., 2021;Hossain et al.,
2020). For instance, during the COVID-19 pandemic the prev-
alence of stress, anxiety, and depression in the global gen-
eral population reached 29.6%, 31.9%, and 33.7%,
respectively (Salari et al., 2020). Furthermore, college stu-
dents in emerging adulthood are more likely to present
these emotional states because they have difficulty adjust-
ing during this developmental transition period (Arnett &
Tanner, 2006); this may be exacerbated during the COVID-19
pandemic (Wang et al., 2020). A recent meta-analysis inves-
tigating the psychological effects of COVID-19 suggests a rel-
atively high prevalence of stress (23%), anxiety (29%),
depression (37%) among college students (Wang et al.,
2021). Thus, searching for protective factors in this particu-
lar cohort of emerging adults is urgently needed, which
allows for a timely implementation of interventions to effec-
tively alleviate negative emotions as the current strategies
and vaccines cannot fully protect against the globally con-
tinuous COVID-19 pandemic.
One of the most frequently studied protective factors
against stress, anxiety, and depression is physical activity
(PA) (Anderson & Shivakumar, 2013;Chi, Liang, et al., 2021;
Moljord et al., 2014). PA is defined as a type of bodily move-
ment that consumes energy from skeletal muscles and
(US Department of Health & Human Services, 1996) has ben-
eficial psychological effects (Miles, 2007). Specifically, the
positive links of PA with stress, anxiety, and depression have
been well documented across different age groups and indi-
viduals with or without chronic illnesses (Dinas et al., 2011;
Kandola et al., 2019;Rethorst et al., 2009;ter Riet et al.,
2012). Such psychological benefits from regular engagement
in PA can be attributed to changes occurring at different lev-
els of analysis: (i) molecular level; (ii) brain structure and
function; and, (iii) psycho-social factors (Stillman et al.,
2020). From a molecular perspective, brain-derived neuro-
trophic factor (BDNF) which is the most abundant neurotro-
phic factor in the brain, has been shown to be associated
with PA level (Huang et al., 2014). There is evidence to sug-
gest that decreased BDNF levels, especially in the hippocam-
pus, are correlated with stress-induced depression and
anxiety (Altar, 1999;Duman & Monteggia, 2006). In terms of
brain structure and function, the exercise-induced changes
in the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis are
observed to play a critical role in the manifestations of
depression and anxiety symptoms (Anderson & Shivaku-
mar, 2013). With respect to psychological factors, research-
ers have recently paid great attention to resilience and have
proposed that PA reduces negative emotion through
improved resilience (Moljord et al., 2014).
While there are many different definitions for psychologi-
cal resilience (Sisto et al., 2019), the fundamental concept
is the ability to maintain or regain mental health despite
adverse conditions (Afek et al., 2021). Resilience especially
comes into play in dealing with and tolerating challenging or
troublesome situations, such as stress, anxiety, and depres-
sion. Empirical studies have documented that resilience is
negatively correlated with the aforementioned emotional
states, and it can maintain or even improve the mental
health of college students (Hartley, 2011). Therefore,
exploring how to build resilience may help individuals suffer-
ing from negative emotional states, such as depression and
anxiety. In addition, cardiorespiratory fitness, whether
achieved through regular PA and/or structured physical
exercise program, can promote resilience (Li et al., 2020).
In this context, the following pathways might mediate the
positive effect of PA and/or physical fitness on resilience-
related parameters: (i) stress-buffering effects on negative
emotions, (ii) elevating neurophysiological adaptations to
external stressors, (iii) enhancing an anti-inflammatory
state, and (iv) increasing neuroplasticity and growth factor
expression (Silverman & Deuster, 2014). Specifically,
researchers have hypothesized that PA, especially physical
exercise as structured, planned, and repetitive form of PA,
serves as an sporadic stressor on the physical body that can
maximize adaptation to other types of stressors (e.g., psy-
chological stressors) (Budde et al., 2016;Caspersen et al.,
1985). In terms of the biological profile, physiological tough-
ening refers to an initially elevated catecholamine response,
followed by a quick recovery and decreased HPA axis
responses (similar to the mechanism of PA in improving
depression and anxiety). Such physiological changes were
observed to associate with enhanced performance during
challenging/stressful situations, increased tolerance to
stressors (e.g., improved resilience), and increased emo-
tional stability (e.g., reduced anxiety and depression). Col-
lectively, PA may help individuals neurophysiological adapt
to external stressors and ultimately reduce stress-induced
anxiety and depression (Sothmann et al., 1996). Taken
2
Z. Zhang, T. Wang, J. Kuang et al.
together, relatively high levels of regular PA are positively
associated with mental health among adolescents
(Chi, Liang, et al., 2021). Therefore, resilience, among
other factors, may be presumably an important mediator
between PA and negative emotional states especially in indi-
viduals being at risk of developing mental disorders (Hegberg
& Tone, 2015).
To better understand the association between PA and
negative emotional states, researchers incorporated “affec-
tive responses to exercise”into current theoretical models
of exercise behavior (Ekkekakis et al., 2005b,2008;Stych &
Parfitt, 2011). Exercise tolerance is defined as an ability to
continuously perform exercise plans despite exercise inten-
sity beyond the physiological threshold even when the activ-
ity is experienced as unpleasant/uncomfortable
(Ekkekakis et al., 2005a). According to a previous study,
exercise tolerance is positively associated with vigorous lei-
sure-time PA (Teixeira et al., 2021). Furthermore, there is
some overlap in the definition of exercise tolerance and psy-
chological resilience. Both of them involve persistence and
adaptation in difficult situations, but exercise tolerance is
related to high exercise intensity and psychological resil-
ience is related to real dilemmas. Despite the lack of
research on exercise tolerance and resilience, a few studies
have revealed a potential association between these two
factors. As Ekkekakis et al. (2007) found in a response to a
circuit training, the exercise-induced hypoalgesia (resulting
in tolerance to high exercise intensity) was achieved through
changes in pain tolerance levels, which seems to be compa-
rable to the mechanism of PA to improve resilience.
The current evidence provides some indications that PA,
exercise tolerance, resilience and negative emotional states
are related in a way; that increased exercise can lead to
higher levels of exercise tolerance and resilience thereby
reducing negative emotional states. Therefore, the present
study aimed to investigate the serial multiple mediating
effects of exercise tolerance and resilience between PA level
and negative emotional states in a cohort of Chinese college
students. In this study we hypothesized that PA improves
individuals'ability to persist and adapt themselves in uncom-
fortable activity situations, which can be transferred to
troublesome situations in daily life (i.e., psychological resil-
ience). In other words, PA can improve psychological resil-
ience, with exercise tolerance as a mediating factor.
Further, we want to investigate whether the effects of PA
level on depression and anxiety were mediated by the psy-
chological factors operationalized via exercise tolerance
and resilience. Specifically, we hypothesized that: (1) PA
level would be negatively correlated with stress, anxiety,
and depressive symptoms, and (2) exercise tolerance and
psychological resilience mediate the association between PA
level and negative emotional states.
Methods
Participants
A snowball sampling (Goodman, 1961) was used to reach the
targeted population of college students aged between 18
and 25. In particular, researchers contacted their collabora-
tors who were faculty members from different universities
across China and informed them about this study and asked
for their help with data collection. Those faculty members
had distributed the pre-designed QR code to their students
and asked them to voluntarily participate in this study. Of
note, all participants were informed about the aim of this
study and required to complete an e-signature for their
informed consent prior to starting the questions about their
demographic data and other subsequent procedures. A total
of 1245 Chinese college students volunteered to attend this
study, but valid responses were obtained from 1117 partici-
pants (563 women, 554 men, M= 18.90, SD = 1.25) after
removing those participants who responded with an unac-
ceptable short duration (researchers had several tests and
were informed about how long the survey should last) and
did not pass the lie detector quiz. This study protocol (PN-
2020-041) was approved by the ethical committee of Shenz-
hen University before data collection. Of note, the present
study was a part of a project entitled “Validation Study on
PRETIE-Q and its associations with physical and psychological
mental health”.
Measures
The 21-item Chinese version of Depression Anxiety Stress
Scale (DASS-21) was used to assess the magnitude of three
negative emotional states: depression, anxiety, and stress
(Lovibond & Lovibond, 1996;Taouk et al., 2001). It includes
21 items, with each rated on a 4-point scale (03). Scores
for three separate subdomains and total scores for this ques-
tionnaire were calculated, with higher scores reflecting
greater level of negative emotional states. Cronbach’s alpha
of this questionnaire in the present study was 0.94.
The Chinese version of Connor-Davidson resilience scale
(CD-RISC) was used to measure resilience over the past one
month (Connor & Davidson, 2003;Yu & Zhang, 2007). This
questionnaire consists of 25 items, with each response on a
5-point scale: Zero (not true at all) to four (true nearly all of
the time). Cronbach’s alpha of the CD-RISC in the present
study was 0.94.
Exercise intensity-tolerance and preference were mea-
sured using a Chinese version (under review) of the Prefer-
ence for and Tolerance of the Intensity of Exercise
Questionnaire (PRETIE-Q; Ekkekalis et al., 2005), which is a
8-item self-administered instrument in the present study.
Each item was rated on a 5-point Likert scale ranging from 1
(I totally disagree) to 5 (I totally agree). Scores for two dif-
ferent domains (tolerance and preference) were separately
computed: 1) with higher scores indicating greater tolerance
for exercise intensity; 2) with higher scores indicating
greater preference for low exercise intensity. Cronbach’sa
of the PRETIE in the present study was 0.85 (preference) and
0.72 (tolerance). Of note, only exercise intensity-tolerance
was used for data analysis in the present study.
PA level was measured using the Chinese version (Qu &
Li, 2004) of the short form of the International PA Question-
naire (IPAQ-SF; Craig et al., 2003). The IPAQ-SF includes 7
items assessing four different movement behaviors over the
past week: vigorous-intensity activity, moderate-intensity
activity, light-intensity walking, and sitting behavior. Total
PA level (reflected by metabolic equivalent, MET) was calcu-
lated by summing time spent in walking and in moderate-to-
vigorous PA, in accordance with the scoring protocol.
3
International Journal of Clinical and Health Psychology 22 (2022) 100312
Macfarlane et al. (2007) reported that the Chinese version of
IPAQ-SF has the test-retest reliability coefficients of 0.93 for
mild, 0.85 for moderate, and 0.75 for vigorous exercise.
Maximal oxygen uptake (VO
2max
) was measured as an indi-
cator of cardiorespiratory fitness using a bicycle ergometer
(Ergoselect 200 K). After a two-minute warm-up phase, par-
ticipants were instructed to maintain stable pedal rotations
(ranging from 55 to 60 per minute) regardless of a gradual
elevation of 20 W per minute (i.e., starting workload: 0 W,
incremental workload: 20 W, additional charge: 1 min by
20 W, cadence: 5560 rpm). The test was terminated when
the rotation rate was lower than 50 r/min, the heart rate
greater than 180 beats/min, respiratory quotient (RQ) >
1.10, or a plateau of the predicted VO
2max
.
Statistical analysis
Data were analyzed with SPSS 21.0 and PROCESS
(Hayes, 2017). Specifically, a widely used macro program for
SPSS to analyze mediation and moderation models. First,
descriptive analysis, including the calculation of means and
standard deviation (SD), were conducted (see Table 1). In
the second step, Pearson correlations between each two
dependent variables (PA level, resilience, exercise intensity-
tolerance, and negative emotional states) were determined
and categorized as follows: 0 to 0.19: no correlation; 0.2 to
0.39: low correlation, 0.40 to 0.59: moderate correlation;
0.60 to 0.79: moderately high correlation; 0.80: high cor-
relation (Zhu, 2012,2016). Of note, significant correlations
were further investigated while controlling for several co-
variables including sex, age and BMI. In the third step, the
mediation analyses were performed using model 6 of the
PROCESS macro, to better understand whether and how the
negative association between PA level and negative emo-
tional states were mediated by exercise tolerance and resil-
ience. Specifically, the regression analysis was used to
identify the serial multiple mediation standardized effects
of resilience and tolerance between PA level and DASS total
score. As the VO2max was collected in Study 2, but with a
relatively small number of participants on this variable, only
bivariate correlation analysis was conducted. In accordance
with the literature, the mediation effects are considered as
significant when the 95% bias-corrected bootstrap confi-
dence intervals do not include zero (Hayes, 2009;Hayes &
Rockwood, 2017). A p-value of 0.05 was considered statisti-
cally significant when a two-tailed test was used.
Results
Participant characteristics
Results of descriptive statistics and gender variance analyses
for all main study variables are presented in Table 1. The
final sample comprised 1117 participants. A significant gen-
der difference on body mass index (BMI, calculated by divid-
ing weight [kg] by height [m
2
]) was observed. Additionally,
male participants demonstrated significantly higher age,
greater resilience and exercise intensity-tolerance as com-
pared with female counterparts, yet with a non-significant
difference on PA level.
Correlations of all tested variables
The magnitude of correlations between each two variables
ranged from no correlation to moderate level (r= -0.03 to
0.53). IPAQ-SF, CD-RISC and PRETIE are significantly posi-
tively related to each other, whereas these variables are sig-
nificantly negatively related to DASS. As shown in Table 2,
exercise tolerance is not significantly related to negative
emotional states.
Multiple mediation model
As shown in Table 3 and Fig. 1, results indicated that the
95% CI for the total, direct and indirect effects did not
include zero. After controlling for the covariates (gender,
age and BMI), results indicated that the total and direct
effect of PA level on negative emotional states were statisti-
cally significant. Examination of indirect effects showed
that exercise tolerance and resilience reached statistical
significance as mediators of the PA-DASS relationship. There
were three indirect effects statistically significant based on
the regression analysis: PA !exercise
tolerance !resilience !negative emotional states;
PA !exercise tolerance !negative emotional states; and
PA !resilience !negative emotional states.
CRF (cardiorespiratory fitness)-related associations
In the present study, CRF is significantly associated with
exercise intensity-tolerance, with a positive direction
(r = 0.499, p <.01), while resilience is significantly associ-
ated with negative emotional states (r = -0.335, p<.05)
Table 1 Gender difference on sociodemographic and anthropometric.
Variables Total (1117) Male (554) Female (563)
M§SD M §SD M §SD T p
Age(years) 18.90 §1.25 19.03 §1.26 18.78 §1.217 3.43** 0.001
BMI (kg/m
2)
20.94 §3.05 21.76 §3.33 20.12 §2.50 9.30** 0.000
PA level (MET) 2590.51 §1192.41 2593.53 §1190.24 2587.53 §1195.59 0.08 0.933
Exercise Tolerance 12.82 §2.70 13.25 §2.73 12.40 §2.60 4.79** 0.000
Resilience 87.83 §14.3 89.88 §15.05 85.82 §13.25 5.33** 0.000
DASS (total score) 35.07§10.60 35.93 §11.20 34.22 §9.91 2.70*0.007
Note. MET = metabolic equipment, DASS = Depression Anxiety Stress Scale, PA = physical activity,
*
p<.01.
**
p<.001.
4
Z. Zhang, T. Wang, J. Kuang et al.
Discussion
This study aimed to gain a better understanding regarding
the possible associations between PA level and emotional
states, and the potential role of exercise tolerance and resil-
ience as mediators of such a relationship. Firstly, our findings
reveal a significant and negative association between PA
level and emotional states. This finding is consistent with
previous studies and supported the positive effect of a rela-
tively high PA level on emotional states (Anderson & Shivaku-
mar, 2013;Dinas et al., 2011;Kruk et al., 2019;
Teixeira et al., 2013). More importantly, the promising
results of the present study helped to explain how PA results
in reductions of negative emotional states (stress, anxiety,
and depression), mainly due to the serial mediation effects
of exercise tolerance and resilience. These results are dis-
cussed below.
The psychological mechanisms of PA-induced effects on
negative emotions have been examined in recent decades.
Of note, results of the present study showed that associa-
tions of resilience with PA and negative emotional states
(stress, anxiety, and depression). Specifically, resilience was
positively associated with PA level and negatively with
stress-related negative emotions, although the correlation
coefficient for the former is relatively low. Rutter (1985)
suggested that psychological resilience protects individuals
against challenging situations primarily through four poten-
tial pathways: (a) decreasing risk impact; (b) minimizing
negative chain reactions; (c) building up psychological abili-
ties like stronger self-esteem and self-efficacy; and (d) cre-
ating opportunities for adaptive responses. There are some
studies available that explored the association between
resilience and these two variables (PA level and negative
emotional states) and have obtained similar results to the
present study (Moljord et al., 2014;Stych & Parfitt, 2011).
Simultaneously, some studies addressed that exercise acti-
vates physical responses in order to enhance resilience,
which could indirectly reduce the negative impact of stress
on negative emotions through its mediating effect (Anyan &
Hjemdal, 2016;Ma et al., 2019). In other words, resilience
represents a dynamic process. While being physically active,
the individual exerts a top-down regulation, so as to achieve
the internal balance (internal steady state), which, in turn,
attenuates the negative emotions caused by the
Table 2 Correlations of all tested variables.
Variables PA level Exercise Tolerance Resilience DASS (Total score)
PA level (MET)
Exercise Tolerance 0.099**
Resilience 0.098** 0.247**
DASS (total score) -0.087** -0.005 -0.304**
Note. DASS: Depression Anxiety Stress Scale, PA = physical activity.
**
p<.01.
Table 3 Mediation modeling results.
Path Standardized Effect SE LLCI ULCI
Total effect -0.087057 0.000265 -0.003528 -0.000255
Direct effect -0.061435 0.000253 -0.001043 -0.000050
Total indirect effects -0.025622 0.000097 -0.000422 -0.000046
Indirect 1 0.006714 0.000060 0.000032 0.000128
Indirect 2 -0.024934 0.000092 -0.000406 -0.000048
Indirect 3 -0.007402 0.000025 -0.0001214 -0.000024
Note. SE, standard error; LLCI and ULCI, lower level and upper level of the bias-corrected 95% bootstrap confidence interval; Indirect 1, PA
level !exercise tolerance !DASS; Indirect 2, PA level !resilience !DASS; Indirect 3, PA level !exercise
tolerance !resilience !DASS.
Table 4 Associations of VO2max with resilience, intensity-tolerance, and emotional states.
VO
2max
Exercise tolerance Resilience DASS
VO
2max
Exercise tolerance 0.499**
Resilience 0.177 0.239
DASS -0.091 -0.226 -0.335*
Note.
*
p<.05.
**
p<.01, DASS=Depression Anxiety Stress Scale, VO
2max =
maximal oxygen uptake.
5
International Journal of Clinical and Health Psychology 22 (2022) 100312
physiological reaction originating by being physical active
(Belcher et al., 2021). Therefore, resilience is likely to play
an important role in exercise to relieve negative emotions.
The current study also found that the exercise tolerance
related to resilience was another significant mediator of the
association between PA level and emotional states, extend-
ing previous findings about this relationship. Resilience did
not independently mediate the association between PA level
and emotional states, which indicated that exercise toler-
ance may play a more important role in the link between
regular PA and emotional states. Specifically, college stu-
dents with a higher PA level also show a higher level of exer-
cise tolerance, which, in turn, led to less stress, anxiety,
and depression. However, previous studies on exercise toler-
ance have mainly focused on patient populations in order to
explore ways to improve exercise tolerance. For example,
Burtscher et al. (2010) found that the beneficial effects of
interval hypoxia training on exercise tolerance seem to be
greater in patients with coronary artery disease or chronic
obstructive pulmonary disease when compared to healthy
participants, as higher exercise tolerance is associated with
lower mortality. Similarly, another study provided evidence
that spinal anesthesia enhances exercise tolerance in
patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
(Gagnon et al., 2012). Although there is no study focusing on
the relationship between exercise tolerance and emotional
states, and it has been suggested that regular exercise can
improve exercise tolerance (Ferguson et al., 2007). In this
context, this is a new idea that increasing PA levels, which
increases exercise tolerance and ultimately reduces stress,
anxiety and depression.
Lastly, our finding supports our hypothesis that PA exerts
an influence on emotional states among college students is
mediated by exercise tolerance and resilience. In particular,
the path was PA !exercise tolerance !resilience !emo-
tional states. We hold the opinion that usually when per-
forming some high intensity exercise, when the force is
exhausted, individuals need to keep persevering, which is
like facing a setback, and in such a process hones their will,
thereby developing their resilience. Such resilient students
tend to perceive the challenging and unpleasant conditions
as non-permanent, and thus strengthen defenses against
negative emotions about the pandemic, and experience pos-
itive emotions. From a practical perspective, university
administrators should create a physically active environ-
ment by increasing the accessibility of sports facilities and
incorporating exercise sessions (recommended by ACSM)
into a curriculum, which could help students get into the
habit of exercise for improving mental health. The results of
this study provide a new perspective for the prevention of
mental disorders within a campus environment.
Strengths and limitations
To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study investi-
gating the roles of resilience and exercise tolerance in the
associations between PA and negative emotions. Promising
findings from the chain mediation model indicate a novel
psychological mechanism underlying the effects of PA
engagement on stress-related negative emotion. Several
limitations of this study should be admitted. First, as this
study focused on Chinese college students, its findings may
not be applicable to the other age groups with or without
chronic illnesses such as adolescents and those who are
experiencing heavy academic load (particularly in the Chi-
nese educational system) as well as older adults who often
reported loneliness. Second, the mediation model was
examined cross-sectionally, which prevents us from drawing
conclusions on causality. Third, online self-assessments and
snow-ball sampling may have affected the representative-
ness and reliability of the results. Lastly, although this study
clarified the relationship between PA and emotional states
in college students and confirmed the mediating role of
resilience and exercise tolerance, it did not rule out the
existence of other intermediary variables. For example,
Ready et al. (2009) found that PA level can have an indirect
impact on emotional states through sleep quality. Thus,
sleep quality may also have a mediating effect on the associ-
ation of regular PA and emotional states, which needs to be
investigated further. Additionally, we recommend that
future research uses a longitudinal design to test the validity
of our cross-sectional findings. Given the consistent results
of PA and CRF (cardiorespiratory fitness) supported in many
studies, future studies can explore the relationship between
CRF and these variables, including negative emotional
states, resilience and intensity-tolerance.
Conclusion
Given the increasingly serious situation of depression, anxi-
ety and stress among college students, the relationship
between such negative emotional states and PA is receiving
increased attention from scholars and practitioners. To
Figure 1 Conceptual and statistical diagram of the multiple mediation model for the direct and indirect effects of PA on negative
emotions. *p<.05; **p<.01.
6
Z. Zhang, T. Wang, J. Kuang et al.
better understand the relationship between PA and negative
emotional states, a number of psychological factors need to
be taken into account such as exercise tolerance and resil-
ience. The present study suggests that PA can predict nega-
tive emotional states indirectly through exercise tolerance
and resilience. The results of this study encourage college
students to get into the habit of regular PA which provides a
new perspective for the prevention of mental disorders
within a campus environment.
Declaration of Competing Interest
The authors declare that they have no competing interests.
Acknowledgments
This study is supported by Start-up Research Grant of Shenz-
hen University (20200807163056003) and Start-Up Research
Grant (Peacock Plan: 20191105534C)
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