The mechanism of physical exercise and adolescent short-form video app addiction: the chain mediating role of autonomous motivation and mental health literacy
Wu C, Wang X, Zhang Y, Ma C, Deng Y
BMC public health · 2 citations
How it was studied
- Design
- Cross-sectional study (indexed by PubMed)
- Studied in
- People
- Main outcome
- Health markers and function
Who paid for it
- Funding
- Independent funding
- Government
- National Key Research and Development Program of China
- Grants
- National Key Research and Development Program of China (31130005442101)
Based on 1 listed funder(s) and full-text disclosure statement.
Publication
- Published
- 2026-01-17 · BMC Public Health · vol. 26 · issue 1 · p. 569
- Publisher
- BioMed Central
- Cited
- 4 citations · more than 100% of similar papers · 55.6× the field average
- Impact
- Top 10% most cited in its field
- References
- 75 works
- Access
- Open access (journal) · CC-BY-NC-ND
- Research areas
- Impact of Technology on Adolescents · Eating Disorders and Behaviors · Media Influence and Health
- Keywords
- physical activity, autonomous motivation, mental health literacy, adolescents, digital media use, intrinsic motivation, mediating effect, adolescent health promotion
- MeSH
- humans, exercise, cross-sectional studies, behavior, addictive, motivation, mental health, adolescent, female, male, health literacy, mobile applications, surveys and questionnaires
5 authors
From CN
- Chengyi WuShandong University
- Xianliang Wang · correspondingShandong University
- Ying ZhangShandong University
- Chao MaShandong University
- Yiran DengShandong University
Abstract
Background
In the digital era, excessive use of short-form video applications (Apps) can exert numerous negative effects on the physical and mental health of adolescents. Physical exercise not only benefits physical health but also enhances intrinsic motivation levels and psychological regulation abilities. Therefore, this study aims to explore the association between Physical Exercise and Short-form Video App Addiction, as well as the mediating roles of Autonomous Motivation and Mental Health Literacy in the relationship between physical exercise and short-form video app addiction.
Methods
This study employed a combination of convenience sampling and stratified sampling to conduct a cross-sectional survey among 644 junior and senior high school students. The cross-sectional nature of the data limits causal inference. Measurements included the Physical Activity Rating Scale, Autonomous Motivation Scale, Mental Health Literacy Scale, and Short-form Video App Addiction Scale. Data analysis was performed using AMOS 24, SPSS 27.0, and PROCESS 4.1 for reliability and validity assessment, descriptive statistics, correlation analysis, and mediation analysis.
Results
(1) Physical exercise showed a statistically significant negative correlation with adolescent short-form video app addiction; (2) Both autonomous motivation and mental health literacy independently mediated the relationship between physical exercise and adolescent short-form video App addiction; (3) Autonomous motivation and mental health literacy played a chain mediating role between physical exercise and adolescent short-form video App addiction.
Conclusion
Physical exercise is negatively associated with adolescent short-form video app addiction, while also positively associated with autonomous motivation and mental health literacy. High levels of autonomous motivation and mental health literacy are associated with lower levels of short-form video app addiction. Based on these association patterns, we suggest that schools and families, in holistic practices promoting adolescent health development, should emphasize the integration of physical exercise, autonomous motivation development, and mental health literacy enhancement. This comprehensive health promotion approach may provide a reference for future research exploring how to promote healthy digital media use habits among adolescents. It should be noted that the directionality of the aforementioned associations and their potential intervention effects still require further validation through longitudinal tracking or experimental studies.
Abstract via Europe PMC. Copyright remains with the authors or publisher (CC BY-NC-ND).
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