Relationship between the establishment of psychological capital and sustained exercise of college students

Abstract

Psychological capital (PsyCap) the positive and developmental state of an individual as characterized by high self-efficacy, optimism, hope and resiliency. Sustained exercise has positive effects on both physical fitness and mental health. This paper assumes that PsyCap and sustained exercise are affected by different factors, and explores the relationship between the two issues. Two questionnaire surveys were conducted in Nanjing University, China. The results of the first survey were used to determine the status quo of PsyCap establishment among college students. Based on the data of the second survey, the correlation between PsyCap and sustained exercise were examined through correlation analysis and regression analysis. The results show that college students were poor in terms of PsyCap, which is affected by factors like gender, student origin, poverty and academic records; sustained exercise has a significant positive effect on every dimension of the PsyCap among college students; the exercise frequency had the greatest impact on PsyCap, followed by exercise time. The research findings provide new insights on the PsyCap establishment of college students.