Academic Stress, Physical Activity, Sleep, and Mental Health among Chinese Adolescents

Xihe Zhu, Justin A. Haegele, Huarong Liu and Fangliang Yu
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Xihe Zhu: Department of Human Movement Sciences, Old Dominion University, Norfolk, VA 23529, USA
Justin A. Haegele: Department of Human Movement Sciences, Old Dominion University, Norfolk, VA 23529, USA
Huarong Liu: School of Physical Education, China University of Geosciences, Wuhan 430074, China
Fangliang Yu: School of Sport Training, Nanjing Sport Institute, Nanjing 210014, China

IJERPH, 2021, vol. 18, issue 14, 1-9

Abstract: The purpose of this study was to examine the impacts of academic stress on physical activity and sleep, and subsequently their impacts on anxiety and depression. Methods: This cross-sectional study collected data from a convenience sample of 1533 adolescents in an eastern province in China. Surveys were used to collect data on academic stress, anxiety, depression, sleep, physical activity, and demographics. Descriptive statistics, correlation analysis, and path analysis were used to analyze data. Results: The participants reported about 6.77 ± 0.89 h of sleep per day and 1.62 ± 1.79 days of 60 min of physical activity each week. Academic stress was positively correlated with anxiety and depression, which were negatively correlated with physical activity and sleep. The path analysis showed that academic stress directly predicted anxiety (? = 0.54) and depression (? = 0.55), and hours of sleep (? = 0.024) and the number of days of 60 min physical activity (? = 0.014) mediated the relation. Conclusion: The results largely supported our hypotheses and supported the need to lessen academic stress experienced by Chinese adolescents, in effort to enhance mental health indices directly, and by allowing for engagement in health-related behaviors such as physical activity and sleep.

Keywords: academic burden; anxiety; depression; mediation; youth; prevalence (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (7)

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