Physical exercise and depression among college students: The chain mediating effect of regulatory emotional self-efficacy and mobile phone addiction

Xiaolong Zhang^1,#, Shan Huang^1,2,#, Jing Chen³, Ziyi Zhang¹, Kexiang Yang^1,4, Weijie Gao¹, Hyun-Chul Jeong^1,*
1 Department of Physical Education, Jeonbuk National University, Jeonju, Republic of Korea
2 Shaanxi Technical College of Finance and Economics, Xianyang, China
3 School of Physical Education with Emergency Management, Xinyang Vocational College of Art, Xinyang, China
4 College of Physical Education, China University of Geosciences (Wuhan), Wuhan, China
* Corresponding Author: Hyun-Chul Jeong. Email: email
# These authors share first co-authorship

Journal of Psychology in Africa https://doi.org/10.32604/jpa.2026.077432

Received 09 December 2025; Accepted 18 May 2026; Published online 01 July 2026

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Abstract

This study explored the relationship between physical exercise (PE) and depression among college students, focusing on the independent and sequential mediating roles of regulatory emotional self-efficacy (RESE) and mobile phone addiction (MPA). A total of 2021 college students (36.86% male; mean age = 19.02 years, SD = 1.38 years) completed self-report questionnaires assessing PE, depression, RESE, and MPA. The mediation analysis indicated a significant negative association between PE and depression. RESE and MPA each presented significant indirect effects in the separate mediation pathways. The sequential indirect pathway through RESE and MPA was also statistically significant. These results suggest that university mental health support may benefit from promoting exercise participation, strengthening students’ confidence in emotion regulation, and fostering healthier mobile phone use behaviours.