Differential Impact Pathways of Sports Types on College Students' Mental Health

This study employs qualitative research methods to systematically explore the mechanisms through which three types of sports—team competitive, individual competitive, and performance-aesthetic—affect college students' mental health. Based on positive psychology theory, social cognitive theory, and the dynamic model of psychological resilience, a dual-mediation theoretical model was constructed: "sports type → self-efficacy/psychological resilience → mental health." The findings indicate: (1) team competitive sports exert benefits via social support pathways ("Team cooperation → Belongingness → Psychological resilience") and role identity pathways ("Positional specialization → Role responsibility → self-efficacy"); (2) individual competitive sports function through skill refinement pathways ("Technical mastery → Competence confidence → self-efficacy") and independent coping pathways ("Independent coping → Emotion regulation → Psychological resilience"); (3) performance-aesthetic sports impact through body awareness pathways ("Movement precision → Body control → self-efficacy") and rhythm regulation pathways ("Rhythmic synchronization → Emotion regulation → Psychological resilience"). This study offers a systematic theoretical framework and practical guidance for implementing precision sports psychological interventions in higher education institutions.