Linking Exercise Adherence to Meaning in Life Through Resilience and Cognitive Reappraisal: A Sequential Mediation Model Among Chinese University Students

Background: The meaning in life among Chinese university students is a growing concern. Therefore, the current study aims to investigate the structural associations between exercise adherence, resilience, cognitive reappraisal, and meaning in life in this population. Methods: This study adopted a structural equation model (SEM) method and included 818 university students recruited from two universities in Shandong Province, China. Results: The findings indicated that exercise adherence not only directly and positively influences meaning in life but also indirectly improves it through the mediation of resilience, as well as the sequential mediation of both resilience and cognitive reappraisal. Furthermore, the multiple-group analysis revealed a series of gender discrepancies, indicating that exercise adherence and cognitive reappraisal exert a significantly stronger impact on meaning in life for females, whereas resilience has a significantly stronger effect on meaning in life for males. Conclusions: This study concluded that exercise adherence is an effective way to improve resilience, which in turn improves cognitive reappraisal, ultimately leading to increased meaning in life among Chinese university students.