PE-class-referenced body surveillance scores and physical activity enjoyment: a four-wave random-intercept cross-lagged panel study of female university students

Background: Objectification theory suggests that monitoring one’s body from an observer’s perspective may undermine rewarding movement experiences. This study examined between-person and within-person prospective associations between a physical education (PE)-class-referenced body-surveillance score (EBS) and physical activity enjoyment (PAE) among first-year female university students. Methods: Participants were 1,038 students from five universities in Liaoning Province, China. Four paper-and-pencil assessments were administered exactly three weeks apart, immediately after sampled PE classes. EBS was obtained by contextualizing the Surveillance subscale of the Objectified Body Consciousness Scale to the class that had just ended. Analyses included confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), longitudinal measurement invariance testing, intraclass correlations, and random-intercept cross-lagged panel models (RI-CLPMs). Results: Wave-specific correlated two-factor CFA models fit well and substantially outperformed common one-factor alternatives; standardized loadings ranged from 0.572 to 0.858, and absolute heterotrait–monotrait ratios ranged from 0.088 to 0.186. A two-level two-factor CFA also fit well (comparative fit index = 0.993, Tucker–Lewis index = 0.992, root mean square error of approximation = 0.015). Scalar longitudinal invariance was supported. The wave-adjusted EBS intraclass correlation was 0.353, indicating 64.7% within-person variance. The equal-lag RI-CLPM fit well, and equality constraints did not worsen fit, TRd(8) = 6.174, p = .628. The random intercepts were negatively correlated, r = −.243, p < .001. The average within-person EBS-to-PAE path was small and negative, b = −0.053, 95% confidence interval [−0.084, −0.022], p = .001 (β = −0.095 to −0.090), whereas the reverse path was nonsignificant (β = 0.013–0.015, ps ≥ 0.614). Conclusions: The contextualized scores showed distinguishable internal structures, longitudinal comparability, and occasion-related variability. Higher-than-usual body surveillance was associated with modestly lower-than-usual enjoyment at the next sampled assessment. The finding is specific to the selected three-week lag. Class and instructor identifiers and time-varying course factors were unavailable, so causal and classroom-level interpretations are not warranted.