Group heterogeneity in the relationship of college students’ physical fitness levels on mental toughness and emotion regulation

Previous research has shown that physical activity can be effective in alleviating mental health problems in adolescents. However, there has been relatively little research on which types of physical exercise have the most significant impact on the mental health of teenagers. Therefore, the present study explores the group heterogeneity of the relationship of each ability in the physical fitness level of college students and their own mental-emotional regulation ability by analyzing the cluster analysis of mental toughness and emotional regulation of college students. Taking first-year students from Shandong Province of China as an example, the questionnaires were distributed through a method of group random sampling. The physical health performance data obtained through the “National Student Physical Fitness Standard” of China were used as the measurement criteria for the physical health level of college students. Meanwhile, relevant mature scales were selected to measure the self-efficacy of psychological and emotional regulation among college students. (1) The psychological resilience and emotional regulation levels of college students are classified into three categories: Emotionally Volatile, Exceptional Emotional Regulators, and Steady Emotional Balancers based on their psychological emotional regulation capabilities. (2) Since the chi-square test result p < 0.05, there are significant differences in the lung capacity and sit-to-stand flexibility scores of college students among the three categories of psychological emotional regulation capabilities. It is recommended to provide intervention and support as early as possible. According to the different psychological emotional types of students, targeted and personalized types of physical activities should be set up to further promote the development of their psychological regulation abilities.