The Biomechanical influence of physical exercise on mobile phone addiction in college students: Mediating and moderating roles
Abstract
Objective: To explore the relationship and mechanism between college students’ physical exercise and cell phone addiction through the theory of planning behavior, social cognition theory and compensatory network use theory, with an additional consideration of biomechanical aspects. Methods: A total of 900 college students from 4 schools in Guangdong Province were investigated by physical exercise scale, mobile phone addiction index scale, simple coping style scale and simple self-control scale. Conclusion: (1) Physical exercise was negatively associated with mobile phone addiction. (2) Physical exercise has a negative impact on mobile phone addiction through part of the mediation effect of positive coping styles, physical exercise has no significant impact on mobile phone addiction through negative coping styles. (3) Self-control positively regulates the relationship between physical exercise and mobile phone addiction. In other words, college students with higher self-control have stronger negative effects of physical exercise on mobile phone addiction. From a biomechanical perspective, the physical movements during exercise can have an impact on the body's physiological and psychological states. For example, the mechanical stress on muscles and joints during exercise triggers the release of endorphins, which are known to improve mood and reduce stress. This, in turn, may potentially influence the inclination towards mobile phone use. This paper provides a theoretical reference for improving mobile phone addiction by studying the influence mechanism of physical exercise on computer addiction, with the incorporation of biomechanical insights adding a new dimension to understanding this relationship.
References
1. Babadi-Akashe Z, Zamani BE, Abedini Y, et al. The relationship between mental health and addiction to mobile phones among university students of Shahrekord, Iran. Addict Ion & Health, 2014, 6(3-4): 93-99.
2. Lu RZ, Kong Q, Xue XJ, et al. Analysis of the mobile phone dependence status and influencing factors of college students in Taian city. Mount Taishan Medical College Journal, 2013, 34(4): 255-258.
3. Zhu GF. Intervention study of physical exercise on the tendency of mobile phone addiction among college students. Zhejiang Sports Science, 2017, 39(5): 90-97.
4. Bu YL. Effect of physical exercise on patients with mobile phone dependence among college students. Modern Preventive Medicine, 2014, (7):1242-1244 +1248.
5. Thomas AC, Allen FL, Phillips J, et al. Gaming machine addiction: the role of avoidance, accessibility and social support. Psychology of Addictive Behaviors, 2011, 25(4): 738-744.
6. Li J, Yan GW, Zhang JP. The relationship between mobile phone dependence and loneliness among medical students: the mediating role of coping styles. China Journal of Health Psychology, 2016, 24(12): 1828-1830.
7. Yuan LJ, Tang JL. Study on the correlation between stress competition situation and sports performance in college basketball players. Journal of Wuhan Institute of Physical Education, 2017, 51(2): 69-73.
8. Shen X. Effect of exercise intervention and exercise-cognitive intervention on stress coping and psychological endurance in college students. Journal of Wuhan Institute of Physical Education, 2015, 49(10): 76-82.
9. Chen JJ, Fan XH, Cheng XR, et al. Family function and problem behavior of left-behind children in rural areas: the intermediary role of self-control. Chinese Journal of Clinical Psychology, 2014, 22(2): 319-323.
10. Lin ML, Lin SQ, Lin YL, et al. Study on the influencing factors of mobile phone addiction and self-control. Health Education and Health Promotion, 2024, 19(1): 40-44.
11. Li ZB, Liang Y, Wang TT. Effect of mobile phone dependence, self-control on delaying behavior among college students. Psychological Research, 2017, 10(2): 90-96.
12. Liang DQ. The stress level of college students and its relationship with physical exercise. The Chinese Journal of Mental Health, 1994, (1): 5-6.
13. Leung L. Linking psychological attributes to addiction and improper use of the mobile phone among adolescents in Hong Kong. Journal of Children and Media, 2008, 2(2): 93-113.
14. Xie YN. Preliminary study on the reliability and validity of simple coping measures. Chinese Journal of Clinical Psychology, 1998, (2): 53-54.
15. Luo T, Cheng LM, Qin LX, et al. Credit validity test of the Chinese version of the Simple Self-Control Scale. Chinese Clinical Psychology Magazine, 2021, 29(1): 83-86.
16. Yang G, Li YX, Liu HY, et al. Analysis of the relationship between physical exercise and mobile phone dependence among college students in Guangzhou. Journal of Physical Education, 2020, 27(1): 117-125.
17. Hu GD, Zhang J. Study on the role and mechanism of exercise correction of adolescent Internet addiction from the perspective of human instinct. China Sports Technology, 2016, 52(1): 68-77.
18. Farhad Sanaeifar, Sina Pourranjbar, Mohammad Pourranjbar, Sana Ramezani, Samira Rostami Mehr, Al-Hassan Soliman Wadan, & Farnaz Khazeifard. (2024). Beneficial effects of physical exercise on cognitive-behavioral impairments and brain-derived neurotrophic factor alteration in the limbic system induced by neurodegeneration. Experimental Gerontology, 195, 112539. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.exger.2024.112539
19. Nicholls K, Dean P, Ogden J. Medical, subjective and objective forms of exercise dependence and the role of learning, cognitive and emotional biases. Journal of Health Psychology. 2024;0(0). doi:10.1177/13591053241304561
20. Xu, J., Tang, L. The relationship between physical exercise and problematic internet use in college students: the chain-mediated role of self-control and loneliness. BMC Public Health 24, 1719 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-024-19226-x
21. He, J., Zhuo, X., & Ai, Z. (2024). Effects of physical exercise on adolescent short video addiction: A moderated mediation model. Heliyon, 10(8), e29466. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e29466
22. Boat R, Cooper SB. Self-Control and Exercise: A Review of the Bi-Directional Relationship. Brain Plast. 2019;5(1):97-104. Published 2019 Dec 26. doi:10.3233/BPL-190082
23. Pirwani, N., & Szabo, A. (2024). Could physical activity alleviate smartphone addiction in university students? A systematic literature review. Preventive Medicine Reports, 42, 102744. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pmedr.2024.102744
24. Zhang M. Study on the effects of physical exercise on improving mental health and interpersonal relationships among adolescents. Studies at Nanjing Institute of Physical Education Journal (Social Science Edition), 2016, 30(5): 88-94.
25. Xiao S. The correlation between the tendency of college students to experience mobile phone addiction and their physical exercise status. Modern Preventive Medicine, 2022, 49(3): 487-491.
26. Xu W. Physical exercise and depression in college students: multiple mediating effects of mindfulness and social support. Social Scientists, 2021, (2): 148-155.
27. Lian SL, Feng QS, Yan JL, et al. The relationship between mobile phone addiction, irrational procrastination and depression and anxiety: the protection of mindfulness Sexual effect. Chinese Journal of Clinical Psychology, 2021, 29(1): 51-55+18.
28. Han T, Ma WD, Gong H, et al. Analysis of negative emotions and influencing factors of college students during home quarantine for COVID-19 epidemic. Journal of Xi'an Jiaotong University (Medical edition), 2021, 42(1): 132-136.
29. Chauhan, A. S., Mathur, G., Gulati, C., & Sharma, A. (2025). The relationship between gratitude and life satisfaction: The mediating effect of mental well-being. Social Sciences & Humanities Open, 11, 101224. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ssaho.2024.101224
30. Pincus, J.D. Well-being as Need Fulfillment: Implications for Theory, Methods, and Practice. Integr. psych. behav. 58, 1541–1579 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12124-023-09758-z
31. Sun, S., Wang, X., & Wang, D. (2023). Smartphone usage patterns and social capital among university students: The moderating effect of sociability. Children and Youth Services Review, 155, 107276. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.childyouth.2023.107276
32. Zhang Y, Han M, Lian S, Cao X, Yan L (2024) How and when is academic stress associated with mobile phone addiction? The roles of psychological distress, peer alienation and rumination. PLoS ONE 19(2): e0293094. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0293094
33. Zhao, Z., Zhao, S., Wang, Q., Zhang, Y., & Chen, C. (2022). Effects of Physical Exercise on Mobile Phone Addiction in College Students: The Chain Mediation Effect of Psychological Resilience and Perceived Stress. International journal of environmental research and public health, 19(23), 15679. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph192315679
34. Xie Q. A comparative study of physical self and coping styles between PE and non-PE major college students. School Hygiene in China, 2006, 27(7): 569-570.
35. Xiao LG, Gao L. Effect of fitness Qigong exercise on coping styles in older people. Chinese Journal of Gerontology, 2016, 36(24): 6278-6279.
36. Chen YX, Li RX, Liu XP. The impact of negative withdrawal and positive coping on adolescent Internet addiction: loneliness and medialization. Chinese Journal of Clinical Psychology, 2019, 27(1): 94-98.
37. Zheng HT, Ma JL. The relationship between mobile phone addiction and coping styles and physical exercise among college students. The Journal of Mount Taishan Medical College, 2020, 41(9): 695-698.
38. Yan JX, Cheng JW. Research on the relationship between mobile phone addiction and coping styles. Shenzhen Information Vocational and Technical College Journal, 2016, 14(4): 89-92.
39. Sheng JG, Jiang YC, Gao SQ. Research on the effects of physical exercise on coping efficacy and coping style among college students. Sports and Science, 2018, 39(3): 30-37+54.
40. Wang WL. The influence of psychological capital on psychological symptoms of college students—coping styles. Journal of Higher Education, 2022, 8(17): 181-184+188.
41. Wang XY, Li ZS, Qi H, et al. The relationship between social support and crisis vulnerability of college students—the mediating role of coping methods. Journal of Neijiang Normal University, 2019, 34(8): 9-15.
42. Xiong SC, Yuan MQ, Zhang B, et al. Loneliness and mobile phone addiction among college students: in negative emotions and negative coping styles and medialization. Chinese Journal of Health Psychology, 2018, 26(12): 1857-1861.
43. Dunn AL, Trivedi MH, Kampert JB, et al. Exercise treatment for depression: Efficacy and dose response. American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 2005, 28(1): 1-8.
44. Song MH, Liu S, Zhu Z, et al. Relative deprivation affects network cluster aggression: A regulated two-path model. Psychological Science, 2018, 41(6): 1436-1442.
45. Baumeister RF, Heatherton T, Tice DM. Losing control: How and why people fail at self-regulation. San Diego: Academic Press, 1994.
46. Rouse PC, Ntoumanis N, Duda JL. Effects of motivation and depletion on the ability to resist the temptation to avoid physical activity. International Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology, 2013, 11(1): 39-56.
47. Zhu FS, Zhou CL. Effects of acute and moderate-intensity aerobic exercise on inhibitory ability of college students: Come from behavior and physiology. Chinese Journal of Sports Medicine, 2016, 35(10): 940-946+971.
48. Wang CY, Lei L, Qiao X. Pleasure pursuit is the intermediary between self-regulation fatigue and college students' smartphone addiction with: the regulatory role of the natural association. Psychological Development and Education, 2021, 37(4): 601-608.
49. Muraven M, Baumeister RF. Self-regulation and depletion of limited resources: Does self-control resemble a muscle? Psychological Bulletin, 2000, 126(2): 247-259.
50. Qin PF, Zhao SY, Li DL, et al. The effect of perceived stress on college students' mobile phone addiction: A serial mediation effect of self-control and learning burnout. Psychology, 2020, 43(5): 1111-1116.
51. Szabo K, Piko BF, Fitzpatrick KM. Adolescents’ attitudes towards healthy eating: The role of self-control, motives and self-risk perception. Appetite, 2019, 143: 104416.
Copyright (c) 2025 Yadong Liang, Yunhao Tang
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Copyright on all articles published in this journal is retained by the author(s), while the author(s) grant the publisher as the original publisher to publish the article.
Articles published in this journal are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International, which means they can be shared, adapted and distributed provided that the original published version is cited.
Submit a Paper
