The Relationship between Dimensions of Emerging Adulthood and Behavioral Problems among Chinese Emerging Adults: The Mediating Role of Physical Activity and Self- Control

The Relationship between Dimensions of Emerging Adulthood and Behavioral Problems among Chinese Emerging Adults:The Mediating Role of Physical Activity and

Emerging adulthood(EA)is a critical stage of life to develop and sustain a healthy lifestyle,which is also a time of vulnerability to poor physical and mental health outcomes.In this study,we conducted a path analysis(N=1326)to examine associations among four dimensions of EA,levels of regular physical activity(PA),self-control,MPA tendency and irrational procrastination.Results found:1)higher levels of PA predicted both MPA tendency(β=−0.08,95%CI:−0.11 to−0.06,p<0.001)and irrational procrastination(β=−0.01,95%CI:−0.17 to−0.008,p<0.01)indirectly via self-control;2)Instability(β=0.13,95%CI:0.08 to 0.18,p<0.01)and Responsibility(β=−0.06,95%CI:−0.10 to−0.08,p=0.03)exerted direct effects on irrational procrastination and Instability also indirectly predicted irrational procrastination via MPA tendency(β=0.03,95%CI:0.02 to 0.05,p<0.01).These findings proved that perceived features of EA are linked to behavioral problems and supported that regular PA plays a crucial role to protect mental health.