The Influence Mechanism of College Students' Physical Exercise Persistence Behavior from the Perspective of the SCeiP Model

Objective :Promoting college students’participation in physical exercise and cultivating good exercise habits are key measures to achieve the strategies of a Healthy China and Sports Power. To explore the influence mechanism of college students’ physical exercise adherence behavior, this study constructed a structural equation model based on the theoretical framework of the SCeiP behavioral development model. The model includes Subjective Experience (SE) and Perceived Social Support (SS) as the perceptual input layer, Perceived Usefulness (PU) and Behavioral Control (BC) as the decision and motivation layers, and Exercise Persistence (EP) as the behavioral output layer. This study aimed to reveal the mechanism underlying college students’physical exercise adherence behavior. Methods :A cluster random sampling method was used to obtain 684 valid questionnaires from three universities in China for analysis. The assessment tools included demographic information and scales for Perceived Social Support (SSRS), Subjective Exercise Experience (SEES), Perceived Usefulness (EEPS), Perceived Behavioral Control (PBCS), and Exercise Persistence Behavior (EPBS). Data were statistically analyzed using SPSS 26.0 and AMOS 28.0. Results: Significant differences in physical exercise persistence were found between males and females and between upperclassmen and underclassmen (P < 0.001). Subjective experience was significantly and positively correlated with exercise persistence (r = 0.212, p < 0.001), and perceived external support was significantly and positively correlated with exercise persistence (r = 0.154, p < 0.01). Perceived usefulness and behavioral control played a partial remote mediating role in the relationship between subjective experience and exercise persistence (β = 0.006, 95% CI [0.001, 0.015]), accounting for 3.3% of the total effect of the study. They also played a partial mediating role in the relationship between perceived external support and exercise persistence (β = 0.009, 95% CI [0.001, 0.024]), accounting for 4.0% of the total effect. Conclusion: Subjective exercise experience and perceived external support can directly influence exercise persistence and enhance college students' physical exercise adherence behavior through cognitive transformation and behavioral control. In physical education courses, teachers should enhance the construction of external resources, create a positive exercise atmosphere, and focus on value identification, transformation, and assessment of the behavioral process.