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Article

The Relationships between University Students’ Physical Activity Needs, Involvement, Flow Experience and Sustainable Well-Being in the Post-Pandemic Era

by
Chen Liao
1,†,
Liying Nong
2,†,
Yu-Feng Wu
3,*,
Yu-Tai Wu
4,* and
Jian-Hong Ye
5
1
College of Tourism and Sport Health, Hezhou University, Hezhou 542899, China
2
School of Education and Music, Hezhou University, Hezhou 542899, China
3
Office of Physical Education, Ming Chi University of Technology, New Taipei City 243303, Taiwan
4
Office of Physical Education, Soochow University, Taipei City 111002, Taiwan
5
Faculty of Education, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China
*
Authors to whom correspondence should be addressed.
†
These authors contributed equally to this work.
Sustainability 2023, 15(11), 8719; https://doi.org/10.3390/su15118719
Submission received: 12 February 2023 / Revised: 3 May 2023 / Accepted: 23 May 2023 / Published: 28 May 2023
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sport Psychology in Sports, Exercise and Physical Activity towards Sustainable Lifestyle and Physical Education)
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Abstract

:
As the global sustainable development agenda advances, having a healthy lifestyle has become an important part of the common pursuit. Physical activity needs and experiences are becoming increasingly diverse, yet there is a paucity of research on issues associated with university students’ physical activity needs, and their perceptions of their physical activity needs and sustainable well-being are not yet fully understood. Therefore, this study combines Self-Determination Theory with the existence, relatedness, and growth (ERG) Theory of Needs to explore the mediating effects of different variables on the relationship between university students’ physical activity needs and sustainable well-being. A total of 900 Chinese university students were invited through an online survey to participate in this study, and the collected data were validated with a structural equation model. According to the results of the study, it was found that the level of involvement and flow experience in university students’ sports activities have a mediating effect on the relationship between needs and sustainable well-being. Therefore, educators can enhance the level of sustainable well-being by stimulating university students’ physical activity needs and improving their level of involvement and participation experience.

1. Introduction

With the advancement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) agenda for 2030, there is a focus on healthy living and well-being promotion for all ages [1]. In Sustainable Development Goal 3 (SDG3), sustainable well-being is not only a common goal to be pursued, but also a continuous, stable, and positive state in response to challenges and changes [2]. However, as the impact of the COVID-19 outbreak in 2019 has lasted for more than three years, many countries and regions are subject to prolonged embargoes and reopening, despite the overall positive trend of the outbreak [3]. Therefore, in the current post-pandemic era, where epidemic prevention and control coexist with risk, many schools have also adopted a standing management approach to address the challenges and changes [4]. However, due to the impact of the epidemic, university students who have been in closed campus management for a long time are prone to more problems, such as the risk of unmet needs and even negative emotions, for example, anxiety and depression, which seriously affect their sustainable well-being [5]. In addition, the mental health problems of many university students under the influence of COVID-19 are particularly prominent, as stress and depression can seriously affect their level of well-being [6]. If this situation continues for a long time, it may not only affect university students’ psychological health and stress coping but may even trigger anxiety about their future work life, which is not favorable for sustainable well-being acquisition [7]. Therefore, in the current post-pandemic context, sustainable well-being is crucial for the health status of university students as well as for their future development. Maintaining a healthy lifestyle has become an important issue of widespread interest in achieving the SDG3 sustainable development goal [8]. In addition, according to sports psychology, participation in physical activity as an important way of living a healthy life not only promotes positive emotional experiences among university students, but also reduces negative emotions such as anxiety and depression to some extent, which, in turn, affects their levels of mental health and well-being [9]. Related studies also point out that participation in physical activities such as running and cycling can be effective in terms of relieving anxiety, depression, and other stressful states [10]. At the same time, it also contributes to their level of well-being through sustainable participation in physical activity [11]. More importantly, university students often experience unmet physical activity needs and many restrictions on their physical activity due to long periods of time under post-pandemic normalized epidemic management modes such as lockdown management and reopening [12]. In turn, they fail to effectively destress, which, in turn, affects their acquisition of a sustainable level of well-being [13]. In other words, the need for physical activity in a post-pandemic context is critical for university students to continue to live healthy lives and to actively address challenges to maintain sustainable well-being. This is because participation in physical activity not only satisfies the physical activity needs of university students, but also helps them to relieve the psychological tension brought about by the epidemic, and thus to continue to be satisfied and to be full of expectations for their future studies and life [14]. Therefore, in a post-pandemic context, this study examined the association of university students’ physical activity needs and their sustainable well-being.
According to the self-determination motivation theory proposed by Deci and Ryan (2000), emotions, needs, and drives are important motivating factors for individuals’ self-behavior and influence their behavior and outcomes [15]. In addition, the need for physical activity as an important motivational factor may influence their behavior and development continuously and dynamically through more physical activity participation [16]. In addition, the level of involvement refers to the extent of people’s participation in physical activities [17], while sustainable well-being is a behavioral outcome and a positive emotional experience that is continuously maintained during people’s participation in activities [2]. A related study found that physical activity needs serve as an important driver, and when university students’ physical activity needs are met, they may increase their level of well-being by engaging in more physical activity [18]. In addition, the level of involvement, as the main expression of physical activity, is closely related to the level of health and well-being [17]. Those university students with higher levels of physical activity involvement tend to have higher leisure participation experiences and invest more time and energy in physical activity [19]. Therefore, this sustainable physical activity engagement not only helps to alleviate many of the stresses and anxieties that university students experience as a result of the pandemic but may also have some positive impacts on their sustainable levels of well-being [20]; that is, a higher level of physical activity involvement will result in a greater experience of sustainable well-being. Therefore, the use of self-determination theory will help to explore the relationship between the motivational factors involved in physical activity and individual behavioral outcomes.
In addition, Alderfer (1969) stated, based on the existence, relatedness, and growth (ERG) needs theory, that need is the motivating factor that triggers individuals and continues to influence their behavior and outcomes through their behavioral performance [21]. The flow experience, as a behavioral performance, is an important factor in achieving individual well-being as well as self-actualization [22], and more often refers to the comfortable experience of mind and body that individuals can achieve during participation, which is related to individual health and positive emotional experiences [23]. If university students perceive more flow experiences and have more enjoyable physical activity experiences, they will be more motivated to engage in physical activity. In addition, a higher experience of physical activity flow will lead to a higher sense of well-being [24]. This is because, in the current post-pandemic context, college students are subject to many restrictions on physical activity, and higher physical activity needs will generate more motivation to exercise, which will affect their performance of engaging in physical activity and thus continue to affect their experience of well-being in learning and life [14]. Therefore, ERG needs theory will be beneficial to an exploration of the relationship between motivational factors, behavioral performance, and outcomes of university students’ participation in physical activity.
It can be inferred from the above that college students can not only satisfy their exercise needs by participating in physical activity but may influence their sustainable well-being in their future studies and life by having a healthier lifestyle through a higher level of physical activity involvement and flow experience. In addition, in terms of the SDG3 goal, it is critical to stimulate the physical activity needs of university students to continuously promote their health and well-being during the post-pandemic period. However, most of the current research on physical activity has focused on the physical activity status of adolescents, older adults, and other groups, and exploring the association of physical activity needs and sustainable well-being among students has not been clarified. There is a lack of empirical studies that explore motivational factors of physical activity through self-determination theory, as well as the combination of ERG theory to explore the motivational factors of needs and behavioral performance affecting the sustainable well-being of university students. Thus, to better recognize the associations between university students’ physical activity needs and sustainable well-being in the post-pandemic era context, this study explores the physical activity status of university students in the field of health psychology based on the SDG3 goal, and attempts to fill the research gap in the field of sports psychology by investigating the relationship between motivation factors such as physical activity needs, level of involvement, flow experience, and sustainable well-being among university students.

2. Theoretical Basis and Research Assumptions

2.1. Research Model

The self-determination motivation theory proposed by Deci and Ryan (2000) suggests that needs as well as drives play an important motivational role in the formation of an individual’s self-behavior and influence the outcome of the individual’s behavior through associative factors [15]. Among them, the need for physical activity as an important autonomous need of individuals may influence their behavior and development continuously and dynamically through more physical activity participation [25].
In addition, according to the ERG theory of need proposed by Alderfer (1969), need is also a motivational factor that triggers individuals and continues to influence behavior and outcomes through their behavioral performance [21]. Among these, physical activity needs serve as an important driver, and their level of physical activity involvement and flow experience can be seen as behavioral expressions that influence behavioral outcomes by satisfying individual needs. That is, in the current post-pandemic context, college students’ need for more physical activity will generate certain driving forces, and their behavioral performance in terms of physical activity involvement and flow experience may continuously and dynamically affect their sustainable well-being. Therefore, in the context of the post-pandemic era, based on SDG3, self-determination theory, and ERG needs theory, the aim of this study was to explore the influence of university students’ physical activity needs on their sustainable well-being, and the mediating role of involvement and flow experience of physical activity needs and sustainable well-being. Figure 1 below shows the conceptual framework.

2.2. Research Hypotheses

2.2.1. Physical Activity Needs and Involvement

Physical activity, as an important way to achieve a healthy life for people, includes aerobic and non-aerobic exercises such as walking and running [26,27]. Physical activity needs, on the other hand, refer more to a state of psychological need that people exhibit when participating in physical activities [28]. Related studies have also found that higher physical activity needs will generate higher motivation to participate, which is related to higher levels of physical activity engagement [29]. In addition, the degree of physical activity involvement indicates the level of cognitive, emotional, and behavioral engagement that an individual has when engaging in a specific physical activity [30]. According to Mackenzie et al. (2018), physical activity needs influence the level of engagement of physically active participants [31]. For university students in the current post-pandemic era, their physical activity is restricted in many ways, and higher physical activity needs will facilitate higher motivation to participate and will continuously influence their engagement in physical activity [32]. That is, in the current post-pandemic context, the higher physical activity needs of university students will bring a higher level of involvement. Therefore, the hypothesis of this study regarding the relationship between university students’ physical activity needs and involvement was as follows:
Hypothesis 1.
University students’ physical activity needs have a positive effect on their involvement.

2.2.2. Physical Activity Needs and Sustainable Well-Being

Sustainable well-being is defined as positive and stable emotional experiences that individuals continue to have as they face their lives and futures [2]. It is known from SDG3 that maintaining a healthy lifestyle is an important factor in achieving sustainable well-being [33]. As for physical activity as an important healthy lifestyle, the status and level of demand for participation in physical activity among university students may positively influence their health and quality of life [34,35]. For example, due to the impact of the epidemic, many college students’ physical activities are restricted in many ways by regular management [36], and those who have higher physical activity needs tend to invest more energy in participating in physical activities to release negative emotions such as stress and anxiety through physical activities, and then sustain a positive and stable sense of well-being in their future studies and lives [37]. Moreover, similar studies have indicated that higher physical activity needs will likely lead to more chances to be involved in physical activity, which is more conducive to helping students understand the association of physical activity, health, and well-being, thus further affecting their acquisition of well-being [38]. That is, in the current post-pandemic context, the higher the demand for physical activity, the higher the sustainable well-being of university students is likely to be. Thus, the relationship between university students’ physical activity needs and sustainable well-being was hypothesized as follows:
Hypothesis 2.
University students’ physical activity needs have a positive effect on their sustainable well-being.

2.2.3. Physical Activity Needs and Flow Experience

According to sports psychology, flow experience is a sense of excitement, pleasure, and smoothness that comes from being fully engaged in a physical activity [39]. Due to university students’ post-pandemic normative management, their need to engage in physical activity may create some motivation to support them to engage in more physical activity to relieve tension, as their previous regular physical activity schedule was disrupted [40]. Moreover, related studies have confirmed that higher physical activity needs will lead to more physical activity participation and will affect their experience of flow in physical activity [41,42]. In other words, university students who have higher physical activity needs tend to devote more time and energy to physical activity and will have better physical activity flow experiences [43]. That is, the higher the physical activity needs of university students in the current post-pandemic context, the greater their physical activity flow experience is likely to be. Therefore, the relationship between university students’ physical activity needs and flow experiences was hypothesized as follows:
Hypothesis 3.
University students’ physical activity needs have a positive effect on their flow experience.

2.2.4. Physical Activity Involvement and Flow Experience

Related studies have indicated that physical activity is an important predictor of an individual’s health [44]. Several studies have found that the extent to which people are involved in physical activity is closely associated with their experience of being physically active [45]. People with higher levels of involvement in physical activities tend to have more enjoyable participation experiences. For example, when participating in physical activities such as cycling and running, if students have a higher state of behavioral and emotional engagement through intensive practice and learning, it will help them to acquire more fluent skills and improve their experience [46]. In other words, the more involved students are in participating in physical activities, the better it will be to help them experience more excitement and pleasure from physical activities [47]. As the post-pandemic era brings more risks and challenges, many college students’ physical activity is greatly restricted [48] and their physical activity programs need to be adjusted due to normative management; as well, a higher level of physical activity involvement will enhance their participation in physical activity to improve their flow experience while participating in physical activity [28]. Therefore, the hypothesis of this study on the degree of physical activity involvement and flow experience of university students was as follows:
Hypothesis 4.
University students’ physical activity involvement has a positive effect on their flow experience.

2.2.5. Physical Activity Involvement and Sustainable Well-Being

The sustainable well-being model proposed by Sheldon and Lyubomirsky (2021) states that, in the pursuit of well-being, individuals acquire a positive and stable emotional experience by participating and engaging in various activities, thus sustaining the source motivation for the pursuit of well-being [49]. Several studies have found that people who regularly engage in physical activity during an epidemic tend to have higher levels of well-being because the activity helps them to not only relieve tension in a lockdown environment, but also to continuously maintain positive emotional experiences [38,50]. Additionally, some studies have found that during the COVID-19 lockdown, many university students were prone to adverse emotions such as fear, frustration, and stress due to lack of physical activity, which led to a decrease in their level of well-being [51]. Students who engage in more physical activity, on the other hand, tend to have higher levels of well-being because they can relieve their stress, depression, and other negative emotions while engaging in physical activity, thus sustaining the experience of well-being in their future studies and lives [52]. That is, the more physically active university students are in the current post-pandemic era context, the higher their sustainable levels of well-being are likely to be. Thus, the relationship between physical activity involvement and the sustainable well-being of university students was hypothesized as follows:
Hypothesis 5.
University students’ physical activity involvement has a positive effect on their sustainable well-being.

2.2.6. Physical Activity Flow Experience and Sustainable Well-Being

Sustainable well-being is an emotional experience that continues to be positive and peaceful in the face of difficulties and challenges [53]. Researchers have indicated that higher physical activity flow experiences are strongly associated with sustainable well-being [54]. For example, if people have a more exciting or pleasurable experience when engaging in physical activity, this also facilitates a more positive emotional experience [55]. In addition, related studies have found that although the epidemic limited outdoor physical activity among university students, those who participated in indoor physical activities such as yoga and calisthenics could obtain a certain level of excitement and pleasure through physical activity, which also contributed to their sustainable well-being [56]. More importantly, due to the emergence of more risks as well as uncertainties in the post-pandemic era, these complex learning environments and needs can have a significant impact on university students’ well-being, and the flow experience of physical activity will be beneficial in helping them recover from anxiety and other tensions as soon as possible, continuously influencing their sustainable well-being [55]. That is, in the current post-pandemic context, university students with higher flow experience in physical activity will have higher levels of sustainable well-being. Thus, the relationship between university students’ flow experience and sustainable well-being was hypothesized as follows:
Hypothesis 6.
University students’ physical activity flow experience has a positive effect on their sustainable well-being.

3. Materials and Methods

3.1. Participants

A total of 900 questionnaires were collected for this study, and the average time to fill them out was 5 min. Among the 59 questionnaires, some were completed in a very short time (less than 2 min), some took too long to complete (more than 10 min), and some were incomplete, so after excluding the above 59 invalid questionnaires, 841 valid questionnaires were collected, with an effective rate of 93.4%. Background information on the participants can be found in Table 1 below.

3.2. Measurement

The study was based on the literature and theoretical development of the instrument, and after three experts from the field of physical activity reviewed it, 10 university students were asked to complete a trial reading and filling out of the questionnaire to ensure its face validity. In addition, a Likert 5-point scale was used in this study for measurement, where 1 signifies strongly disagree, 2 signifies disagree, 3 signifies average, 4 signifies agree, and 5 signifies strongly agree.

3.2.1. Physical Activity Needs

Physical activity need is a state of need expressed by an individual to participate in physical activity [28]. Therefore, the present study adapted Richard et al.’s (1997) Physical Activity Needs Scale [57], with a total of 10 questions measuring the degree of physical activity needs among university students. Example questions are “I want to be physically active to have a strong body” and “I want to be physically active to keep a happy mood.” In this study, the Cronbach’s alpha of the Physical Activity Needs Scale was 0.93 after reliability analysis.

3.2.2. Involvement

Involvement indicates the degree of behavioral, emotional, and cognitive involvement during an individual’s participation in a physical activity [58]. Therefore, the present study adapted Fredricks’ (2004) engagement scale [59], with 10 questions measuring the degree of physical activity involvement of university students. Example questions are “I am physically active” and “I enjoy discussing physical activity-related content with my classmates”. The fit indices of the scale were RMSEA = 0.08, GFI = 0.86, NFI = 0.89, NNFI = 0.90, CFI = 0.90, IFI = 0.90, and Cronbach’s alpha was 0.86–0.88. In this study, the Cronbach’s alpha of the Physical Activity Involvement Scale was 0.94.

3.2.3. Flow Experience

Flow experience is a sense of excitement, pleasure, and smoothness obtained during participation in physical activities [60]. Therefore, this study adapted Jackson et al.’s (2008) Flow Experience Scale [60], with nine questions measuring university students’ physical activity flow experience. Example questions are “I am excited about participating in physical activity” versus “I am in my best condition for physical activity.” In this study, the Cronbach’s alpha of the Physical Activity Flow Experience Scale was 0.94.

3.2.4. Sustainable Well-Being

Sustainable well-being is a positive, stable emotional experience that individuals sustain in the midst of difficulties and challenges [49]. From the literature, this study adapted, from Lu and Lin’s (2003) short version of the Chinese well-being scale [2], a 10-question scale for measuring sustainable well-being among university students. Example questions are “I feel consistently energized in my physical activity” and “I am satisfied with the physical activity I consistently engage in.” The fit indices of the scale were RMSEA = 0.07, GFI = 0.85, NFI = 0.88, NNFI = 0.90, CFI = 0.91, IFI = 0.91, and Cronbach’s alpha was 0.94. In this study, the Cronbach’s alpha of the Sustained Happiness Scale was 0.95.

3.3. Research Procedure

The convenience sampling method was used in this study to conduct a questionnaire survey among university students in Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region (GZAR), China. Since COVID-19 continues, and overseas importation and local confirmation continue to occur, the physical activity and socialization of university students are greatly restricted in GZAR, China, where colleges and universities have adopted a permanent management model and there are situations such as lockdowns and reopenings related to epidemic prevention and control management. Therefore, this study used the Wenjuanxing online survey platform to distribute an online questionnaire to 900 university students in GZAR, China. The aim of the study, anonymity protection, and confidentiality agreements were first clarified before participants were invited to fill out the online questionnaire through QQ or WeChat. The online questionnaire responses were collected between 1 and 27 November 2022, and then the questionnaire link was closed after collection.

3.4. Data Analysis

Structural equation modeling (SEM), a major analytical method for exploring structural relationships among research variables, can be used to clarify and validate hypothesized associations of the variables and indicators by explaining measurement error and by performing modeling [61]. Therefore, the statistical software SPSS 25.0 and AMOS 24.0 were used for analysis. First, a first-order confirmatory factor analysis was used to measure the applicability of the research scale, with the aim of confirming the psychological characteristics of the research scale. Secondly, the model fit and discriminant validity of the research model were tested through model fit indices in SEM. Thirdly, the relationship between college students’ physical activity needs and sustained happiness was tested through path analysis in SEM. Finally, bootstrapping was used to test the mediating effects of college students’ physical activity involvement and flow experience between needs and sustained happiness to achieve the purpose of this study.

4. Results

4.1. Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA)

First-order confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) is commonly used to analyze the fit of all items as well as their intrinsic validity [62]. When χ2/df is smaller than the value 5, GFI is bigger than 0.80, and RMSEA is smaller than 0.1 [63], items with FL below the value of 0.500 should be deleted [64]. Among them, the results of the first-order CFA showed that the χ2/df was 2.73–3.34 (χ2/df < 5); the RMSEA was 0.45–0.53 (RMSEA < 0.1); the GFI was 0.98–0.99 (GFI > 0.80); and the AGFI was 0.97–0.98 (AGFI > 0.80). The values measured in this study all met the criteria recommended by statisticians, as shown in Table 1. Therefore, after the first-order CFA, the demand for physical activity in this study was reduced from ten to seven questions, the level of involvement was reduced from ten to seven questions, flow experience was reduced from nine to six questions, and sustainable well-being was reduced from ten to eight questions.

4.2. Reliability and Validity Analysis

In statistical analysis, the reliability of each study construct is usually measured using Cronbach’s α and Composite Reliability (CR), and both Cronbach’s α and CR values should be greater than 0.7 [65]. This study’s Cronbach’s α values showed that each variable was between 0.93 and 0.95, all of which were greater than 0.7. In addition, CR values of 0.88 to 0.90 are higher than 0.7, indicating good internal consistency.
In addition, convergent validity requires FL and AVE values above 0.5 for each construct [66,67]; the FL values of this study were between 0.71 to 0.78 and the AVE values were between 0.50 to 0.60, both of which were above 0.50. This study shows good convergent validity, as seen in Table 2. Moreover, the square root of the AVE values of this study showed that all the constructs are larger than the correlation coefficients of the other constructs, which have good discriminant validity (see Table 3 and Table 4).

4.3. Model Fit Analysis

In social sciences, the overall fit and distinctiveness of research models are typically measured through model fit tests using structural equation modeling (SEM) [68]. The study model has good fit when χ2/df is smaller than 5; RMSEA is less than 0.1; GFI, AGFI, NFI, NNFI, CFI, IFI, and RFI are larger than 0.800, and PNFI and PGFI are larger than 0.500 [65,68]. In addition, in this study, χ2/df = 1.93 (χ2/df < 5), RMSEA = 0.03 (RMSEA < 0.1), GFI = 0.94, AGFI = 0.93, NFI = 0.95, NNFI = 0.97, CFI = 0.97, IFI = 0.92, RFI = 0.97, and both PNFI = 0.87 and PGFI = 0.81 are above the standard of 0.5, all of which met the criteria, showing that the study model had a good model fit.

4.4. Path Analysis

To understand whether there is a direct impact of physical activity demand on sustainable well-being among university students during the post-pandemic period, this study used path analysis to explore the relationship between variables. Therefore, the model validation results indicated that physical activity needs had a positive effect on the level of involvement (β = 0.57 ***; t = 12.96); physical activity needs positively affected sustainable well-being (β = 0.24 ***; t = 7.57); physical activity needs positively affected flow experience (β = 0.24 ***; t = 6.54); level of involvement positively affected flow experience (β = 0.66 ***; t = 13.62); level of involvement positively affected sustainable well-being (β = 0.13 **; t = 2.73); and flow experience had a positive effect on sustainable well-being (β = 0.60 ***; t = 11.59), as can be seen in Figure 2.
Furthermore, the explanatory power of the degree of university students’ physical activity involvement was 33%, for flow experience it was 66%, and for sustainable well-being it was 76%, indicating that this study had a weak to moderate degree or higher explanatory power, as can be seen in Figure 2.

4.5. Indirect Effect Analysis

In this study, the mediation effect was tested using the bootstrapping method. The outcomes of the indirect effects in Table 5 show that physical activity needs among university students positively affected their sustainable well-being (β = 0.24 ***), with a confidence interval of [0.18, 0.31]. Involvement level had an indirect significant positive effect on sustainable well-being (β = 0.12 **), with a confidence interval of [0.01, 0.24]. Flow experience had an indirect significant positive effect on sustainable well-being (β = 0.60 ***), with a confidence interval of [0.50, 0.70]. As 95% of the confidence intervals did not contain 0, it indicated that the degree of university students’ physical activity involvement and flow experience mediated the association of physical activity needs and sustainable well-being.

5. Discussion and Conclusions

5.1. Discussion

In the context of the post-pandemic era, paying attention to the physical activity status and predicting factors of university students has become an important goal of SDG3 and the field of sport psychology. This study aimed to determine the applicability of various research scales through CFA, and then to explore the relationship between the physical activity demand and sustainable well-being of Chinese university students in the post-pandemic era through SEM path analysis. The results showed that each research scale had good reliability and validity, and all six research paths in this study model were established. In addition, the mediating effect of physical activity involvement and flow experience between demand and sustainable well-being of Chinese university students was found. The following is a discussion and analysis of the research model paths.

5.1.1. Leisure Physical Activity Needs and Involvement Level

This study found that in the current post-pandemic context, the physical activity needs of Chinese university students positively affected the degree of their physical activity involvement. That is, the need for more physical activity among university students would be beneficial for increasing their participation in physical activity. In addition, Wang et al. (2022) found that physical activity need is a state of psychological need expressed by partaking in physical activity and is closely related to individual health behaviors and outcomes [28]. As Kalajas-Tilga et al. (2020) argued, a higher need for physical activity not only motivates people to participate, but also influences the degree to which they participate in physical activity [29]. In particular, being affected by COVID-19 not only changes the environment in which people participate in physical activity, but also has a dramatic impact on their need to participate in physical activity, which, in turn, limits their level of participation in physical activity [32]. In turn, related studies have found that physical activity also affects the engagement of physically active participants [31]. Consequently, this study is similar to previous studies. However, few studies have focused on the association of university students’ physical activity needs and their level of involvement in a post-pandemic context; our findings fill this research gap.

5.1.2. Physical Activity Needs and Sustainable Well-Being

The results of this study suggest that in the current post-pandemic context, Chinese university students’ physical activity needs positively affect their sustainable well-being, and higher physical activity needs will be beneficial for their sustainable well-being. The results support the SDT and ERG needs theory, where needs serve as important drivers for individuals, influencing their behavior and outcomes through motivational factors [15]. Wright et al. (2021) argued that a higher need for physical activity increases the chances of participating in physical activity, which is beneficial for reducing negative effects due to the pandemic, such as anxiety and stress, which, in turn, affects the acquisition of well-being [37]. For university students, in the current post-pandemic context, despite the many limitations of regular management, if they have higher physical activity needs, they will be more willing to invest more energy in physical activity and retain a constant sense of well-being in their future studies and life through maintaining a healthy lifestyle [37,38]. Our findings, however, fill this research gap by investigating the association of physical activity needs and sustainable well-being.

5.1.3. Physical Activity Needs and Flow Experience

This study found that in the current post-pandemic context, Chinese university students’ physical activity needs positively affect their flow experience, and higher physical activity needs would be conducive to improving their flow experience in physical activity. Related studies have also shown that if people have a higher need for physical activity, they will be more engaged in physical activity, which will contribute to their fluency experience in physical activity [41]. In addition, more physical activities of university students are closely related to flow experiences [43]. Those who want to endorse health through physical activity tend to have a better experience of physical activity fluency [69]. The results of this study showed some similarities to previous studies [37]. However, few previous studies have focused on the association of physical activity demands and flow experiences among university students; the results of this study may fill this research gap.

5.1.4. Physical Activity Involvement and Flow Experience

This study found that in a post-pandemic context, university students’ physical activity involvement level positively affected their flow experience, and those with higher physical activity involvement level had better fluency experience. This agrees with the findings of Soulliard et al. (2019) [43]. For university students, their level of physical activity involvement is poor due to the effects of the epidemic and limitations caused by various factors; it would therefore be more beneficial for them to have a higher level of involvement when participating in physical activities such as running and walking to improve their flow experience in physical activities through emotional and behavioral engagement [46,49]. That is, higher levels of physical activity involvement are strongly associated with better flow experiences [70]. Thus, this study further investigated the association of the degree of physical activity involvement and flow experience among university students in a post-pandemic context.

5.1.5. Level of Involvement and Sustainable Well-Being

This study found that higher physical activity involvement positively affected sustainable well-being, and those university students with higher physical activity involvement had greater levels of sustainable well-being. From SDG3, participation in physical activity as a healthy lifestyle is strongly related to people’s sustainable well-being [2,38]. For university students, in particular, their emotional, cognitive, and behavioral engagement in physical activity not only promotes their health, but also helps them to alleviate the anxiety and tension generated by the effects of the epidemic, which, in turn, affects their sustainable well-being in their studies and lives [53,71]. Thus, this study further investigated the association of the degree of physical activity involvement and sustainable well-being among university students in a post-pandemic context.

5.1.6. Flow Experience and Sustainable Well-Being

This study showed that physical activity flow experience positively affects sustainable well-being among Chinese university students in the post-pandemic era, and those who had higher physical activity fluency experience had higher sustainable well-being. Related studies have also found that having a better flow experience while participating in physical activities such as surfing is beneficial for relieving negative effects such as stress, which, in turn, affects well-being acquisition [38,72]. In addition, it was found that the flow experience gained by university students while participating in physical activities such as calisthenics would be beneficial for promoting their positive emotions and more beneficial for helping them to achieve a sense of well-being in their academic life [56]. Furthermore, Wu et al. (2021) also indicated that the flow experience of physical activity could help university students positively cope with the anxious and stressful conditions of the epidemic and better help them sustain a sense of well-being in their future studies and life [58]. While few previous studies have focused on the association between physical activity flow experiences and sustainable well-being among university students in a post-pandemic context, the results of this study may fill this research gap.

5.2. Conclusions

In terms of UN Sustainable Development Goal SDG3, a healthy lifestyle is essential for people’s health. Moreover, in the current post-pandemic context, it is critical for university students to raise their physical activity needs for their sustainable well-being. Therefore, this study investigated the association of physical activity needs and sustainable well-being among Chinese university students based on SDT and ERG needs theory. The results showed that (a) university students’ physical activity needs positively affected their degree of involvement; (b) university students’ physical activity needs positively affected their sustainable well-being; (c) university students’ physical activity needs positively affected their flow experience; (d) university students’ physical activity involvement level positively affected their flow experience; (e) university students’ physical activity involvement positively affected their sustainable well-being; and (f) university students’ physical activity flow experience positively affected their sustainable well-being.
Therefore, it is clear from the results that the level of physical activity involvement and flow experience is more conducive to meeting the physical activity needs of university students, thus helping them to sustain a sense of well-being in their future studies and lives. In addition, satisfying motivational factors such as the physical activity needs of university students in order to further motivate behaviors such as physical activity involvement level and flow experience will be beneficial for enhancing the effectiveness of university students’ physical activity participation.

5.3. Contributions

Maintaining a healthy lifestyle is an important element of SDG3 [1], and physical activity as a healthy lifestyle is essential for sustainable well-being in the current post- pandemic era context. Whereas previous studies have investigated the association of people’s physical activity and health [73,74], the relationship with sustained well-being has been less explored based on motivational factors such as the need for physical activity. Therefore, this study fills a research gap in health psychology by exploring the relationship between the need for physical activity and the sustainable well-being of university students by understanding their behavioral performance, such as participation in physical activity.
Moreover, SDT states that need is an important motivating factor for individuals’ behaviors and outcomes, influencing their behavioral performance through motivational factors, which, in turn, have an impact on their positive outcomes [15]. The present study investigated the association of physical activity needs and sustainable well-being among university students based on self-determination motivation theory and ERG needs theory to further understand the role of physical activity involvement and flow experience between physical activity needs and sustainable well-being among university students, based on the factors of needs–motivation–behavior–outcome, in order to fill this research gap.

5.4. Recommendations

The focus on healthy lifestyles and individuals’ sustainable well-being is an important topic in the SDG3 sustainability agenda [33]. By exploring the relationship between the need for physical activity and sustainable well-being among university students, this study can assist in expanding the knowledge of healthy lifestyles, such as physical activity, in health psychology. As we are in a post-pandemic era of regular management, university students are vulnerable to epidemic risks and health problems such as physical immunity and need to maintain good health to actively deal with challenges from all sides. Therefore, it is recommended that college students and educators pay attention to physical activity participation and improve their performance in physical activity by meeting their physical activity needs so that they can sustain a steady and positive sense of well-being in their future studies and lives.
Furthermore, according to ERG needs theory, individual needs may trigger a range of motivational factors that simultaneously influence outcomes through behavioral performance [21]. Furthermore, this study found the need for a motivation–behavior–outcome relationship based on SDT and ERG needs theory. Therefore, in the post-pandemic era context, despite many limitations such as epidemic risk and physical activity, university students and educators should pay attention to the behavioral performance of participating in physical activity by creating more chances to participate in physical activity, improving emotional and behavioral involvement in physical activity with more enthusiasm and vigor, and at the same time enhancing flow experiences such as pleasure and excitement in physical activity in order to further satisfy physical activity needs and sustainable well-being acquisition.

5.5. Limitations and Future Study

First, based on SDT and ERG needs theory, this study investigated the association between physical activity needs and sustained well-being among university students, especially through positive behavioral manifestations such as physical activity involvement level and flow experience. However, there may be other influencing factors between physical activity and sustainable well-being for university students, such as stress, anxiety, and other negative factors. Therefore, the correlation between motivation–negative behavior–outcome can be explored in future research, as well as the need for physical activity to relieve stress, anxiety, and other negative behavioral manifestations that can influence people’s behavioral outcomes.
In addition, this was a cross-sectional study examining the association of physical activity needs and sustainable well-being of university students. The questionnaire survey was easily influenced by participants’ behavior, performance, and other factors, and failed to provide a deeper insight into the physical activity needs of university students and the phenomena and reasons behind them. Therefore, further qualitative research can be conducted in future studies to understand the phenomena, causes, and relationship between the physical activity needs and sustainable well-being of university students.
In addition, because the collection of the data for this study was during the post- pandemic period of localized vaccination and recurrent epidemics, the physical activity of university students was limited in many ways. Therefore, future studies could be conducted to understand the demand for physical activity and participation in physical activity behaviors and outcomes in non-epidemic specific situations. It is also possible to find out whether there are differences between the physical activity needs and the sustainable well-being of different study participants.

Author Contributions

Conceptualization, C.L., Y.-F.W. and L.N.; methodology, C.L., L.N. and Y.-F.W.; software, C.L., Y.-F.W., L.N. and Y.-T.W.; validation, L.N., Y.-T.W. and Y.-F.W.; formal analysis, L.N., Y.-T.W. and Y.-F.W.; investigation, C.L.; resources, C.L. and L.N.; data curation, L.N., Y.-T.W. and Y.-F.W.; writing—original draft preparation, C.L., Y.-F.W. and L.N.; writing—review and editing, Y.-T.W. and J.-H.Y.; visualization, C.L., L.N. and J.-H.Y.; supervision, C.L.; project administration, C.L. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.

Funding

This research received no external funding.

Institutional Review Board Statement

Ethical review and approval was not required for the study on human participants in accordance with local legislation and institutional requirements. Moreover, ethical review and approval of this study was waived because express consent was obtained from the participants.

Informed Consent Statement

Informed consent was obtained from all participants in this study.

Data Availability Statement

The original contributions presented in the study are included in the article.

Acknowledgments

The authors are grateful to all students participating in this study and for their contributions to the data collection.

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

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Sustainability 15 08719 g001 550
Figure 1. Research model.
Figure 1. Research model.
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Sustainability 15 08719 g002 550
Figure 2. Validation of the research model ** p < 0.01, *** p < 0.001.
Figure 2. Validation of the research model ** p < 0.01, *** p < 0.001.
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Table
Table 1. Demographics.
Table 1. Demographics.
ConstructGenderGradeType of School
Content555 (66%) Females351 (41.7%) Freshmen218 (25.9%) College
286 (34%) Males256 (30.4%) Sophomores349 (41.5%) University
223 (26.5%) Juniors189 (22.5%) Vocational College
11 (1.3%) Seniors85 (10.1%) Vocational University
ConstructField of StudyDays of Physical Activity Per WeekPhysical activities that you
usually like to participate in
Content13 (1.5%) Social Sciences 193 (22.9%) with little to no physical activity time 69 (8.2%) who participated in outdoor static activities
154 (18.3%) Arts and Humanities550 (65.4%) who participated in physical activity 1–2 days per week72 (8.6%) who participated in outdoor dynamic activities
17 (2%) Physical Sciences and Chemistry66 (7.8%) who participated in physical activity 3–4 days per week211 (25.1%) who participated in indoor static activities
189 (22.5%) Computers and Engineering12 (1.4%) who participated in physical activity 5–6 days per week11 (1.3%) who participated in indoor dynamic activities
10 (1.2%) Nursing and Medicine20 (2.4%) who participated in physical activity every day86 (10.2%) who participated in social activities
27 (3.2%) Agriculture 357 (42.4%) who participated in entertainment activities
38 (4.5%) Economics 35 (4.2%) who participated in other activities
393 (46.7%) Business and Management
Table
Table 2. First-order CFA.
Table 2. First-order CFA.
Constructχ2dfχ2/dfRMSEAGFIAGFIFL
Threshold--<5<0.10>0.80>0.80>0.5
Physical activity need46.75143.340.530.980.970.61–0.80
Involvement46.22143.300.520.980.970.62–0.78
Flow experience25.9692.890.470.990.980.74–0.85
Sustainable well-being54.49202.730.450.980.970.62–0.78
Note: χ2: chi-squared test statistic; df: degrees of freedom; χ2/df: standardized chi-squared value; RMSEA: root mean square error of approximation; GFI: goodness-of-fit index; AGFI: adjusted goodness-of-fit index; FL: factor loading.
Table
Table 3. Reliability and validity analysis.
Table 3. Reliability and validity analysis.
ConstructMSDαFLCRAVEt
Physical activity need3.730.580.930.710.880.5115.62–19.65
Involvement3.450.560.940.710.870.5015.33–17.68
Flow experience3.490.610.940.780.900.6021.81–25.66
Sustainable well-being3.670.570.950.730.900.5316.35–19.50
Note: M: mean; SD: standard deviation; α: Cronbach’s α; FL: factor loading; CR: construct reliability; AVE: average variance extracted; t: t-value.
Table
Table 4. Discrimination validity analysis.
Table 4. Discrimination validity analysis.
Construct1234
1. Physical activity need(0.71)
2. Involvement0.52(0.71)
3. Flow experience0.540.73(0.77)
4. Sustainable well-being0.600.680.79(0.73)
Table
Table 5. Indirect effect analysis.
Table 5. Indirect effect analysis.
ConstructPhysical Activity NeedsInvolvementFlow Experience
Physical activity needβ95% CIβ95% CIβ95% CI
Sustainable well-being0.24 ***[0.18, 0.31]0.12 **[0.01, 0.24]0.60 ***[0.50, 0.70]
** p < 0.01, *** p < 0.001.
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Liao, C.; Nong, L.; Wu, Y.-F.; Wu, Y.-T.; Ye, J.-H. The Relationships between University Students’ Physical Activity Needs, Involvement, Flow Experience and Sustainable Well-Being in the Post-Pandemic Era. Sustainability 2023, 15, 8719. https://doi.org/10.3390/su15118719

AMA Style

Liao C, Nong L, Wu Y-F, Wu Y-T, Ye J-H. The Relationships between University Students’ Physical Activity Needs, Involvement, Flow Experience and Sustainable Well-Being in the Post-Pandemic Era. Sustainability. 2023; 15(11):8719. https://doi.org/10.3390/su15118719

Chicago/Turabian Style

Liao, Chen, Liying Nong, Yu-Feng Wu, Yu-Tai Wu, and Jian-Hong Ye. 2023. "The Relationships between University Students’ Physical Activity Needs, Involvement, Flow Experience and Sustainable Well-Being in the Post-Pandemic Era" Sustainability 15, no. 11: 8719. https://doi.org/10.3390/su15118719

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