The mediating effect of resilience between physical activity and mental health: a meta-analytic structural equation modeling approach

Background While the correlation between physical activity (PA) and mental health is well known, the mediating mechanism of resilience between the two variables remains unclear. Objectives To systematically evaluate the relationship between PA and mental health, and explore the mediating role of resilience between them. Methods A systematic search of electronic databases (PubMed, Web of Science, ProQuest, Ebsco, China Knowledge, and China Biomedical Database) was conducted to identify relevant studies, and meta-analytic procedures were used to assess the strength of the relationships between PA and mental health. Furthermore, a meta-analytic structural equation model (MASEM) was used to assess the mediating effects of resilience, ensuring the reliability of our findings. Results The findings of 15 studies (17,043 subjects) were subjected to meta-analysis and route analysis. The findings of the meta-analysis revealed a statistically significant positive correlation of 0.288 (95% CI, 0.166–0.402) between PA and positive indicators of mental health, as well as a statistically significant negative correlation (95% CI, −0.342 to −0.171) with negative indicators of mental health. Furthermore, the results of MASEM path analysis indicated that PA may indirectly impact both positive and negative indicators of mental health through the mediating factor of resilience. The indirect effect values were 0.108 (95% CI, 0.080–0.141) and −0.074 (95% CI, −0.100 to −0.051), respectively, accounting for 40.15% of the total effect value and 28.91%. Conclusion Physical activity is positively correlated with positive indicators of mental health and negatively correlated with negative indicators of mental health. Moreover, PA can positively influence mental health through the mediating role of resilience.