Sweating Out Stress: Can Physical Activity Reduce Stress and Improve Resilience for Adolescents and Emerging Adults?

This study aimed to explore the relationship between physical activity and resilience, mediated by perceived stress, in adolescents and emerging adults. Previous research suggests that this population is highly vulnerable to stress, which has negative consequences for their psychological well-being. Resilience is proposed to be a beneficial trait for dealing with situations that provoke stress and is found to be greater in individuals who report less stressful experiences. Therefore, the present study examined whether physical activity can contribute to lower levels of perceived stress, which in turn would enhance resilience. Participants aged 16 to 25 completed measures of physical activity (PARS-3), perceived stress (DASS-21), and resilience (CD-RISC-10), resulting in a valid sample of 109 individuals. The study hypothesized that high physical activity would be negatively associated with perceived stress, which was in turn hypothesized to have a positive relationship with...Show moreThis study aimed to explore the relationship between physical activity and resilience, mediated by perceived stress, in adolescents and emerging adults. Previous research suggests that this population is highly vulnerable to stress, which has negative consequences for their psychological well-being. Resilience is proposed to be a beneficial trait for dealing with situations that provoke stress and is found to be greater in individuals who report less stressful experiences. Therefore, the present study examined whether physical activity can contribute to lower levels of perceived stress, which in turn would enhance resilience. Participants aged 16 to 25 completed measures of physical activity (PARS-3), perceived stress (DASS-21), and resilience (CD-RISC-10), resulting in a valid sample of 109 individuals. The study hypothesized that high physical activity would be negatively associated with perceived stress, which was in turn hypothesized to have a positive relationship with resilience. Two correlation and one mediation analysis were conducted. The first analysis revealed an insignificant relationship between physical activity and perceived stress, indicating that higher levels of physical activity are not associated with lower perceived stress. The second analysis showed a significant negative correlation between perceived stress and resilience, indicating that higher levels of perceived stress are associated with lower resilience levels. The mediation analysis revealed no significant indirect effect of physical activity on resilience through perceived stress. However, it did highlight the independent contributions of perceived stress and physical activity to resilience. These findings provide insight for future research to explore not only other potential mechanisms involved in the relationship between physical activity and resilience, but also how perceived stress can be effectively reduced in adolescents and emerging adults to improve their resilience.Show less

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Sweating Out Stress: Can Physical Activity Reduce Stress and Improve Resilience for Adolescents and Emerging Adults?