
==== Front
Medicine (Baltimore)
Medicine (Baltimore)
MD
Medicine
0025-7974
1536-5964
Lippincott Williams & Wilkins Hagerstown, MD

39029034
MD-D-24-04183
00036
10.1097/MD.0000000000038987
3
6500
Research Article
Observational Study
The relationship between exercise atmosphere, flow experience, and subjective well-being in middle school students: A cross-sectional study
Zou Na MD 361785896@qq.com
a
Shang Yao PhD shangyao@xjtu.edu.cn
b
https://orcid.org/0009-0001-4371-2521
Wang Qingran MD c*
a Changchun University of Science and Technology, Changchun, 130013, China
b Center for Physical Education, Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an, 710049, China
c The High School Affiliated to Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an, 710049, China
* Correspondence: Qingran Wang, The High School Affiliated to Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an, 710049, China (e-mail: 769343560@qq.com).
19 7 2024
19 7 2024
103 29 e3898717 4 2024
25 6 2024
28 6 2024
Copyright © 2024 the Author(s). Published by Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc.
2024
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial License 4.0 (CCBY-NC), where it is permissible to download, share, remix, transform, and buildup the work provided it is properly cited. The work cannot be used commercially without permission from the journal.

The aim of this research was to explore the effect of exercise atmosphere (EA) on the flow experience (FE) and subjective well-being (SWB) of middle school students and further analyze the mediating effect of FE between EA and SWB, and to provide theoretical references for improving middle school students’ SWB. A cross-sectional design was used. 1056 middle school students from 6 middle schools in Sichuan, China, voluntarily completed the Exercise Atmosphere Scale (EAS), Short (9-item) Dispositional Flow Scales (SDFS-2), Positive and Negative Affect Scale (PANAS), and Satisfaction with Life Scale (SLS). The data collected for this investigation were processed using SPSS 19.0 and Process 3.0. EA could positively predict FE and SWB. FE could positively predict SWB. FE partially mediated the relationship between EA and SWB. The study demonstrated the mediating effect of FE between EA and middle school students’ SWB. It was proposed that the positive EA contributes to the emergence of FE during physical exercise in middle school students, which leads to a better sense of SWB.

exercise atmosphere
flow experience
middle school students
physical exercise
subjective well-being
OPEN-ACCESSTRUE
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pmc1. Introduction

In recent years, accidents caused by mental and emotional problems among adolescents have become commonplace. Surveys have shown that about 20% of schoolchildren are affected by diagnosable mental illnesses, and half of all mental problems appear before age 14.[1] Adolescents’ mental health has become one of the major problems to be solved by the current society. Subjective well-being (SWB) is defined as an individual comprehensive evaluation of their quality of life. This encompasses general life satisfaction, the presence of positive emotions, and the absence of negative emotions.[2] As a core variable in positive psychology, SWB has received extensive attention from scholars for its role in promoting individuals’ physical and mental health. It has been shown that SWB not only contributes to the academic achievement of adolescents,[3] but also improves the negative effects triggered by life events and protects individual mental health.[4] With the arrival of puberty, the level of SWB of individuals tends to decline, and the middle school stage is also often regarded as a watershed in the development of SWB,[5] it is of paramount importance to enhance the SWB of individuals in this developmental stage to facilitate their optimal growth and development.

There is a general consensus among researchers that physical exercise has a positive effect on SWB, and studies have indicated that physical exercise can induce structural and functional changes in the individual brain, increase positive emotions, reduce symptoms of depression and anxiety, and promote the formation of SWB.[6,7] With the depth of research, the study on the influence of physical exercise on well-being is no longer limited to the amount of exercise alone, more and more scholars have realized that the exercise experience may be a more proximal factor for physical exercise to influence the SWB of individuals.[8] As a result, focusing on the impact of exercise experience on SWB can provide more nuanced theoretical direction for the use of physical exercise as a therapeutic intervention.

1.1. The relationship between flow experience and SWB

In the field of physical exercise, flow experience (FE) is a positive and ideal exercise experience and psychological state in which the individual is totally engaged, attentive, and feels impressed and full of value thereafter.[9] Previous research has demonstrated that the FE in physical exercise positively predicts students’ mental health,[10] which opens up the possibility that the FE may have a positive effect on middle school students’ SWB. In addition, the original formulation of flow theory was an attempt to explain human development from the perspective of SWB.[11] It is evident that there is a close correlation between both the FE and the individual SWB. As Chen et al[12] have observed, the experience of joy, flow, and peak emotions during physical exercise can significantly boost participants’ SWB.

1.2. The relationship between exercise atmosphere and FE

After clarifying the positive effect of FE on SWB, how to effectively promote the generation of individual FE during physical exercise becomes the key to the study. Exercise atmosphere (EA) refers to the exercise situation around the individual and the relevant exercise information that can be easily accessed, which has a motivating and guiding effect on physical exercise.[13] EA has been shown to motivate individuals to present themselves and establish group identity, thus stimulating positive exercise experiences.[14] This also suggests that FE, as a kind of positive exercise experience, may be influenced by the EA. In addition, in terms of the influencing factors of FE, factors such as motivation, self-efficacy, and self-confidence have all been suggested to increase the chance of producing FE.[15] A positive and active EA can stimulate students’ interest and enthusiasm in participating in physical exercise, increase motivation,[13] and make it easier for students to achieve success in physical exercise, thus improving self-confidence and self-efficacy.[16] From the above evidence, it is not difficult to infer that the EA may increase the chances of students having an FE during physical exercise.

1.3. The relationship between EA and SWB

The relationship between EA and SWB has been argued. Studies have shown that the group atmosphere when older adults participate in square dancing positively predicts their SWB.[17] Yu et al[18] found that a positive EA can reduce the level of students’ stress perception, and alleviate depression, anxiety, and other adverse emotions generated by stress during the process of participating in exercise, thus enhancing students’ pleasure and well-being.

1.4. Present study

To summarize, both the EA and the FE achieved can positively influence the SWB levels of participants, and the EA can enhance the likelihood of students achieving an FE during physical exercise. It is clear that the EA may improve individuals’ SWB by changing the FE, implying that the FE acts as a mediator between the EA and SWB. Nevertheless, there is a dearth of research on the mediating function of FE and no testing of the link between exercise environment, FE, and SWB. In light of this, the study proposes 4 hypotheses (H1, H2, H3, and H4) and constructs a mediating hypothesis model (Fig. 1) for the systematic analysis of the connection between EA, FE, and SWB, as well as the provision of suggestions for enhancing SWB.

Figure 1. Hypothesis model. Arrows indicate the interaction between the variables.

Hypothesis 1 (H1): EA can positively predict SWB.

Hypothesis 2 (H2): EA can positively predict FE.

Hypothesis 3 (H3): FE can positively predict SWB.

Hypothesis 4 (H4): Exercise environment and SWB are mediated by FE.

2. Materials and methods

2.1. Participants and procedure

This is a secondary study of Shang et al.[19] This study was approved by the Ethics Committee of Xi’an Jiaotong University following the Declaration of Helsinki. This was a cross-sectional study conducted by researchers. Participants were recruited through a random sampling approach from 6 middle schools in Sichuan, China. The “Questionnaire Star” platform was used to finish the data collection procedure between June 10, 2022, and July 28, 2022. The questionnaire guidelines included directions on how to answer the questions as well as information on the topics of the measurement instruments, the study objective, and the terms of participation (voluntary, confidential). 1094 students were gathered by calling 21 counselors who were hired to help distribute the surveys. The “questionnaire star” can timely remind the questionnaire filler whether there is a missing value in the questionnaire. A total of 38 questionnaires were deemed invalid due to the presence of more than 70% of the same answers. Consequently, 1056 valid questionnaires were obtained, representing a valid recovery rate of 96.5%. The sample size was sufficient to meet the statistical requirement of being at least 5 to ten times the number of scale items.[20]

2.2. Instruments

2.2.1. Background information

This component encompasses the fundamental background data on the subject gender, educational attainment, and geographical origin.

2.2.2. Exercise atmosphere scale (EAS)

The EAS[21] was used to assess the level of perceived EA among middle school students. It has a total of 17 items, which include 5 dimensions: interpersonal association, for example, “In participating in physical exercise, I used to get help from my partners”; natural association, for example, “I prefer the outdoors to the indoors”; information acquisition, for example, “I have access to professional guidance for my participation in physical exercise”; interpersonal barriers, for example, “None of my friends participate in physical exercise”; and conditional obstacles, for example, “I have a heavy study load and no time for physical exercise.” The 5-point Likert scale ranging from 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree) was used. In this study, Cronbach α coefficient for the overall EAS was 0.72 (interpersonal association = 0.81, natural association = 0.82, information acquisition = 0.72, interpersonal barriers = 0.64, conditional obstacles = 0.68).

2.2.3. Short (9-item) dispositional flow scales (SDFS-2)

The SDFS-2 compiled by Jackson et al[22] and revised by Liu[23] was employed to assess the level of FE. The scale was a total of 9 items: Challenge Skill Balance: “I feel I am competent enough to meet the high demands of the situation”; Action-Awareness Merging: “I do things spontaneously and automatically without having to think”; Clear Goals: “I have a strong sense of what I want to do”; Unambiguous Feedback: “I have a good idea while I am performing about how well I am doing”; Concentration on Task at Hand: “I am completely focused on the task at hand”; Sense of Control: “I have a feeling of total control over what I am doing”; Loss Self-Consciousness: “I don’t worry about how others see me”; Transformation of Time: “The way time passes seems to be different from normal”; and Autotelic Experience: “This experience is extremely rewarding.” Each scale was scored on a 5-point Likert scale ranging from 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree). The Cronbach α coefficient of this scale was 0.91 in this study.

2.2.4. Subjective well‑being scale

The Positive and Negative Affect Scale (PANAS)[24] and the satisfaction with life scale (SLS)[25] were employed to assess middle school students’ SWB. The PANAS has 20 items and 2 dimensions: positive affect, for example, “Enthusiastic”; and negative affect, for example, “Distressed.” The 5-point Likert scale was employed. In the present study, the Cronbach α coefficient for the PANAS was 0.86, with coefficients of 0.88 and 0.83, respectively, for positive and negative affect. The SLS has 5 items, for example, “My life is close to my ideal in most ways.” Each item was scored on a 7-point Likert scale approach from 1 to 7. The Cronbach α coefficient for the SLS was 0.82 in this study.

2.3. Statistical analyses

The study was completed in 3 steps. In the first step, the normalcy distribution was checked using skewness and kurtosis scores, as well as their decision procedures. Skewness and kurtosis values < |1| indicate adequate normalcy.[26] In the second step, reliability analyses were used to check the internal consistency of the scales. In the last step, Pearson correlation analyses, regression analyses, and Process macros were used to test for mediating effect. The effect size of the mediating role is expressed by the relative effect share (mediating effect/total effect). The above operations were done on IBM SPSS Statics 19.0 and Process 3.0.

3. Results

The ages of the participants ranged from 11 to 15 years old (M = 13.28; SD = 1.08). with 516 males and 540 females; 316 in the seventh grade, 342 in the eighth grade, and 398 in the ninth grade; 772 from rural areas and 284 from urban areas.

As shown in Table 1, Descriptive statistics indicate that all measures had a relatively normal distribution with acceptable ranges of skewness (range = −0.71 to 0.06) and kurtosis scores (range = −0.50 to −0.34). Correlation analysis showed a significant positive correlation between all study variables (R = 0.27 to 0.58).

Table 1 Descriptive statistics and correlation analysis of research variables.

	1	2	3	
1. Exercise atmosphere	1			
2. Flow experience	0.56*	1		
3. Subjective well-being	0.61*	0.48*	1	
Mean	34.65	36.48	92.31	
Standard deviation	9.48	6.79	16.22	
Skewness	−0.45	−0.71	0.06	
Kurtosis	−0.50	0.43	−0.34	
* P < .001.

As shown in Table 2, gender and grade were employed as control variables. The regression coefficient between EA and SWB was found to be statistically significant (b = 0.61, P < .001, Model 1), supporting Hypothesis H1. The regression coefficient between EA and FE was significant (b = 0.55 P < .001, Model 2), supporting Hypothesis H2. The regression coefficients for EA (b = 0.51, P < .001) and FE (b = 0.18, P < .001) on SWB were statistically significant (Model 3), supporting Hypothesis H3.

Table 2 Results of regression analysis between study variables.

	Outcome	
Subjective well-being	Flow experience	Subjective well-being	
Model 1	Model 2	Model 3	
b	t	b	t	b	t	
Predictors							
 Gender	−0.20	−4.16**	−0.37	−7.39**	−0.13	−2.78*	
 Grade	−0.11	−3.96**	−0.07	−2.21*	−0.10	−3.61**	
 Exercise atmosphere	0.61	25.32**	0.55	21.89**	0.51	17.96**	
 Flow experience					0.18	6.05**	
 R	0.63	0.59	0.65	
 R2	0.40	0.35	0.42	
 F	230.12**	188.18**	187.58**	
** P < .001,

* P < .05.

To further confirm the mediating effect of FE, a bias-corrected percentile bootstrap approach was employed to evaluate the significant degree of mediation, and 95% confidence intervals (CI) were calculated using 5000 repeated samples from the original data. If the standardized path coefficient 95% confidence interval does not include zero, it means that the mediating influence is significant. As shown in Table 3, the 95% CI for the mediating role of FE (0.059, 0.133) did not include zero, indicating that the mediation effect was statistically significant. Therefore, Hypothesis H4 was verified.

Table 3 Bootstrap test for mediating effects.

Pathway	Effect value	Boot SE	Bootstrap
95% CI	Relative effect(%)	
Total effect					
 EA→SWB	0.61	0.02	[0.561, 0.656]	100	
Direct effect					
 EA→SWB	0.51	0.03	[0.456, 0.568]	83.61	
Indirect effect					
 EA→FE→SWB	0.10	0.02	[0.059, 0.133]	16.39	
EA, exercise atmosphere; FE, flow experience; SWB, subjective well-being.

4. Discussion

4.1. The relationship between EA and SWB

The current study confirmed that EA positively predicts middle school students’ SWB, which is consistent with the findings of previous scholars.[18] From the perspective of physical exercise behavior, the EA is conducive to promoting students’ exercise adherence behavior,[27] thereby increasing the positive effect of physical exercise behavior on SWB. From the perspective of the attributes of the EA, on the one hand, the provision of the natural atmosphere such as venues and equipment in the exercise process can directly enable students to get a sense of satisfaction in terms of exercise opportunities and conditions, thus mobilizing positive emotions,[28] which is conducive to the enhancement of SWB. On the other hand, the inclusion of exercise support from peers, teachers, families, etc, can create a positive interpersonal atmosphere for students and reduce loneliness,[29] which is also conducive to the acquisition of SWB. These 2 perspectives also explain the positive predictive effect of EA on SWB.

4.2. The mediating role of FE between EA and SWB

Previous studies have not validated the relationship between EA and FE, but the relationship between EA and exercise experience has been argued. Cheng et al[27] showed that the EA contributes to the acquisition of positive exercise experience by students. With this in mind, this study proposed the research hypothesis that FE, as a positive experience during exercise, would also be influenced by EA, and the final empirical findings supported this hypothesis. In terms of the conditions for the production of FE, previous scholars have pointed out that when an individual is interested in what he or she is doing, or can produce pleasant and exciting feelings, then the individual will have a greater chance of obtaining a FE.[30] And the EA has the function of mobilizing students’ interest in exercising in both natural and interpersonal atmospheres,[28] which explains the positive effect of the EA on the FE. In addition, the interpersonal atmosphere in the EA can satisfy the individual relational needs, resulting in a higher degree of tacit understanding among exercise peers with common experiences and similar goals, and promoting the emergence of the FE.[31]

In addition, it was found that the FE in physical exercise can positively influence the SWB of middle school students. This is consistent with the findings of Lin and Feng.[32] The study concluded that the effect of FE on SWB can be explained in 2 ways. One, physical exercise itself contains elements that can make people enjoy, that is, games, leisure, competition, contests, and spectator education, and therefore, it can improve the mood and life satisfaction of middle school students in the process of long-term participation in physical exercise.[33] Secondly, FE represents a higher sense of competence in the physical exercise that an individual participates in, forgetfulness in the current activity, and generating a pleasurable experience of enjoying the moment,[31] which can help students experience a greater sense of well-being in physical exercise.

From the above discussion, it is easy to see that both EA and FE contribute to the acquisition of students’ SWB, and that EA can also increase the chances of acquiring FE during exercise. These evidence suggest that EA may enhance students’ SWB through the influence of FE, however, previous studies have not verified this pathway, and this study has confirmed the mediating role of FE between EA and SWB through the construction of mediation model, which remedies the shortcomings of previous studies. Based on the evidence of this study and previous studies, the mediating role of FE is explained as follows: the acquisition of a positive exercise climate can mobilize students’ interest in exercise, satisfy their relational needs, trigger the conditions for the production of FE, and enable students to have a higher sense of competence and enjoy pleasurable experiences during physical exercise, thus enhancing their SWB.

5. Limitations and future research

All surveys in this study utilized self-reporting, thus typical methodological bias may have influenced the results. To make the findings more appealing, future studies should collect data from numerous informants.

6. Conclusion

The innovation of this study is the proposal of a mediation model explaining the relationship between EA, FE, and middle school students’ SWB. EA was found to positively correlate with SWB, and FE mediated the influence of EA on SWB. These findings give a theoretical foundation for intervening in middle school students’ SWB via the lens of EA.

Acknowledgments

We are grateful to all of the study participants as well as the research volunteers who assisted with data collecting.

Author contributions

Conceptualization: Na Zou, Qing-Ran Wang.

Data curation: Na Zou, Yao Shang.

Formal analysis: Na Zou, Qing-Ran Wang.

Investigation: Na Zou, Yao Shang, Qing-Ran Wang.

Methodology: Na Zou, Yao Shang.

Validation: Na Zou.

Writing – original draft: Na Zou.

Writing – review & editing: Na Zou, Yao Shang, Qing-Ran Wang.

Abbreviations:

EA exercise atmosphere

EAS exercise atmosphere scale

FE flow experience

PANAS positive and negative affect scale

SDFS-2 Short (9-Item) Dispositional Flow Scales

SLS satisfaction with life scale

SWB subjective well-being

The authors have no funding and conflicts of interest to disclose.

The datasets generated during and/or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

How to cite this article: Zou N, Shang Y, Wang Q. The relationship between exercise atmosphere, flow experience, and subjective well-being in middle school students: A cross-sectional study. Medicine 2024;103:29(e38987).
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