Project Director

Hamilton, Kara

Department Examiner

Hathaway, Elizabeth

Department

Dept. of Health and Human Performance

Publisher

University of Tennessee at Chattanooga

Place of Publication

Chattanooga (Tenn.)

Abstract

This study explored the relationship between exercise, social support, and mental health in college students. Mental health issues such as depression, anxiety, and stress are prevalent among college students. The two components that are experimented with for their potential in decreasing the effects of negative mental health are exercise and social support. This project executed a cross-sectional design by surveying three groups of college students: cycle class participants, independent exercisers, and non-active students. The recruitment process for the three groups of participants were key in measuring the physical activity levels. The participants were individually asked if they completed a specific duration of physical activity per week. Since the cycling participants are involved in a group fitness class, this group helped highlight the effects of social support on mental health. Mental health was assessed using the Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scale (DASS-21). A one-way ANOVA was conducted to compare the mental health scores across the three groups. The results displayed no significant differences in mental health scores between the groups (p-values: depression =0.239, anxiety = 0.790, and stress = 0.406). Even though the results did not display a statistically different impact of physical activity and social support on the mental health scores, this is likely due to the small sample size rather than lack of influence. This project suggests that future research, with larger sample sizes or different measures could be more beneficial to better prove the influence of physical activity on mental health.

IRB Number

24-120

Degree

B. S.; An honors thesis submitted to the faculty of the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga in partial fulfillment of the requirements of the degree of Bachelor of Science.

Date

12-2025

Subject

College students--Mental health; Exercise--Psychological aspects

Keyword

Depression; Anxiety; Stress; Physical Activity; Group Fitness Class; Social Support

Discipline

Psychiatric and Mental Health

Document Type

Theses

Extent

i, 54 leaves

DCMI Type

Text

Language

English

Rights

http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/

License

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

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