Associations between school sports atmosphere and college students’ mental well-being: the chain mediation role of growth mindset and psychological resilience

Abstract

Background College students’ mental health is affected by academic pressure, employment competition, interpersonal adjustment, and uncertainty about the future. Previous research has focused mainly on exercise frequency, intensity, and participation, with less attention to school sports atmosphere as a contextual campus factor. Based on the social ecological model, cognitive appraisal theory, and the stress-buffering model, this study examined the relationship between school sports atmosphere and college students’ mental well-being and tested the direct association and indirect effects involving growth mindset and psychological resilience. Methods A questionnaire survey was conducted among 635 Chinese college students. Participants completed the School Sports Atmosphere Scale, Growth Mindset Scale, Chinese Connor–Davidson Resilience Scale, and Chinese WHO-5 Well-Being Index. Descriptive statistics were conducted in SPSS 28.0, and structural equation modeling was performed in AMOS 28.0 to test the theory-specified structural associations and indirect effects. Results School sports atmosphere was positively associated with mental well-being, growth mindset, and psychological resilience. Growth mindset was positively associated with psychological resilience, and psychological resilience was positively associated with mental well-being. However, the direct path from growth mindset to mental well-being was not significant. Conclusion A positive school sports atmosphere was directly associated with better mental well-being and indirectly associated with mental well-being through psychological resilience. Although growth mindset did not show a significant independent indirect effect, it contributed to a significant sequential indirect effect through psychological resilience. Growth mindset was associated with mental well-being primarily through its association with psychological resilience rather than through a significant direct pathway. Universities should integrate improvements in the school sports environment with interventions that cultivate growth mindset and psychological resilience.