| Summary: | 碩士 === 中原大學 === 心理學研究所 === 101 === Background and purpose Physical activity is one of the important health behaviors, and is very helpful for physical and mental health of adults. According to past surveys and studies, it was found that the amount of physical activity of adults was under ideal. This might lead to the following related issues, such as obesity, poor physical fitness, and increasing the probability of illness, and thus it will more likely lead to the loss of personal health and increasing social medical costs. In recent years, many studies have focused on investigating the relationship among physical activity, quality of life, and happiness, but the relationship between the psychological field of health-related quality of life and physical activity has not been established. Moreover, most studies did not use the construct of well-being which emphasized peacefulness and harmony in the inner state. If we can understand the above relationship, promoting regular exercise might effectively improve adults' quality of life and happiness.
Method The participants in this study were 378 adults (18-65 years old). The instruments used included the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ), Short Form-36 Health Survey (SF-36), and Peace of Mind Scale to measure the amount of physical activity, health-related quality of life, and peace of mind respectively. Structural Equation Model (SEM) was used to analyze the data.
Results The results of this study showed significant positive correlations among physical activity, physiological field of health-related quality of life, psychological field of health related quality of life, and peace of mind. In path analysis, the best-fit model showed that physical activity improved the psychological field of health-related quality of life via the physiological field of health-related quality of life, and physical activity could also improve peace of mind via health-related quality of life.
Discussion As physical activity has meditation characteristics, it can train individuals being less distracted from positive or negative stimuli. Although this may lead to experience fewer mood fluctuations in daily life, it may only lead to the state of peacefulness. Only when both the physiological field and the psychological field of health-related quality of life are raised, individuals can experience harmony and balance in the inner state. That is, physical activity required the mediation of health-related quality of life in order to enhance a higher level of happiness – peace of mind.
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