From Sensation to Anxiety: The Mediating Effect of Physical Sensation and Experiential Avoidance on Exercise Anxiety Among College Students

ABSTRACT Negative physical sensation (i.e., negative reactions to the physical sensations with exercise) refers to the perception and attitude toward one's own physical health and exercise capacity under a specific stressful situation. It is affected by potentially stressful situations, negative emotions, and avoidance coping strategies, and it has an important influence on individual behavior. In the stress situation, the avoidance strategy of cognition, emotion and behavior caused by emotional disorder is called experiential avoidance. Negative physical sensation and experiential avoidance, as negative cognitive and emotional regulation methods, play an important role in behavior orientation and emotional disorders. These factors may elucidate the underlying mechanisms contributing to the onset and perpetuation of sports anxiety. The present study investigates the role of negative physical sensation and experiential avoidance in anxiety during endurance exercise contexts, with a view to elucidating their underlying mechanisms. In order to this end, a study was conducted on 262 non‐athlete college students from western China, who were subjected to endurance exercise anxiety scenarios. The survey encompassed acceptance and action, non‐cognitive factors in adolescent competitive athletes, and sports behavior. Related statistics were analyzed and the mediating effect was tested by the nonparametric percentile bootstrap method of deviation correction. Taking exercise anxiety as dependent variables, the structural equation model ( R  = 0.61, R 2 = 0.38) was established, and the mediating effect was tested by the nonparametric percentile bootstrap method of deviation correction. A total of 262 college students participated in the survey. The average age of participants was 19.29 years, with 170 females (64.9%) and 92 males (36.1%). The average BMI for female students was 21.59 ± 4.33 (mean ± standard deviation). The average BMI for male students was 22.22 ± 4.21. The findings of the regression analysis suggest that endurance exercise behavior negatively predicts negative physical sensations ( β  = −0.48, p  < 0.001), negative physical sensation positively predicts experiential avoidance ( β  = 0.34, p  < 0.001) and exercise anxiety ( β  = 0.34, p  < 0.001), and experiential avoidance positively predicts exercise anxiety ( β  = 0.25, p  < 0.001). Taking exercise anxiety as a dependent variable and endurance exercise behavior, negative physical sensations, and experiential avoidance as independent variables, a structural equation model (SEM) is established. And path analysis and structural equation modeling are used to examine mediating effects. The results indicate that the standard indirect effect value of Path 1 (endurance exercise→negative physical sensation→exercise anxiety) was β  = −0.041, 95% CI = [−0.077, −0.018], accounting for 10.22% of the total indirect effect. Bootstrap 95% confidence interval did not contain 0, indicating that the mediating effect was significant. The standard indirect effect value of Path 2 (endurance exercise→negative physical sensation→experiential avoidance→exercise anxiety) was β  = −0.178, 95% CI = [−0.259, −0.109], accounting for 44.39% of the total effect. Bootstrap 95% confidence interval did not contain 0, indicating that the mediating effect was significant. A substantial correlation was identified among endurance exercise, negative physical sensation, experiential avoidance, and exercise anxiety. Negative physical sensations and experiential avoidance significantly predict anxiety behaviors during endurance exercise. Furthermore, they have been shown to play mediating and chain‐mediating roles between endurance exercise and exercise anxiety.