The impact of physical fitness on resilience to modern life stress and the mediating role of general self-efficacy

Abstract

AbstractSubstantial evidence shows that physical activity and fitness play a protective role in the development of stress related disorders. However, the beneficial effects of fitness for resilience to modern life stress are not fully understood. Potentially protective effects may be attributed to enhanced resilience via underlying psychosocial mechanisms such as self-efficacy expectations. This study investigated whether physical activity and fitness contribute to prospectively measured resilience and examined the mediating effect of general self-efficacy. 431 initially healthy adults participated in fitness assessments as part of a longitudinal-prospective study, designed to identify mechanisms of resilience. Self-efficacy and habitual activity were assessed in parallel to cardiorespiratory and muscular fitness, which were determined by a submaximal step-test, hand strength and standing long jump test. Resilience was indexed by stressor reactivity: mental health problems in relation to reported life events and daily hassles, monitored quarterly for nine months. Hierarchical linear regression models and bootstrapped mediation analyses were applied. We could show that muscular and self-perceived fitness were positively associated with stress resilience. Extending this finding, the muscular fitness–resilience relationship was partly mediated by self-efficacy expectations. In this context, self-efficacy expectations may act as one underlying psychological mechanism, with complementary benefits for the promotion of mental health. While physical activity and cardiorespiratory fitness did not predict resilience prospectively, we found muscular and self-perceived fitness to be significant prognostic parameters for stress resilience. Although there is still more need to identify specific fitness parameters in light of stress resilience, our study underscores the general relevance of fitness for stress-related disorders prevention.

Autoren

RJ Neumann
KF Ahrens
B Kollmann
N Goldbach
A Chmitorz
D Weichert
CJ Fiebach
M Wessa
R Kalisch
K Lieb
O Tüscher
MM Plichta
A Reif
S Matura

DOI

10.1007/s00406-021-01338-9

eISSN

1433-8491

ISSN

0940-1334

Ausgabe der Veröffentlichung

4

Zeitschrift

European Archives of Psychiatry and Clinical Neuroscience

Sprache

en

Online publication date

2021

Paginierung

679 - 692

Datum der Veröffentlichung

2022

Status

Published

Herausgeber

Springer Science and Business Media LLC

Herausgeber URL

http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00406-021-01338-9

Datum der Datenerfassung

2022

Titel

The impact of physical fitness on resilience to modern life stress and the mediating role of general self-efficacy

Ausgabe der Zeitschrift

272

Datenquelle: Crossref

Abstract

Substantial evidence shows that physical activity and fitness play a protective role in the development of stress related disorders. However, the beneficial effects of fitness for resilience to modern life stress are not fully understood. Potentially protective effects may be attributed to enhanced resilience via underlying psychosocial mechanisms such as self-efficacy expectations. This study investigated whether physical activity and fitness contribute to prospectively measured resilience and examined the mediating effect of general self-efficacy. 431 initially healthy adults participated in fitness assessments as part of a longitudinal-prospective study, designed to identify mechanisms of resilience. Self-efficacy and habitual activity were assessed in parallel to cardiorespiratory and muscular fitness, which were determined by a submaximal step-test, hand strength and standing long jump test. Resilience was indexed by stressor reactivity: mental health problems in relation to reported life events and daily hassles, monitored quarterly for nine months. Hierarchical linear regression models and bootstrapped mediation analyses were applied. We could show that muscular and self-perceived fitness were positively associated with stress resilience. Extending this finding, the muscular fitness-resilience relationship was partly mediated by self-efficacy expectations. In this context, self-efficacy expectations may act as one underlying psychological mechanism, with complementary benefits for the promotion of mental health. While physical activity and cardiorespiratory fitness did not predict resilience prospectively, we found muscular and self-perceived fitness to be significant prognostic parameters for stress resilience. Although there is still more need to identify specific fitness parameters in light of stress resilience, our study underscores the general relevance of fitness for stress-related disorders prevention.

Addresses

Department of Psychiatry, Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, University Hospital Frankfurt, Goethe-University, Heinrich-Hoffmann-Str. 10, 60528, Frankfurt/Main, Germany. rebecca.neumann@kgu.de.

Autoren

RJ Neumann
KF Ahrens
B Kollmann
N Goldbach
A Chmitorz
D Weichert
CJ Fiebach
M Wessa
R Kalisch
K Lieb
O Tüscher
MM Plichta
A Reif
S Matura

DOI

10.1007/s00406-021-01338-9

eISSN

1433-8491

Externe Identifier

PubMed Identifier: 34622343
PubMed Central ID: PMC9095527

Funding acknowledgements

deutsche forschungsgemeinschaft: CRC 1193
Universitätsklinikum Frankfurt:
horizon 2020 framework programme: 667303

Open access

true

ISSN

0940-1334

Ausgabe der Veröffentlichung

4

Zeitschrift

European archives of psychiatry and clinical neuroscience

Schlüsselwörter

Humans
Prospective Studies
Cross-Sectional Studies
Stress, Psychological
Self Efficacy
Physical Fitness
Adult

Sprache

eng

Medium

Print-Electronic

Online publication date

2021

Open access status

Open Access

Paginierung

679 - 692

Datum der Veröffentlichung

2022

Status

Published

Publisher licence

CC BY

Datum der Datenerfassung

2021

Titel

The impact of physical fitness on resilience to modern life stress and the mediating role of general self-efficacy.

Sub types

research-article
Journal Article

Ausgabe der Zeitschrift

272

Files

https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s00406-021-01338-9.pdf https://europepmc.org/articles/PMC9095527?pdf=render

Datenquelle: Europe PubMed Central

Abstract

Substantial evidence shows that physical activity and fitness play a protective role in the development of stress related disorders. However, the beneficial effects of fitness for resilience to modern life stress are not fully understood. Potentially protective effects may be attributed to enhanced resilience via underlying psychosocial mechanisms such as self-efficacy expectations. This study investigated whether physical activity and fitness contribute to prospectively measured resilience and examined the mediating effect of general self-efficacy. 431 initially healthy adults participated in fitness assessments as part of a longitudinal-prospective study, designed to identify mechanisms of resilience. Self-efficacy and habitual activity were assessed in parallel to cardiorespiratory and muscular fitness, which were determined by a submaximal step-test, hand strength and standing long jump test. Resilience was indexed by stressor reactivity: mental health problems in relation to reported life events and daily hassles, monitored quarterly for nine months. Hierarchical linear regression models and bootstrapped mediation analyses were applied. We could show that muscular and self-perceived fitness were positively associated with stress resilience. Extending this finding, the muscular fitness-resilience relationship was partly mediated by self-efficacy expectations. In this context, self-efficacy expectations may act as one underlying psychological mechanism, with complementary benefits for the promotion of mental health. While physical activity and cardiorespiratory fitness did not predict resilience prospectively, we found muscular and self-perceived fitness to be significant prognostic parameters for stress resilience. Although there is still more need to identify specific fitness parameters in light of stress resilience, our study underscores the general relevance of fitness for stress-related disorders prevention.

Date of acceptance

2021

Autoren

RJ Neumann
KF Ahrens
B Kollmann
N Goldbach
A Chmitorz
D Weichert
CJ Fiebach
M Wessa
R Kalisch
K Lieb
O Tüscher
MM Plichta
A Reif
S Matura

Autoren-URL

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/34622343

DOI

10.1007/s00406-021-01338-9

eISSN

1433-8491

Externe Identifier

PubMed Central ID: PMC9095527

Funding acknowledgements

deutsche forschungsgemeinschaft: CRC 1193
horizon 2020 framework programme: 667303

Ausgabe der Veröffentlichung

4

Zeitschrift

Eur Arch Psychiatry Clin Neurosci

Schlüsselwörter

Mental health disorders
Physical activity
Physical fitness
Self-efficacy
Stress resilience
Adult
Cross-Sectional Studies
Humans
Physical Fitness
Prospective Studies
Self Efficacy
Stress, Psychological

Sprache

eng

Country

Germany

Paginierung

679 - 692

PII

10.1007/s00406-021-01338-9

Datum der Veröffentlichung

2022

Status

Published

Datum, an dem der Datensatz öffentlich gemacht wurde

2022

Titel

The impact of physical fitness on resilience to modern life stress and the mediating role of general self-efficacy.

Sub types

Journal Article

Ausgabe der Zeitschrift

272

Datenquelle: PubMed

The impact of physical fitness on resilience to modern life stress and the mediating role of general self-efficacy

Files

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