Author(s)

Anlan Chen ¹, Dong Pan ¹

Affiliation(s)

¹ College of Physical Education, Jinan University, Guangzhou, China

Corresponding Author

Dong Pan

ABSTRACT

Family support has been consistently identified as a significant social correlate of physical activity participation among adolescents and young adults. However, the associations among family support, peer friendship quality, and sports participation motivation remain insufficiently examined in Chinese university populations—a context characterized by prolonged, high-density peer interactions within collective dormitory settings. This study investigated the direct and indirect associations among family support, peer friendship quality, and sports participation motivation in Chinese university students.A cross-sectional survey was conducted with 300 non-physical education undergraduate students aged 18–22 years from Jinan University, China. Family support was measured using a revised version of the Parental Exercise Support Scale, peer friendship quality was assessed using the Sport Friendship Quality Scale, and sports participation motivation was measured using the Shortened Version of the Exercise Motivation Scale. Confirmatory factor analysis was performed to evaluate the measurement model, and mediation analysis was conducted using the PROCESS macro (Model 4) with bias-corrected bootstrapping procedures (5,000 resamples).Family support showed a significant association with peer friendship quality (B = 0.455, SE = 0.054, p < 0.001) and sports participation motivation (B = 0.357, SE = 0.065, p < 0.001). In the mediation model, peer friendship quality was significantly associated with sports participation motivation (B = 0.397, SE = 0.074, p < 0.001), and the direct association between family support and sports participation motivation remained significant (B = 0.176, SE = 0.070, p = 0.013). The indirect pathway from family support to sports participation motivation via peer friendship quality was also significant (B = 0.181, 95% bootstrap CI = [0.104, 0.276]), accounting for approximately 50.6% of the total statistical association, indicating a partial mediation pattern.Family support appears to function not only as a direct correlate of sports participation motivation but also as a social resource that is indirectly associated with motivation through peer friendship quality among Chinese university students. The findings indicate that peer friendship quality partially accounts for the positive association between family support and sports participation motivation in this population. Promoting coordinated family–peer support environments in higher education settings may support students' motivation for physical activity.

KEYWORDS

Family support; friendship quality; sports participation motivation; university students; social learning theory

CITE THIS PAPER

Anlan Chen, Dong Pan. Family Support and Sports Participation Motivation among Chinese University Students: The Mediating Role of Peer Friendship Quality Authors. Adult and Higher Education (2026). Vol. 8, No. 2, 55-69. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.23977/aduhe.2026.080208.

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