The mediating roles of self-regulation and learning motivation on the relationship between physical literacy and perceptions of physical education with psychological well-being among university students

One of the biggest challenges in advancing students' holistic development is the inadequate comprehension of how perceptions of physical education and physical literacy contribute to enhanced psychological well-being, particularly owing to the insufficient investigation of the mediating roles of self-regulation and learning motivation in this process. This study was designed to examine the relationship between perceptions of physical education and literacy with psychological well-being and to test the mediating role of self-regulation and learning motivation among students. The participants were 654 students from Harbin University, China. Results from structural equation modeling demonstrate that perceptions of physical education and physical literacy have a significant direct effect on students' motivation, self-regulation, and psychological well-being, and bootstrapping results revealed that both mediators partially conveyed the effects of perceptions of physical education and physical literacy on psychological well-being. This is supported by moderate-to-strong explanatory power (R² = 0.551–0.627) for motivation, self-regulation, and well-being.