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Building Mental Well-being through Physical Literacy: The Role of Physical Activity from an Embodied Cognition Perspective

ACTIVE: Journal of Physical Education, Sport, Health and Recreation · Vol. 14 No. 3 (2025) · pp. 839–845

DOI
10.15294/active.v14i3.34234
ISSN
2460-724X, 2252-6773
Published
2025-10-31
Publisher
Universitas Negeri Semarang
Language
eng

Abstract

This study examines the relationship between Physical Literacy (PL) and mental well-being among university students, with physical activity functioning as a mediating variable through the Embodied Cognition framework. A cross-sectional study was conducted with 195 active students from the Faculty of Sports and Health Education at Universitas Pendidikan Indonesia, Bandung. Data were collected using the Student Physical Literacy Questionnaire, the International Physical Activity Questionnaire-Short Form (IPAQ-SF), and the Student Well-being Scale. Mediation analysis was performed using PROCESS Macro for SPSS version 4.2, Model 4. Results revealed that PL significantly predicts physical activity (β = 0.27, p < 0.005), and both PL and physical activity significantly influence mental well-being (β = 0.21 and β = 0.36 respectively, p < 0.005). The total effect of PL on mental well-being was 0.40 (p < 0.005), consisting of a direct effect of 0.27 (67.5%) and an indirect effect through physical activity of 0.13 (32.5%). Bootstrap confidence intervals (0.06-0.21) confirmed significant partial mediation. The findings affirm the embodied cognition perspective, suggesting that physical literacy plays an essential role in promoting mental well-being both directly and through physical activity. This study provides empirical evidence for integrating physical literacy development into mental health promotion strategies within higher education contexts.

Keywords

Collaboration network of the authors

31 authors · 81 co-authorship links

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Co-authorOrganisationJoint articles
Septian WilliyantoAffiliation unknown2
Mustika FitriAffiliation unknown2
Nurlan KusmaediAffiliation unknown2
Tono HaryonoAffiliation unknown1
Firdaus Abdul ArasyAffiliation unknown1
Ridha MustaqimAffiliation unknown1
Najla SalsabilaAffiliation unknown1
JajatAffiliation unknown1
Sandey Tantra ParamithaAffiliation unknown1
Ahmad HamidiAffiliation unknown1
Tiara Khumairah Juliany RukmanAffiliation unknown1
Hilmy ApriadyAffiliation unknown1
Putri Fadilah AmeliaAffiliation unknown1
Mohammad Firdaus AhmadAffiliation unknown1
Seno Aji WicaksonoAffiliation unknown1
Wildan Akbar FirdausAffiliation unknown1
Dilal HamdiAffiliation unknown1
Sri WicahyaniAffiliation unknown1
Diftha Nusa Al fitraAffiliation unknown1
Sucipto SuciptoAffiliation unknown1
Defany Ifadh Nur FhadhliahAffiliation unknown1
Agus MahendraAffiliation unknown1
Nuryadi NuryadiAffiliation unknown1
Davi SofyanAffiliation unknown1
Iif FirmanaAffiliation unknown1
Amung Ma’munAffiliation unknown1
Sefri HardiansyahAffiliation unknown1

Affiliations come from OpenAlex; journal OAI-PMH metadata carries none. Authors without an OpenAlex ID are matched by name, which can merge or split people.

Metadata source: OAI-PMH (metadata jurnal) https://journal.unnes.ac.id/journals/peshr/oai, first harvested 6 Nov 2026, last seen 8 Nov 2026.
Original metadata (oai_dc) 
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	<dc:title xml:lang="en">Building Mental Well-being through Physical Literacy: The Role of Physical Activity from an Embodied Cognition Perspective</dc:title>
	<dc:creator xml:lang="en">Sopyan Sauri</dc:creator>
	<dc:creator xml:lang="en">Herman Subarjah</dc:creator>
	<dc:creator xml:lang="en">Fauzi Setiadi Firdaus</dc:creator>
	<dc:creator xml:lang="en">Tomi Efendi</dc:creator>
	<dc:subject xml:lang="en">Embodied Cognition; Physical Literacy; Physical Activity; Mental wellbeing</dc:subject>
	<dc:description xml:lang="en">This study examines the relationship between Physical Literacy (PL) and mental well-being among university students, with physical activity functioning as a mediating variable through the Embodied Cognition framework. A cross-sectional study was conducted with 195 active students from the Faculty of Sports and Health Education at Universitas Pendidikan Indonesia, Bandung. Data were collected using the Student Physical Literacy Questionnaire, the International Physical Activity Questionnaire-Short Form (IPAQ-SF), and the Student Well-being Scale. Mediation analysis was performed using PROCESS Macro for SPSS version 4.2, Model 4. Results revealed that PL significantly predicts physical activity (β = 0.27, p &amp;lt; 0.005), and both PL and physical activity significantly influence mental well-being (β = 0.21 and β = 0.36 respectively, p &amp;lt; 0.005). The total effect of PL on mental well-being was 0.40 (p &amp;lt; 0.005), consisting of a direct effect of 0.27 (67.5%) and an indirect effect through physical activity of 0.13 (32.5%). Bootstrap confidence intervals (0.06-0.21) confirmed significant partial mediation. The findings affirm the embodied cognition perspective, suggesting that physical literacy plays an essential role in promoting mental well-being both directly and through  physical activity. This study provides empirical evidence for integrating physical literacy development into mental health promotion strategies within higher education contexts.</dc:description>
	<dc:publisher xml:lang="en">Universitas Negeri Semarang</dc:publisher>
	<dc:date>2025-10-31</dc:date>
	<dc:type>info:eu-repo/semantics/article</dc:type>
	<dc:type>info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion</dc:type>
	<dc:type xml:lang="en">Peer-reviewed Article</dc:type>
	<dc:format>application/pdf</dc:format>
	<dc:identifier>https://journal.unnes.ac.id/journals/peshr/article/view/34234</dc:identifier>
	<dc:identifier>10.15294/active.v14i3.34234</dc:identifier>
	<dc:source xml:lang="en">ACTIVE: Journal of Physical Education, Sport, Health and Recreation; Vol. 14 No. 3 (2025); 839 - 845</dc:source>
	<dc:source>2460-724X</dc:source>
	<dc:source>2252-6773</dc:source>
	<dc:source>10.15294/active.v14i3</dc:source>
	<dc:language>eng</dc:language>
	<dc:relation>https://journal.unnes.ac.id/journals/peshr/article/view/34234/6516</dc:relation>
	<dc:rights xml:lang="en">Copyright (c) 2025 ACTIVE: Journal of Physical Education, Sport, Health and Recreation</dc:rights>
</oai_dc:dc>