Investigating the structural relationships of self-efficacy, body image and mindfulness with behavioral regulation in students

It is very important to know the factors that influence motivational processes in children’s participation in physical activities.

The purpose of the present study was to investigate the structural relationships of self-efficacy, body image, and mindfulness with behavioral regulation of students in physical activity.

The method of this study was descriptive correlation based on structural equations. The statistical population included all male elementary school students in Tabriz city in the academic year 2021-2022, and the statistical sample included 384 students selected by an available sample. Self-efficacy (Pender et al., 2002), Body Image (Cash et al., 2004), Mindfulness (Ahern et al., 2011), and Behavioral Regulation (Ryan et al., 2019) questionnaires were used for data collection. Pearson’s correlation test and structural equations with SPSS version 26 and Lisrel version 8 programs were used for data analysis.

The results showed a direct and significant relationship between self-efficacy and body image, mindfulness and behavioral regulation (P<0.001), and a direct and significant relationship between body image and mindfulness and behavioral regulation (P<0.001), and mindfulness had a direct and significant relationship with behavioral regulation (P<0.001). Finally, the theoretical model of the research had a good fit.

This study showed that self-efficacy, body image, and mindfulness improve students’ behavioral regulation in physical activity participation. Therefore; it is necessary to develop appropriate strategies and interventions, especially by physical education teachers, to teach techniques to increase self-efficacy, body image, and mindfulness in children.