Cross-sectional study finds gender differences in links among peer attachment, exercise motivation and habits in sedentary university students

A cross-sectional study of 470 sedentary university students found that peer attachment was positively associated with the relative autonomy index, a measure of exercise motivation, and that higher scores on that index were associated with established exercise habits. An indirect association between peer attachment and exercise habits through motivation was statistically significant, while gender moderated the direct association between peer attachment and exercise habits. The results are reported here from the study abstract and do not establish causation or lasting behavioral change.

Participants were 248 female and 222 male college students who met the study’s sedentary behavior criterion of sitting for more than six hours per day. Researchers used standardized questionnaires to assess peer attachment, exercise motivation and exercise habits. They analyzed the indirect association through motivation with Model 4 of SPSS PROCESS version 4.2 and evaluated gender as a moderator of the mediation pathway with Model 59.

Peer attachment was positively associated with the relative autonomy index, with p = 0.0004. Higher relative autonomy index scores were associated with established exercise habits at p < 0.001. The study also found a statistically significant indirect association between peer attachment and exercise habits through the relative autonomy index. Gender significantly moderated the direct association between peer attachment and exercise habits, but the index of moderated mediation was non-significant. That non-significant result means the analysis did not provide reliable evidence that the indirect association differed by gender; it does not demonstrate that the pathway was identical for male and female students.

The findings describe patterns of association in a cross-sectional sample and cannot determine whether peer relationships, motivation or exercise habits preceded one another. The analysis also does not show that changing peer attachment or motivation would change exercise behavior. Because the reported population consisted of sedentary college students, the results should not be generalized automatically to active students, other age groups or broader populations. The available abstract does not provide the setting, detailed scale properties, effect estimates, confidence intervals or the number of students categorized as having established exercise habits, limiting further assessment of the findings’ precision and scope. The authors’ interpretation suggested that male students may have relied more directly on peer relationships, whereas female students’ exercise habits may have been more strongly linked to motivational pathways, but the cross-sectional design permits only cautious, hypothesis-generating comparison.

Subject of Research: Cross-sectional moderation and mediation analysis of peer attachment, exercise motivation and exercise habits among sedentary university students

Article Title: Peer attachment and exercise motivation associated with exercise habits in sedentary university students: a gender-based moderated mediation model

Article References: Zeng, Q., Yuan, J., Luo, C., Li, J., Wang, A., Xu, J., & Zhang, Y. (2026). Peer attachment and exercise motivation associated with exercise habits in sedentary university students: a gender-based moderated mediation model. BMC Psychology. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40359-026-05690-0

Image Credits: AI Generated

DOI: 10.1186/s40359-026-05690-0

Keywords: sedentary university students, peer attachment, exercise motivation, exercise habits, gender moderation, mediation analysis, cross-sectional study, relative autonomy index, Peer, attachment, exercise, motivation