The Independent, Joint, and Additive Associations of Physical Activity and Self-Compassion on Depression Symptoms Among Chinese College Students

Figures & data

Table 1 The Characteristics of Participants

	N(%)/ M ± SD		N(%)/ M ± SD
Gender		Residence
Male	665 (36.0)	Urban	1278 (69.2)
Female	1181 (64.0)	Rural	568 (30.8)
Age (years)	20.67 ± 1.61	Physical activity
Body mass index (kg/m^2)	20.26 ± 2.88	LPA	950 (51.5)
Family structure		HPA	896 (48.5)
Full	1664 (90.2)	Self-compassion
Divorced	117 (6.3)	LSC	1347 (73.0)
Other	65 (3.5)	HSC	499 (27.0)
Number of siblings		Groups
None	639 (34.6)	HPA + HSC	288 (15.6)
One or more	1207 (65.4)	LPA + HSC	211 (11.4)
Number of friends		HPA + LSC	608 (32.9)
None	29 (1.6)	LPA + LSC	739 (40.0)
One to two	608 (32.9)	Depression symptoms
Three to five	964 (52.2)	With symptoms	425 (23.6)
Six or more	245 (13.3)	Without symptoms	1411 (76.4)

Abbreviations: HPA/LPA, high- or low-level physical activity; HSC/LSC, high- or low-level self-compassion.

Table 2 Independent Association of Physical Activity and Self-Compassion with Depression Symptoms

		OR	95% CI
Gender	Male	(ref)
	Female	1.44**	1.11–1.87
Age		1.00	0.93–1.07
Body mass index		0.98	0.94–1.02
Family structure	Full	(ref)
	Divorced	0.85	0.51–1.40
	Other	1.38	0.79–2.42
Number of siblings	None	(ref)
	One or more	1.12	0.87–1.44
Number of friends	None	(ref)
	One to two	0.31**	0.14–0.68
	Three to five	0.22***	0.10–0.47
	Six or more	0.17***	0.07–0.40
Residence	Rural	(ref)
	Urban	0.91	0.71–1.18
Physical activity	LPA	(ref)
	HPA	1.47**	1.16–1.86
Self-compassion	LSC	(ref)
	HSC	5.74***	3.89–8.45

Notes: **p < 0.01, ***p < 0.001.

Abbreviations: HPA/LPA, high- or low-level physical activity; HSC/LSC, high- or low-level self-compassion.

Table 3 Logistic Regression Results of Joint Association Between Physical Activity and Self-Compassion with Depression Symptoms

LPA	LSC	B	OR (95% CI)
0	0	–	1
1	0	0.63	1.88 (0.90–3.96)
0	1	1.92	6.82 (3.77–12.33)
1	1	2.26	9.62 (5.38–17.22)

Notes: 0 = No exposure; 1 = Exposure. Categorical variables are dummy coded before entering the logistic regression model. Results adjusted for gender, age, body mass index, family structure, number of siblings, number of friends, and residence.

Abbreviations: LPA, low-level physical activity; LSC, low-level self-compassion.

Table 4 Index of Additive Interaction Between Physical Activity and Self-Compassion on Depression Symptoms

Index	Estimate	95% CI
RERI	2.47	0.19–4.75
AP	0.25	0.05–0.44
S	1.38	1.02–1.87

Note: Adjusted for gender, age, body mass index, family structure, number of siblings, number of friends, and residence.

Abbreviations: RERI, relative excess risk due to interaction; AP, proportion attributable to the interaction; S, synergy index.