The relationship between sleep quality and physical learning engagement among Chinese college students: a variable centered and person centered analysis.
Zhang S, Liu R, et al. • Frontiers in public health • 2026
Poorer sleep quality was significantly associated with lower physical learning engagement among Chinese college students, operating through serial mediating pathways involving smartphone addiction and self-esteem, with latent profile analysis identifying four heterogeneous subgroups differing in sleep quality and engagement.
Key Findings
Results
Sleep quality was negatively associated with physical learning engagement among Chinese college students.
β = -0.096, p < 0.05, indicating that poorer sleep quality (higher PSQI scores) was associated with lower physical learning engagement
Physical learning engagement was measured using the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale for Students (UWES-S)
Sleep quality was measured using the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI)
Sample consisted of 1,130 Chinese college students
The overall effect size was described as small
Results
Smartphone addiction partially mediated the association between sleep quality and physical learning engagement.
Indirect effect = -0.145, 95% CI [-0.258, -0.040]
Smartphone addiction was measured using the Mobile Phone Addiction Index (MPAI)
The mediation was partial, meaning sleep quality also retained a direct association with physical learning engagement
Mediation analyses were conducted using the PROCESS macro in SPSS 26.0
Results
Self-esteem partially mediated the association between sleep quality and physical learning engagement.
Indirect effect = -0.131, 95% CI [-0.213, -0.065]
Self-esteem was measured using the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (SES)
The mediation was described as a significant partial mediating effect
The confidence interval did not include zero, confirming statistical significance
Results
Smartphone addiction and self-esteem jointly constituted a significant serial indirect pathway between sleep quality and physical learning engagement.
Serial indirect effect = -0.027, 95% CI [-0.049, -0.010]
The pathway ran from sleep quality → smartphone addiction → self-esteem → physical learning engagement
Three total pathways were identified: single mediation via smartphone addiction, single mediation via self-esteem, and serial mediation via both
All three indirect effects were statistically significant with confidence intervals excluding zero
Results
Latent profile analysis identified four distinct subgroups of students based on joint levels of smartphone addiction and self-esteem.
LPA was performed in Mplus 8.3
The four subgroups differed significantly in both sleep quality and physical learning engagement
The high-addiction-moderate-self-esteem group exhibited the poorest sleep quality and the lowest physical learning engagement
The person-centered approach complemented the variable-centered approach by revealing heterogeneity among students
Results
Poorer sleep quality was associated with lower vigor, dedication, and absorption as specific dimensions of physical learning engagement.
Vigor, dedication, and absorption are the three subscales of the UWES-S used to measure physical learning engagement
All three dimensions were negatively associated with poorer sleep quality
This finding was noted as part of the descriptive and correlation analyses conducted in SPSS 26.0
Both variable-centered and person-centered analyses were used to elucidate underlying mechanisms
What This Means
This research suggests that Chinese college students who sleep poorly are less engaged in physical education classes — showing lower energy, enthusiasm, and focus during physical learning activities. The study surveyed 1,130 college students and found that sleep quality influenced physical learning engagement not just directly, but also indirectly through two other factors: smartphone addiction and self-esteem. Specifically, poor sleep appeared to increase smartphone addiction, which in turn lowered self-esteem, which then reduced engagement in physical learning.
The researchers also used a statistical technique called latent profile analysis to identify four distinct groups of students based on their levels of smartphone addiction and self-esteem. Among these groups, students with high smartphone addiction and moderate self-esteem had the worst sleep quality and the lowest physical learning engagement. This suggests that students are not a uniform group — different combinations of risk factors place certain students at greater disadvantage.
This research suggests that improving college students' sleep habits and helping them manage excessive smartphone use could be practical strategies for boosting their engagement in physical education. Schools might consider targeted, group-specific interventions rather than one-size-fits-all approaches, particularly focusing on students who show signs of problematic smartphone use alongside lower self-esteem.
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Zhang S, Liu R, Rao F, Zhou Q, Xiong Q. (2026). The relationship between sleep quality and physical learning engagement among Chinese college students: a variable centered and person centered analysis.. Frontiers in public health. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2026.1845627