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Gameful experience, exercise identity, and exercise adherence among Chinese university students: A moderated chain mediation model

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  • Jingjing Song
  • Jiaying Li
  • Dan Li

Abstract

Background: Gamified fitness applications have grown in popularity, yet it remains unclear how gameful experience, defined as users’ subjective perception of game-like engagement during app-supported exercise, is associated with exercise adherence. Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted among N = 300 Chinese university students who were active users of gamified fitness applications. Data were collected via an online questionnaire platform (Questionnaire Star) from March 5 to April 5, 2026. Participants completed validated measures of gameful experience (GAMEX), exercise identity (EI), exercise habit formation (EHF), intolerance of uncertainty (IU), and exercise adherence (EA). A moderated chain mediation model was tested using hierarchical regression analysis and bias-corrected bootstrap resampling (5,000 iterations). An indirect effect was considered statistically different from zero when its 95% confidence interval excluded zero. Results: Gameful experience was positively associated with exercise adherence (β = .264, p

Suggested Citation

  • Jingjing Song & Jiaying Li & Dan Li, 2026. "Gameful experience, exercise identity, and exercise adherence among Chinese university students: A moderated chain mediation model," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 21(10), pages 1-14, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:plo:pone00:0353100
    DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0353100
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