Leisure-time physical exercise and changes in college students' phubbing behavior: Based on latent growth and cross-lagged models

Although previous studies have revealed the interventional effect of physical exercise on college students' mobile phone dependence, the cumulative effect of leisure time and the longitudinal latent variable relationship remain unclear. This study used the Leisure-time Physical Exercise Scale and the Phubbing Behavior Assessment Scale, and employed a simple sampling method to conduct a 1-year follow-up survey on 585 college students (age at first survey = 20.34, SD = 0.18) for three times. The Physical Exercise Rating Scale and the Phubbing Behavior Questionnaire were mainly used to test the subjects. Cross-lagged regression analysis and parallel latent growth model were utilized to comprehensively examine the dynamic development relationship, trajectory characteristics, and interaction mechanism between college students' leisure-time physical exercise and phubbing behavior. The results showed that: (1) College students' leisure-time physical exercise levels and phubbing behavior were relatively stable across the three surveys, and the two variables could significantly negatively predict each other in the next period, with phubbing predicting leisure-time physical exercise more significantly; (2) The initial level of college students' phubbing behavior could negatively predict the development rate of leisure-time physical exercise levels and phubbing behavior in subsequent periods. Conclusion—Higher levels of phubbing behavior may inhibit the increase in subsequent physical exercise levels, providing new empirical reference for the study of college students' phubbing behavior.