Motivation Matters: Understanding the Antidepressant Mechanism of Physical Activity among Young Adults.

A negative association between physical activity and depressive symptoms is consistently reported within scientific literature and physical self-concept has been suggested to mediate this pathway. However, for whom these associations are strongest remains poorly understood, and little is known about how other psychosocial factors might be implicated. Consequently, we examined how various exercise motivations, specifically appearance, physical health, and mental health, might moderate the indirect effect of physical activity on depressive symptoms through physical self-concept.