AI Insight
This cross-sectional study of 375 Turkish adults found a moderate positive association between physical literacy (an integrated set of physical and psychological capacities for lifelong activity) and mental well-being. Adults with athletic backgrounds, regular exercise habits, and higher physical activity frequency reported significantly higher scores on both measures. Physical literacy explained an additional 11% of variance in mental well-being beyond demographic and behavioral factors, suggesting it may be a meaningful target for mental health promotion in adults.
Why it matters
The findings suggest that developing physical literacy—not just increasing physical activity—may support mental health in adult populations. This provides a potential framework for holistic health interventions that address motivation, confidence, and physical competence together, though the cross-sectional design prevents causal conclusions.
Understand the Science
BackgroundPhysical literacy, the integrated motivation, confidence, physical competence, knowledge, and understanding that underpins lifelong physical activity, has been advanced as a holistic determinant of health. Yet, evidence linking it to positively framed mental well-being in adults remains scarce and is dominated by samples of children and adolescents.AimThis study examined the association between physical literacy and mental well-being in Turkish adults and tested whether both constructs differed by sex, educational attainment, athletic background, regular exercise participation, and habitual physical activity level.MethodsIn a cross-sectional design, 375 adults (64.5% male; mean age = 32.23 years, SD = 11.03, range 18–71), a convenience sample skewed toward physically active and tertiary-educated men, completed validated Turkish measures of physical literacy and mental well-being. Active-living exposures were assessed using a single self-report item. Internal consistency was high (physical literacy α = 0.89, ω = 0.90; mental well-being α = 0.92, ω = 0.92). Pearson correlations, t-tests, one-way ANOVAs, and hierarchical regression were computed with effect sizes and 95% confidence intervals; discriminant validity was tested directly, and an exploratory mediation was examined.ResultsPhysical literacy was moderately and positively associated with mental well-being (r = 0.45, p < 0.001), and the two constructs showed evidence of empirical distinctness (HTMT = 0.52, 95% CI [0.42, 0.63]). Adults with an athletic background and regular exercisers reported higher physical literacy (d = 0.83 and 1.09) and mental well-being (d = 0.36 and 0.63), and both outcomes increased in an ordered gradient across habitual activity-frequency categories (physical literacy η2 = 0.21; mental well-being η2 = 0.07). Physical literacy explained 11% of incremental variance in well-being beyond demographic and behavioral covariates (β = 0.41). Men scored marginally higher than women on both measures, educational attainment was weakly related to mental well-being but not physical literacy, and physical literacy declined modestly with age (r = −0.18).ConclusionHigher physical literacy co-occurs with better mental well-being in adults and remains associated with mental well-being after adjustment for covariates, positioning it as a candidate target for adult mental health promotion. The cross-sectional design and active, educated convenience sample preclude causal and population-level inference, and independent confirmatory validation of the adapted instrument is needed before these findings are treated as more than provisional.