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This study is aimed at examining the feasibility and effectiveness of aerobic and resistance training (WeActive) and mindful exercise (WeMindful) interventions in improving physical activity (PA), psychological well-being (PWB), and subjective vitality among college students. Participants in this study were 77 college students who were randomly assigned to either the WeActive group ( n = 43 ) or the WeMindful group ( n = 28 ). The WeActive group attended two 30-minute aerobic and resistance training sessions per week, and the WeMindful group attended two 30-minute yoga and mindful exercise sessions per week for eight weeks. All participants completed the International Physical Activity Questionnaire, the World Health Organization-Five Well-Being Index, and the Subjective Vitality Scale before and after the intervention, as well as the Assessing Feasibility and Acceptability Questionnaire at the end of the intervention. The primary study outcome measures were PA, PWB, and subjective vitality. A repeated-measures ANCOVA indicated a significant main effect of time for total PA ( F = 7.89 , p = 0.006 , η 2 = 0.049 ), vigorous PA ( F = 5.36 , p = 0.024 , η 2 = 0.022 ), and walking ( F = 7.34 , p = 0.009 , η 2 = 0.042 ) in both intervention groups. There was a significant interaction effect of time and group for PWB ( F = 11.26 , p = 0.001 , η 2 = 0.022 ), where the WeActive group experienced a decrease in PWB scores while participants in the WeMindful group experienced an increase in PWB scores over time. There was a main effect of group for subjective vitality ( F = 8.91 , p = 0.007 , η 2 = 0.088 ), indicating that the WeMindful group experienced a greater increase in subjective vitality than the WeActive group. Further, the participants in both groups indicated that the synchronized and asynchronized Zoom-based WeActive and WeMindful interventions were acceptable, appropriate, and feasible for participants. This study demonstrated that mindful exercise is effective in increasing PA, PWB, and subjective vitality while aerobic and resistance training may only be effective in increasing PA.

Background Depression and anxiety are growing issues for college students, with both aerobic resistance training and mindfulness yoga exercises known to be effective in reducing symptoms and severity. However, no known research is available comparing these 2 depression and anxiety interventions simultaneously and in a web-based environment. Objective This study aims to determine the effects of a web-based aerobic resistance exercise intervention (WeActive) and a web-based yoga mindfulness exercise intervention (WeMindful) on depression and anxiety symptoms in college students. Methods The participants were 77 college students who anonymously completed a Qualtrics survey, including the Generalized Anxiety Disorder Scale and the Major Depression Inventory at baseline and after the intervention. Participants were randomly assigned to either the WeActive or WeMindful group and underwent two 30-minute web-based aerobic resistance exercise lessons or yoga mindfulness lessons per week for 8 weeks. Results The results of analysis of covariance with repeated measures indicated that although not statistically significant, both groups showed a notable decrease in anxiety with a marginally significant main effect of time (F1=3.485; P=.07; η2=0.047) but no significant main effect of group and no significant interaction effect of time with group. The 2 intervention groups experienced a significant decrease in depression with the main effect of time (F=3.892; P=.05; η2=0.052). There was no significant main effect of group or interaction effect of time with group for depression. Conclusions College students in both WeActive and WeMindful groups experienced a significant decrease in depression symptoms and a decrease, although not significant, in anxiety as well. The study suggests that web-based WeActive and WeMindful interventions are effective approaches to managing US college students’ depression and anxiety during a pandemic.

This study aimed to examine the immediate and short-term effects of aerobic and resistance training (WeActive) and mindful exercise (WeMindful) virtual interventions in improving physical activity (PA) and resilience among college students. Participants were 55 students who were randomly assigned to either the WeActive group (n = 31) or the WeMindful group (n = 24). Both groups attended two virtual 30 min aerobic and resistance training sessions (WeActive) or mindful exercise sessions (WeMindful) per week for eight weeks. All participants completed the International Physical Activity Questionnaire and the Connor–Davidson Resilience Scale (CD-RISC-10) via Qualtrics one week prior to (pre-test) and after the intervention (post-test) and 6 weeks after the intervention (follow up). There was a significant main effect of time for resilience (F = 3.4.15, p = 0.024), where both the WeActive group and the WeMindful group significantly increased the resilience scores from pre-test to follow up (t = −2.74, p = 0.02; t = −2.54, p = 0.04), respectively. For moderate physical activity (MPA), there was a significant interaction effect of time with group (F = 4.81, p = 0.01, η2 = 0.038), where the WeActive group significantly increased MPA over time from pre-test to follow-up test as compared to the WeMindful group (t = −2.6, p = 0.033). Only the WeActive intervention was effective in increasing MPA. Both interventions were effective in increasing resilience from pre-test to 6 week follow up.

Background The purposes of this study were to assess the current status of perceived social support and COVID-19 impact on quality of life, to investigate the association of perceived social support with the COVID-19 impact on quality of life, and to examine differences in perceived social support between better and worse COVID-19 impact on quality of life for the total sample and by gender. Methods Participants included 1296 university students (399 male, 871 female, 22 transgender, non-binary, or other) with a mean age of 21.5 (SD  =  2.6 years) from a large public university in the Midwest region of the US. Students voluntarily completed two questionnaires and demographic information via Qualtrics based on a cross-sectional study design. The Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support (MSPSS) is a 12-item survey used to assess an individual’s perception of social support from significant others, friends, and family. The COVID-19-Impact on Quality of Life scale (COVID-19 QoL) is a 6-item scale used to assess the impact of COVID-19 on quality of life. Data was analyzed using descriptive statistics, multiple linear regression, independent t -tests, and ANCOVA. Results Multiple linear regression showed that perceived social support from family was a significant predictor of COVID-19 QoL ( F = 35.154, p < .01) for the total sample. Further, t- test demonstrated significant differences between males and females on perceived social support ( t = −2.184, p < .05) as well as COVID-19 QoL ( t = −5.542, p < .01). Results of ANCOVA demonstrated a significant group effect on perceived social support for both males ( F = 10.054, p < .01, η 2 = .025) and females ( F = 5.978, p < .05, η 2 = 0.007), indicating that the better quality of life group scored higher on perceived social support than low quality of life. Conclusions Social support from family may act as a key buffer for quality of life during the fall semester of 2020, amid the COVID-19 pandemic in college students. With social interactions restricted during COVID-19, maintained access to social support is highly important. KEY MESSAGES Social support is a crucial contributing factor to the impact of COVID-19 on quality of life, and support from social relationships may buffer these challenging and unpredictable times. The COVID-19 pandemic may have impacted the quality of life of males and females differently.