Physical Activity, Mental-Health Symptoms, and Educational and Socioeconomic Context Among Students in Chinese Private Universities: A Structured Narrative Review and Evidence-Gap Analysis

Abstract

Physical activity and mental-health symptoms are interconnected concerns in university populations, while students in private higher-education institutions may face distinctive financial, academic, institutional, and labour-market conditions. This structured narrative review and evidence-gap analysis examined what is known about physical activity and mental-health symptoms among students in Chinese private or non-public universities and how educational and socioeconomic context should inform interpretation. Sources from publisher pages, indexed full-text databases, institutional repositories, and government publications were classified into four evidence tiers: direct private-university evidence, broader Chinese student evidence, mechanistic and directional evidence, and intervention evidence. Direct evidence was sparse and institution-specific, and no identified study jointly measured physical activity and mental-health symptoms in this sector. Broader Chinese evidence generally indicated a small-to-moderate inverse association between physical activity and depressive symptoms, whereas findings for anxiety were less consistent. Measurement heterogeneity, self-report, cross-sectional designs, and pandemic context substantially limited comparability. Current evidence justifies studying this population but does not support a private-university-specific prevalence or causal estimate. Multi-institution, longitudinal, and intervention studies using comparable and preferably device-based measures are needed.