
Chun-Qing ZhangSun Yat-sen University | SYSU · Department of Psychology
Chun-Qing Zhang
Ph.D.
Mindfulness; motivational & psychosocial factors in behavior change; person-environment interactions on health behaviors
About
106
Publications
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Introduction
You can call me CQ and fee free to email me at zhangchq28@mail.sysu.edu.cn. I conduct research in the fields of health psychology, sport psychology and social psychology. I am interested in studying mindfulness and acceptance in sport and health contexts. I am also very interested in studying theory-based motivational, psychosocial, and social-cognitive factors in sport and health-related behaviors.
Additional affiliations
December 2015 - December 2020
April 2015 - December 2015
September 2011 - December 2014
Publications
Publications (106)
Promoting health behavior change presents an important challenge to theory and research in the field of health psychology. In this paper, we introduce a context-driven approach, the Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) model which is built on Relational Frame Theory. The ACT-based intervention aims to promote individuals’ new health behavior pat...
In this article, the authors discussed the development of a three-stage model of adversity coping in which Chinese athletes were categorized into three stages: climb, plateau, and enlightened stage. Specific, stage-related sport psychology services are recommended in this model. Particularly, sport psychology practitioners are encouraged to assist...
Purpose: The purpose of the current study was to develop and validate a sport-specific mindfulness measure, the Athlete Mindfulness Questionnaire (AMQ), through 5 related studies using 4 separate samples of Chinese athletes. The AMQ is a 3-factor measure designed to assess mindfulness that reflects present-moment attention, awareness, and acceptanc...
Decentering, the ability to observe one's thoughts and feelings from a detached view, has gained increased attention in recent years. With this renewed interest comes a need for a reliable and valid tool to measure decentering in sport contexts. Therefore, in this multi-study paper we report the development and initial validation of a sport-specifi...
Objectives: The present study was into whether or not mindfulness training, based on the mindfulness-acceptance-commitment approach (MAC), can improve beginners’ skill acquisition of dart throwing.
Design: Randomised controlled trial.
Methods: A total of 43 first-year college students who had not played darts professionally prior to the study wer...
Promoting individuals' overall health and well‐being is important, and understanding the interconnections between daily movement and dietary behaviors may provide insights for developing effective health behavior interventions. In the current study, we therefore adopted a network approach to investigate the complex relationships among movement and...
Resilience is regarded as a psychological variable facilitating successful and positive aging. Combined with active aging, mind-body intervention and aerobic exercises have been frequently examined to determine their capacity to promote active and successful aging. In this study, three groups of older adults participated in a 16-week intervention,...
Objectives: Considering the importance of mental health help-seeking, researchers have closely examined the relationship between mental health literacy (MHL) and help-seeking intention (HSI). Furthermore, the high impact of stigma and the potential value of social support on HSI have been recognised. However, the relationship between these variable...
Introduction: Elite athletes' help-seeking on mental health might be influenced by their mental health literacy (MHL) and mental health experiences. The current study aimed to explore the MHL, experiences and help-seeking behaviours among elite athletes using a qualitative approach.
Methods: Face-to-face semi-structured interviews were conducted a...
Evidence for the protective role of dispositional mindfulness for athletic performance, stress, and mood among elite athletes has been demonstrated through correlational and interventional studies. The effects of state mindfulness on athletic functioning in day-to-day training contexts remains unclear. We examined the effects of state mindfulness o...
Purposes
Most adolescents worldwide do not meet 24‐h movement guidelines, which recommend specific level of physical activity, sedentary behavior, and sleep for optimal health. Nevertheless, there remains a lack of understanding regarding how social cognitive and physical environmental factors influence adolescents' compliance with these guidelines...
Walking is widely recognized as one of the most common and effective forms of physical activity, particularly for older adults. This study examined the comparative effects of two types of walking interventions, including supervised group-based intervention (SGBI) and non-supervised individual-based intervention (NSIBI), on frailty syndrome, cogniti...
Background
Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) demographics are also changing with the increase in life expectancy in the country and the rise in the number of older Saudi Arabians. Saudi Arabia has a higher rate of physically inactive people, and most of them are between the ages of 55–64. Walking is one of the most prevalent forms of physical activity...
In a meta-analysis of research on measures of the habit construct, we aimed to estimate the size and variability of habit–behavior and intention–behavior relations, and habit as a mediator of past–future behavior relations. Furthermore, we investigated the theory-consistent moderators of these relations including opportunity for habit formation and...
Objective
Worldwide, there is a growing trend that college students are consuming more and more sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs). In order to develop effective intervention strategies, it is important to explore what social-cognitive factors impact on college students’ SSB consumption. Building on the temporal self-regulation theory (TST), the curr...
Older adults are at greater risk of complications from seasonal influenza, and promoting uptake and adherence to preventive behaviors is key to attenuating this risk. The current study examined the efficacy of a theory-based telephone-delivered intervention to promote uptake and maintenance of influenza preventive behaviors in a sample of Hong Kong...
The aging Chinese population is growing fast, and the proportion of the population aged 60 years old is projected to reach 28% by 2040, estimated 402 million. With increased life expectancy, the aging population tends to suffer from health risks and diseases, which create a burden on public health policy. Hence, it is essential to promote healthy a...
Objectives
Athlete burnout is a maladaptive outcome that is potentially detrimental for performance and wellbeing. Cross-sectional evidence suggests that mindfulness might be associated with athlete burnout via experiential avoidance and cognitive fusion. In the current study, we extend knowledge of these hypothesized mediational pathways using a l...
Based on the social ecological approach, a photovoice study was conducted to explore how neighborhood built and social environments facilitate or hinder college students’ lifestyle behaviors, including physical activity, active transportation, and dietary behavior. A total of 37 college students took photos about neighborhood built and social envir...
Falls in older adulthood can have serious consequences. It is therefore important to identify ways to prevent falls, particularly from the voice of older adults. Bottom-up qualitative exploration of the perspectives of older adults can provide rich insights that can help inform the development of effective fall prevention programmes. However, curre...
This study aimed to examine the psychometric properties of the Multicomponent Mental
Health Literacy Scale (MMHLS) among Chinese elite athletes. Particularly, the factorial validity, convergent validity, discriminant validity, concurrent validity, internal-consistency reliability, and test-retest reliability of the MMHLS were examined. A total of 3...
Nutrition labels on food packages are designed to assist consumers in making healthy decisions. Based on the model of a dual-process system, the current study examined how people might be affected by nutrition labels and consuming contexts when making choices about healthy foods. Using four types of nutrition labels (i.e., the NuVal label, 5-Color...
OBJECTIVES: This longitudinal study applied the integrated model of self-determination theory (SDT) and the theory of planned behaviour (TPB) to explain COVID-19 preventive behaviours among parents of young children in the United States.
DESIGN: The study adopted a two-wave longitudinal study design. Parents (N = 681) completed self-report questio...
Background
Research indicates that perceived behavioral control (PBC) is an important determinant of behavior and that it is composed of perceived capability and opportunity. However, typical measurement of these constructs may be confounded with motivation and outcome expectations. Vignettes presented before questionnaire items may clarify constru...
Constructing and renovating urban parks is an effective strategy for high-density cities to satisfy residents’ needs for recreation in nature. Using Hong Kong as an example of a high-density city, the purpose of this study was to examine the associations of park and neighbourhood environments with park-based physical activity (PA) among children an...
Wu-wei is an important construct but is rarely discussed in the sport psychology literature. The present discussion fills the gap in literature and provides a conceptual overview of the wu-wei alternative. After explaining wu-wei briefly, the current state of mindfulness research is discussed to highlight the lack of research in understanding wu-we...
Mood profiling has a long history of use within sport and exercise psychology, dating back to the 1970s. Six distinct mood profiles have been reported in the literature, referred to as the iceberg, inverse iceberg, inverse Everest, shark fin, surface, and submerged profiles (Parsons-Smith et al., 2017). In the present study, we investigated whether...
Objective
Poor sleep quality resulting from experiencing anxiety, and low adherence to sleep hygiene behaviours, may lead to poorer academic engagement. The aim of the current study was to elucidate the associations between anxiety, sleep hygiene, sleep quality, and academic engagement of university students.
Methods
Participants (N = 614) compris...
Background
Urban parks are critical environmental resources in which adolescents engage in physical activity (PA). Evidence on the associations between park environmental characteristics and park-based PA in adolescents is mixed, particularly for high-density cities. Evidence is also lacking concerning the moderating role of neighbourhood socioecon...
Objectives
The current study aimed to examine the mediation effects of experiential acceptance, cognitive defusion, decentering, and nonattachment on the paths from mindfulness to athlete burnout, subjective well-being, and flourishing among elite athletes.Methods
Chinese elite athletes (n = 515; 225 females) were recruited from three provincial sp...
A disparity in the distribution and quality of urban parks has been widely recognized as an important environmental justice issue. There is currently inconsistent evidence focusing on park distribution in high-density cities that can shed light on socioeconomic inequalities in park quality. To address this issue from an environmental justice perspe...
Background: This paper is a follow-up study continuing the COVISTRESS network previous research regarding health-related determinants.
Objective: The aim was to identify the main consequences of COVID-19 lockdown on Body Mass Index and Perceived Fragility, related to Physical Activity (PA), for different categories of populations, worldwide.
Desi...
Informed by basic psychological need theory, this study was undertaken to examine the
relationship between self-reported symptoms of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), mindfulness, basic psychological need satisfaction/frustration, and smartphone overuse among athletes. Athletes (n = 360, Mage = 20.27, male = 72.5%) completed a survey...
Building on self-determination theory (SDT), this prospective study aimed to examine the effects of perceived psychological need support and autonomous motivation on parents’ adherence to COVID-19 preventive behaviors for their children. Participants were 689 US parents or legal caregivers of 3-to-8 year-old children. They completed an online surve...
Background
With an increasing volume of research exploring the pathways linking greenspace exposure to mental health, there is a need to synthesise the strength of evidence on the mediation mechanisms. Synthesising the strength of evidence on the pathways can help us better understand how greenspace exposure affects mental health and guide future g...
"Introduction: Resilience, which is defined as the process of adapting well in the face of adversity, trauma, tragedy, threats or significant sources of stress, is important for older adults to maintain a healthy life. This qualitative study aimed to identify the characteristics that contribute to resilience among a group of community-dwelling olde...
Background
There is on one hand sufficient evidence showing strong association between resilience and self-rated successful aging. On the other hand, strength training could contribute the cultivation of resilience among older adults. Therefore, the current study aims to examine the effectiveness of resistance training on resilience among Chinese o...
In this paper, we described our recent thinking on the mental health assessment methods of Chinese elite athletes and introduced a contextually appropriate sport training centre-based mental health management framework for Chinese elite athletes. Regarding the assessment methods, we highlighted the two-dimensional measures of mental health includin...
The aim of the present study was to test the validity of the Brief Self-Control Scale (BSCS; Tangney, Baumeister and Boone 2004) including its dimensional structure based on competing one- and two-factor models, discriminant validity from the conceptually-related self-discipline construct, invariance across multiple samples from different national...
Le but de cette étude était de tester le modèle de processus parallèle étendu (EPPM) dans le contexte du nouveau coronavirus (COVID-19) parmi un échantillon représentatif de Canadiens. Les intentions de suivre les recommandations du gouvernement, la distanciation physique et les réactions de contrôle de la peur (c.-à-d., les réactions négatives et...
This study aimed to examine the relationships between occupational stressors, mental health problems, and sleep difficulty, and the mediating roles of cognitive fusion and cognitive reappraisal on the relationships in Chinese nurses. A total of 323 nurses (mean age = 32.11 ± 6.75 years) from 25 hospitals in China participated a cross-sectional onli...
Similar to their Western counterparts, children in Hong Kong generally fail to reach the recommended levels of physical activity (PA). As an ultra-dense metropolis, Hong Kong is different from most Western cities. It is therefore important to update and appraise previous PA research in order to inform future PA promotion for Hong Kong children. Usi...
Mental health literacy (MHL) is recognised as a major factor in whether athletes seek help when they experience mental health difficulties. Therefore, the current study aimed to provide a systematic review of the effectiveness of MHL training programmes in improving mental health knowledge and help-seeking and reducing stigma among athletes. To ide...
Purpose: Resilience is an important trait for older adults facing adversity. This qualitative study aimed to identify the characteristics that contribute to resilience in a group of community-dwelling older adults in Hong Kong. Methods: Twenty-five Chinese older adults were invited. Interviews were conducted to collect information about the adverse...
Background:
The purpose of this study was to explore socio-ecological predictors of moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA) as a result of the COVD-19 pandemic restrictions.
Method:
A representative sample of 1,055 English-speaking Canadians (18+ years) completed measures of MVPA during the COVID-19 restrictions and reflecting on MVPA prio...
The current study evaluated the construct validity, internal consistency reliability, discriminant, and concurrent validities, along with the measurement invariance of the Brief Self-Control Scale (BSCS) among 1,216 Chinese participants, including 241adult athletes, 412 adolescent athletes, 253 adult students, and 310 adolescent students. Confirmat...
This study aims to examine the effects among college students of mindfulness on smartphone addiction before going to bed at night. We examined the mediating roles of self-control and rumination on the mindfulness–smartphone addiction path. Participants (n = 270, 59.3% females, 18–24 years old) completed self-reporting questionnaires measuring mindf...
Prolonged stress is associated with poor physical and mental health outcomes. Understanding the mediators between personality and stress is critical for developing effective stress management interventions during a pandemic. Our study explored whether perceptions of threat from COVID-19 and efficacy to follow government recommendations for preventi...
Background:
Regular participation in moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) is related to decreased risk of morbidity and mortality. Among working populations, lack of MVPA may also be a risk factor for absenteeism and presenteeism. Both traditional workplace-based and web-based interventions have been suggested as being effective in promot...
How to help athletes enhance their performance is a never-ending mission for all stakeholders involved in sport contexts, including athletes, coaches, and sport psychology practitioners. The great NBA player Michael Jordan once said that, “I have missed more than 9000 shots in my career. I have lost almost 300 games. 26 times, I have been trusted t...
Background:
The frustration of basic psychological needs can be detrimental to people's health. To date, a scale developed specifically for measuring such perceived negative experiences, derived from a need thwarting environment in the physical activity context, is lacking. The present research attempted to develop and validate the Psychological N...
Why People Failed to Adhere to COVID-19 Preventive Behaviors? Perspectives from an Integrated Behavior Change Model - Derwin K. C. Chan, Chun-Qing Zhang, Karin Weman Josefsson
Objectives
The goal of the current study was to investigate the universality of the five-factor model of mindfulness and the measurement equivalence of the Five-Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire (FFMQ).Methods
The study used FFMQ data from published and unpublished research conducted in 16 countries (total N = 8541). Using CFA, different models, prop...
Background
Sleep hygiene behaviors in undergraduate students are associated with night-time sleep duration and quality, daytime sleepiness, and psychological distress. This study aimed to identify the social psychological factors that impact on university students’ sleep hygiene behaviors in samples from two countries.Method
Participants were under...
Objective: Hand washing and sleep hygiene are two important health behaviors. The purpose of the current study was to identify the motivational and volitional antecedents of college students’ hand washing and sleep hygiene behaviors based on an integrated model of behavior that combined social-cognition constructs from the Theory of Planned Behavio...
Background
Socioecological models highlight the potential direct and indirect effects of multiple levels of influence in explaining physical activity (PA). Social cognitive theories, however, position individual cognitions as the mediator of external factors such as the built environment when explaining PA.
Purpose
To appraise the evidence for dir...
Aim: Using a longitudinal design, the purpose of this study was to test a model integrating perceptions of the school neighbourhood environment with constructs from the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB) to predict transport-related cycling among Chinese college students.
Methods: A sample of 630 (Mage = 18.95 years; SD = 1.16) Chinese college stud...
We hope this opinion paper contributes to the theoretical understanding of the influences of individual and neighborhood SES and their interactions on the health of older adults. Most importantly, we call for more studies examining whether and how the psychological, social, and behavioral resources can serve as changing pathways for the effects fro...
There is an increasing research interest in the concept and measurement of mental toughness. This study examined the psychometric properties of the 8-item Mental Toughness Inventory (MTI) in two Chinese samples: 503 youth athletes and 513 university students. The unidimensional model of the MTI was confirmed and measurement invariance between males...
Objective: Transport-related cycling can contribute to employees’ increased physical activities in their daily lives, with potential health and environmental benefits. Still, a theoretical understanding of the links between the perceptions of physical environment and transport-related cycling through social cognitive theories is unclear. In additio...
Objective: Consumption of excess added sugar in the form of sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) contributes to a wide range of health concerns in adolescents. Identification of modifiable determinants of SSB consumption based on behavioral theory may inform development of interventions aimed at reducing SSB consumption. The aim of the current study wa...
Background
As an accessible and inexpensive activity in daily life for employees, transport‐related walking is a promising focus of physical activity initiatives. The purpose of this study was to integrate worksite neighbourhood walkability with the theory of planned behaviour (TPB) to predict transport‐related walking in Chinese employees using a...
Although vaccination is the first-line strategy controlling and preventing influenza A/H1N1 for older adults, personal protective measures, such as wearing facemasks, are also important preventive behaviors to reduce the risk of becoming infected with influenza A/H1N1 during a pandemic. In the current study, we aimed to explore the belief-related p...