Exercise and Quality of Life

Online ISSN:
2406-1379

ISSN:
1821-3480

Volume 18 , Issue 2, (2026)

Published:
20.09.2026.

Open Access

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Published: 20.09.2026.

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Authors in this issue:

Betty Miangindula Mabenza, Čedomir Bajčetić, Christina Karatzaferi, Eric Kam Kampy, Giorgos K. Sakkas, Guy Bumoko Makila Mabe, Ilias Ntoumas, Ivana M. Milovanović, Martha Michanikou, Mathieu Loposso Nkumu, Mohamed Salah Benharkat, Nadjib Ababsa, Petar Spaic, Radenko Matic, Rafik Guia, Ramdan Zaki, Sauvage Chloé, teddy bofosa,

Edited by:

Danilo Radanović

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Exercise and Quality of Life runs special issues to create collections of papers on specific topics.

University Belonging and Major Satisfaction among First-Year Physical Education Students: A Cross-Sectional Study

University belonging and major satisfaction are two key psychological constructs that influence first-year students' academic adjustment and retention. This cross-sectional study examined the relationship between university belonging and major satisfaction among first-year students enrolled in the Physical Education and Sports Sciences program (STAPS) at Kasdi Merbah University of Ouargla, Algeria. A purposive sample of 53 students (88.7% male, 11.3% female; aged 21.2 ± 5.2 years) completed two questionnaires developed for this study: the University Belonging Scale (15 items, α = .837) and the Major Satisfaction Scale (15 items, α = .898). Descriptive statistics, Pearson's correlation, and simple linear regression were computed using SPSS v25. University belonging was rated at a moderate-to-high level (3.84 ± 0.45; 76.77%), and major satisfaction was rated high (4.14 ± 0.50; 82.88%). A significant positive correlation was found between the two variables (r = .565, p < .001). Linear regression identified university belonging as a significant predictor of major satisfaction (β = .565, B = 0.629, R² = .319, F(1, 51) = 23.88, p < .001), explaining 31.9% of the variance. Exploratory factor analysis supported a two-factor structure for the belonging instrument and a unidimensional structure for the satisfaction instrument, and the association remained significant after removal of psychometrically weak items (r = .506, p < .001). These findings suggest that a stronger sense of university belonging was associated with higher major satisfaction scores in this sample. Practical implications for academic counseling in Algerian higher education institutions are discussed.

Rafik Guia, Mohamed Salah Benharkat, Nadjib Ababsa, Ramdan Zaki