ArticleBMC pediatrics2025
The effect of physical activity on resilience of Chinese children: the chain mediating effect of executive function and emotional regulation.
Article in BMC pediatrics, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 12 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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12 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- The effect of exercise interventions on enhancing psychological resilience: a systematic review and meta-analysis.BMC psychology · 2026Pooled it
- Effects of cognitively engaging physical activity on executive function, mental health, and physical fitness in school-age children: a cluster-randomized controlled trial.BMC psychology · 2026Trial
- The impact of physical activity on rumination: a chain mediation model of executive function and metacognitive dysfunction and the examination of suppression effects.Scientific reports · 2026Article
- Physical activity and executive function in adolescents: Dual rumination pathways and mindfulness moderation.PloS one · 2026Article
- Can middle school students counteract academic burnout through physical exercise? A cross-sectional study from China.Frontiers in psychology · 2026Article
- Physical Activity, Emotional Intelligence, and Resilience in College Students: A Multi-Group Structural Equation Modeling Analysis Across Physical Fitness Levels.Psychology research and behavior management · 2026Article
- Physical exercise and psychological resilience in the link between adverse childhood experiences and non-suicidal self-injury: chain mediation and network analysis in college students.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2026Article
- Article
- Resilience, Life Satisfaction, and Well-Being in Portuguese Adolescents: A Cross-Sectional Study.Behavioral sciences (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- Mental health literacy and anxiety in college students mediating role of psychological resilience and moderating role of physical exercise.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- The relationship between positive exercise experiences and mobile phone addiction tendencies in older adults: a cross-lagged study.Frontiers in public health · 2025Article
- Relationships among anxiety, psychological resilience, and physical activity in university students: variable-centred and person-centred perspectives.Frontiers in psychology · 2025Article
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7 authors.
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Abstract
backgroundChildren’s mental health has become a major public health challenge, with approximately 19.3% of Chinese children and adolescents facing mental health problems. Resilience, a positive adaptive trait, serves as a key protective factor in children’s mental health. While studies indicate that physical activity (PA) enhances resilience, its underlying mechanisms remain unclear. This study aims to examine the relationship between PA and resilience, with a focus on the mediated roles of executive function (EF) and emotion regulation (ER).
methodsA cross-sectional study was conducted with a sample of 971 primary school students from grades 2 to 6 (mean age = 9.8 years) in Yangzhou City, Jiangsu Province. The Physical Activity Rating Scale (PARS-3), the Chinese Adolescent Resilience Scale (RSCA), the Emotion Regulation Strategies Questionnaire for Children and Adolescents (ERQ-CA), and the Computerized Neuropsychological Assessment System were used to evaluate the relevant variables. SPSS 29.0 and AMOS 29.0 were used for data analysis and structural equation model testing.
resultsThe results revealed significant positive correlations between PA and resilience (r = 0.545, p < 0.01) and ER (r = 0.413, p < 0.01), as well as a significant negative correlation with EF (r = -0.341, p < 0.01), where shorter reaction times indicate better EF. PA was found to have a significant direct effect on resilience (β = 0.294, p < 0.001). Bootstrap mediation analysis revealed that EF and ER jointly formed a significant chain-mediated pathway between PA and resilience, accounting for 17.39% of the total indirect effect. Among them, emotion regulation played the most prominent independent mediating role, contributing 68.38% of the indirect effect.
conclusionsThis study elucidates the mechanisms through which PA influences children’s resilience via executive function and emotion regulation, highlighting the crucial role of cognitive and ER skills in this process. These findings not only enhance the understanding of the mechanisms underlying children’s resilience development but also offer new perspectives for designing interventions to promote children’s mental health. Future educational and public health policies should integrate PA with cognitive-emotional training to effectively enhance children’s ability to cope with stress and challenges.
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