Physical education performance as a protective pathway: breaking the cycle between learning burnout and gaming disorder in Chinese adolescents.

Background and Aims: Gaming disorder (GD) and learning burnout (LB) are critical issues impacting adolescents, with GD recognized by the World Health Organization as a behavioral addiction and LB contributing to academic disengagement. While prior research has examined bivariate relationships, such as GD's negative correlation with academic performance and physical education performance, or LB's association with poor grades, no study has integrated all four variables into one model to explore their dynamic interactions longitudinally. Methods: A cross-lagged panel network (CLPN) model was applied to longitudinal data from 811 Chinese middle school students collected at two time points. Results: GD and LB showed minimal direct effects on academic performance or physical education performance. Instead, academic performance and physical education performance acted as protective factors, significantly alleviating LB, particularly among boys. These two protective factors were mutually reinforcing. Cognitive exhaustion (a core component of LB) and GD functioned as reciprocal risk factors. Conclusion: Interventions for adolescent maladjustment should prioritize addressing learning burnout through academic and physical avenues rather than overemphasizing gaming disorder, with tailored strategies for different genders.