ArticleFrontiers in psychology2026
The impact of a mixed exercise intervention on the physical and mental health of left-behind children: a randomized controlled trial combining sports games and ball sports.
Article in Frontiers in psychology, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
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Who cites it
1 citing paper in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
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Authors and funding
4 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Background: Left-behind children (LBC) in rural China often have limited opportunities for regular physical activity and may face heightened psychological difficulties. School physical education (PE) provides a practical setting in which structured interventions can be delivered to this group. This study examined whether a 12-week PE program combining cooperative sports games with ball-sport activities was related to changes in physical fitness and psychological health among rural LBC. Methods: Forty sixth-grade LBC from a rural boarding primary school were randomly allocated to a mixed training group (MTG, Results: Following the 12-week period, the MTG showed greater improvements in selected psychological and physical outcomes compared with the CONG. Significant group-by-time interactions were found for MHT total score ( Conclusion: A 12-week mixed exercise program embedded in routine PE was associated with selective improvements in psychological health and physical fitness among rural LBC. These findings provide preliminary support for the potential value of combining cooperative sports games with ball-sport activities in school PE. Larger multi-site studies with longer follow-up are needed to confirm these findings.
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