Perceived cooperative learning climate in physical education and empathy among Chinese upper elementary students: indirect pathways through relatedness need satisfaction and cognitive reappraisal.

Purpose: This cross-sectional study examined whether perceived cooperative learning climate (PCLC) in physical education (PE) was associated with cognitive empathy (COE) and affective empathy (AFE) among Chinese students in Grades 4-6. Relatedness need satisfaction (RNS) and cognitive reappraisal (COR) were tested as parallel and sequential indirect pathways within a hypothesized structural model. Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted among 2,173 Grade 4-6 students from primary schools in Chengdu, China. Students completed self-report measures of PCLC, RNS, COR, COE, and AFE. Covariance-based structural equation modeling estimated unadjusted direct and specific indirect effects, and bias-corrected bootstrap confidence intervals were calculated using 5,000 resamples. Hierarchical regressions were conducted as supplementary covariate-adjusted analyses. Results: PCLC was positively associated with COE (β = 0.334) and AFE (β = 0.308). Specific indirect effects through RNS, through COR, and through the sequence RNS→ COR were significant for both empathy outcomes, with standardized estimates ranging from β = 0.024 to β = 0.073. All 95% bootstrapped confidence intervals excluded zero. In supplementary regressions, PCLC, RNS, and COR remained positively associated with both empathy outcomes after demographic variables were entered. Conclusion: The findings suggest that perceived cooperative learning climate in PE is positively associated with cognitive and affective empathy among Chinese upper elementary students. RNS and COR may represent relational and regulatory pathways linking cooperative PE climates with students' socio-emotional functioning. Longitudinal, multi-informant, and intervention studies are needed to test temporal and causal relations.