Physical Activity and Interpersonal Adaptation in Chinese Adolescents After COVID-19: The Mediating Roles of Self-Esteem and Psychological Resilience

The Dark Triad and aggression among drug abstainers: a moderated mediation model of self-control and physical exercise

BACKGROUND

Drug addiction is a significant public health concern, and aggression is common among people with drug addiction. Despite mounting evidence showing that the Dark Triad is a risk factor for aggression, the mediating and moderating mechanisms underlying this relationship are less known. This study tested the mediation effect of self-control in the association between the Dark Triad and aggression and whether this mediation was moderated by physical exercise.

METHODS

A cross-sectional study was conducted in two compulsory drug rehabilitation centers in Nanning, China. A convenience sample of 564 drug abstainers completed a questionnaire to assess their Dark Triad, self-control, aggression, and physical exercise levels. Mediation and moderation analyses were carried out in SPSS macro-PROCESS.

RESULTS

Self-control partially mediated the positive association between the Dark Triad and aggression. Physical exercise moderated the indirect effect of the Dark Triad on aggression via self-control, with the effect decreasing with the increase in physical exercise levels.

CONCLUSIONS

This study offers fresh insights into the underlying mediating and moderating mechanisms between the Dark Triad and aggression. The findings provide important practical implications for future intervention and prevention programs to address aggression among drug abstainers, which may be realized through strengthening self-control and physical exercise.

Does physical activity influence health behavior, mental health, and psychological resilience under the moderating role of quality of life?

Background

Physical activity significantly influences health-related behaviors, encompassing physical and mental well-being. Physical activity has been linked to enhancing health behavior, mental health, and psychological resilience. The current study is based on participants who were active in physical activity to improve health and well-being.

Objectives

To examine the influences of physical activity on health behavior, mental health, and psychological resilience, considering the moderating role of quality of life.

Method

A thorough cross-sectional online survey was conducted from April 15, 2023, to October 15, 2023. The survey was comprehensive and lasted for six months. The online poll received more than one thousand responses under convenience sampling. The selection criteria for the study were above 21 years old, and participants were active in physical activity to improve health and well-being. The collected data were analyzed using appropriate statistical SPSS-25 and SmartPLS 4.0 software to investigate the proposed research paradigm.

Results

SEM results of model 1 (direct coefficients) show that PA has a positive effect on HeB, MeH, PsR, HeB on MeH, HeB on PsR. Out of six (in model 2), four moderating effects of QOL were significant, and two were statistically insignificant.

Conclusion

It has been observed that the quality of life has a moderating role in the relationships between physical exercise and several aspects, such as psychological resilience, mental health, and health-related behavior. It is imperative to emphasize the importance of fostering consistent engagement in physical activity to cultivate a well-balanced and health-conscious way of life.

Physical exercise/sports ameliorate the internet addiction from college students during the pandemic of COVID-19 in China

The rapid advancement of modern technology has significantly driven progress in various IT-related activities, resulting in a substantial increase in internet penetration rates, particularly among college students. The utilization of the internet has become one of the most essential tools in our modern society. However, internet addiction (IA) has emerged as a serious concern, particularly among college students, adversely affecting academic performance and having significant psychological and psychiatric implications. The aim of the current study was to determine the impact of physical exercise, gender and academic year on IA among college students. In the present study, we investigated internet usage, engagement in sports activities, and academic performance among college students from Western, Middle, and Eastern regions of Chinese universities. It's noteworthy that most of the respondents were freshmen. Our findings indicate that freshmen students were more susceptible to experiencing IA. Approximately 75% of students engaged in leisure sports activities, revealing an inverse correlation between sports activity and IA. This correlation aligns with the level of sports involvement, emphasizing the potential benefits of physical activity in mitigating IA. However, our study did not uncover any correlation between geographic location and the occurrence of IA, nor did it find differences between medical and non-medical students. Furthermore, our study revealed no significant variations in IA among students from different ethnic backgrounds. The underlying mechanism of IA is being currently determined. Our data suggest that physical exercise, gender, and academic year have a significant impact on IA among college students.

Effects of sports on school adaptability, resilience and cell phone addiction tendency of high school students

BACKGROUND

Sport help promote healthy physical and mental development of high school students. To date, there have been few studies on the effect of sport on school adaptability, resilience and cell phone addiction tendency of high school students.

AIM

To explore the effects of sports on school adaptability, resilience and cell phone addiction of high school students.

METHODS

A stratified random sampling method was used to select 600 students from two high schools in Lhasa, and Physical Activity Rating Scale, School Adjustment Scale for High School Students, Chinese Adolescents Resilience Scale, and Mobile Phone Addiction Index were used for field questionnaire survey.

RESULTS

Sport was positively correlated with school adaptability and resilience (P < 0.01), school adaptability was positively correlated with resilience (P < 0.01) and cell phone addiction was negatively correlated with sports, school adaptability and resilience (P < 0.01). The direct effect of sport on cell phone addiction was significant (P < 0.001), accounting for 20.51% of the total effect. The mediating effect of school adaptability on sport and cell phone addiction was significant (P < 0.001), accounting for 17.38% and 35.36% of the total effect value, respectively. School adjustment and resilience had a significant chain-mediated effect on sport and cell phone addiction (P < 0.001), accounting for 26.75% of the total effect.

CONCLUSION

Sport affected the cell phone addiction tendency of senior high school students through the mediating effect of school adaptability and resilience, and through the chain mediation effect of both.

Research on the relationship between physical activity, sleep quality, psychological resilience, and social adaptation among Chinese college students: A cross-sectional study

Background

Sleep quality has become a frequent and prominent public health problem in Chinese universities, which seriously hinders the healthy development of college students and the improvement of the quality of higher education.

Objective

The purpose of this study is to explore the relationship between physical activity and sleep quality among Chinese college students, and the mechanism of psychological resilience and social adaptation, and provide suggestions for improving the sleep quality among Chinese college students.

Methods

From August to September 2022, a cross-sectional survey was conducted by using the convenience sampling method in Guangdong Province. 1,622 college students were investigated with Physical Activity Scale, Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index Scale (PSQI), Psychological Resilience Scale, and Social Adaptation Diagnostic Scale, of which 893 were male and 729 were female. Use SPSS 23.0 and PROCESS plug-ins to analyze data.

Results

(1) There was a significant negative correlation between physical activity and sleep quality (r = -0.237), and the direct path of physical activity to sleep quality was significant (β = -0.236, t = -9.888, p < 0.01); (2) physical activity can positively predict psychological resilience (β = 0.215, t = 8.823, p < 0.01) and social adaptation (β = 0.164, t = 7.773, p < 0.01); psychological resilience can negatively predict sleep quality (β = -0.337, t = -15.711, p < 0.01), positive prediction of social adaptation (β = 0.504, t = 23.961, p < 0.01); social adaptation can negatively predict sleep quality (β = -0.405, t = -18.558, p < 0.01); (3) psychological resilience and social adaptation play a significant mediating role between physical activity and sleep quality. The mediation effect consists of three paths: physical activity → psychological resilience → sleep quality (mediation effect value is -0.0723), physical activity → social adaptation → sleep quality (mediation effect value is -0.0662), and physical activity → psychological resilience → social adaptation → sleep quality (mediation effect value is -0.0438). (4) There is no gender difference in chain mediated effect.

Conclusion

(1) Physical activity can significantly positively predict college students' psychological resilience and social adaptation, and negatively predict sleep quality, which means that physical activity may help improve college students' psychological resilience and social adaptation, and reduce sleep quality problems; (2) physical activity can not only directly affect the quality of sleep, but also indirectly affect the quality of sleep through the independent intermediary role of psychological resilience and social adaptation and the chain intermediary role of both. This further explains the reason why physical activity plays a role in college students' sleep quality, which will help to provide some inspiration for colleges and universities to reduce college students' sleep quality problems and formulate intervention plans.