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. 2024 Nov 25:15:1411175.
doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1411175. eCollection 2024.

The mediating role of psychological resilience in the relationship between physical exercise and sense of security among left-behind junior high school students: multi-group comparative analysis of only children and children with siblings

Qifei Xia  1   2 , Qi Liu  3 , Guoyou Qin  4
Affiliations

The mediating role of psychological resilience in the relationship between physical exercise and sense of security among left-behind junior high school students: multi-group comparative analysis of only children and children with siblings

Qifei Xia et al. Front Psychol. .

Abstract

Background: This study aims to explore the mediating role of psychological resilience in the relationship between physical exercise and the sense of security among junior high school students, with a particular focus on variations based on only-child status.

Methods: A survey was conducted among 649 left-behind junior high school students in Gansu Province, China, utilizing the Physical Activity Rating Scale-3 (PARS-3), Security Questionnaire (SQ), and Resilience Scale for Chinese Adolescents (RSCA).

Results: Among the participants, the mean scores for physical exercise, psychological resilience, and sense of security were 40.78 ± 29.49, 51.14 ± 10.08, and 55.75 ± 14.35, respectively. A significant positive correlation was observed between physical exercise and sense of security (r = 0.210, p < 0.01), physical exercise and psychological resilience (r = 0.164, p < 0.01), and psychological resilience and sense of security (r = 0.443, p < 0.01). Mediation analysis revealed that psychological resilience partially mediates the effect of physical exercise on the sense of security, accounting for 33.9% of the total effect. Multi-group analysis indicated significant differences in this mediating effect between only children and children with siblings, with a stronger predictive role of psychological resilience for the sense of security among non-only children.

Conclusion: Participation in physical exercise can promote the improvement of sense of security through the individual power factor of improving the psychological resilience of left-behind junior high school students, and this improvement effect is more significant for non-only children.

Keywords: children with siblings; left-behind junior high school students; only children; physical exercise; psychological resilience; sense of security.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
The mediating effect of psychological resilience between physical exercise and left-behind middle school students’ sense of security. ***p < 0.001, **p < 0.01, *p < 0.05.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Mediating effect of psychological resilience between physical exercise and sense of security of left-behind junior high school students (lone students). ***p < 0.001, **p < 0.01, *p < 0.05.
Figure 3
Figure 3
The mediating effect of psychological resilience on the relationship between physical activity and left-behind junior high school students’ sense of security (non-alone students). ***p < 0.001, **p < 0.01, *p < 0.05.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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