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. 2025 Mar 29;15(1):10868.
doi: 10.1038/s41598-025-95186-5.

Gender mediates the mediating effect of psychological capital between physical activity and depressive symptoms among adolescents

Xiangyu Luo  1 , Hanqi Liu  1 , Zhaoyang Sun  1 , Qin Wei  1 , Jianhua Zhang #  2 , Tiancheng Zhang  1 , Yang Liu #  3
Affiliations

Gender mediates the mediating effect of psychological capital between physical activity and depressive symptoms among adolescents

Xiangyu Luo et al. Sci Rep. .

Erratum in

Abstract

Adolescents develop rapidly, are sensitive to external environmental pressure, and are prone to depression symptoms. Physical activity has been identified as a protective factor for depressive symptoms. Psychological capital is strongly associated with depressive symptoms, and gender has been identified as a potential protective factor. For adolescents in early adolescence, the complex relationship between these factors needs further study. The aim of this study was to explore the mediating role of psychological capital between depressive symptoms and physical activity in adolescents, and the moderating role of gender between the two. Physical activity, depressive symptoms and psychological capital were measured by Physical Activity Rating Scale (par-3), Central Depression Scale (CES-D) and Psychological Capital Scale (PCQAS) in 1146 adolescents. The proposed relationships were tested using models 4 and 14 of the structural equation model, respectively, for mediating and regulating effects. Physical activity was negatively correlated with depressive symptoms and positively correlated with psychological capital. Psychological capital was negatively correlated with depressive symptoms and mediated the relationship between physical activity and depressive symptoms. Gender effectively modulates the latter half of the mediated model pathway. In adolescents, especially girls, depression symptoms can be alleviated and prevented by increasing daily physical activity and positive psychological capital reserve.

Keywords: Depressive symptoms; Gender; Physical activity; Psychological capital.

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Conflict of interest statement

Declarations. Ethics approval and consent to participate: The study was approved by the Biomedicine Ethics Committee of Jishou University before the initiation of the project (Grant number: JSDX−2024−0086). Informed consent was obtained from the participants and their guardians before the start of the program. We confirm that all the experiment is in accordance with the relevant guidelines and regulations such as the declaration of Helsinki. Competing interests: The authors declare no competing interests.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Variable hypothesis model.
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Pathway of physical activity, depressive symptoms and psychological capital mediating model.
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
The moderating effect of gender on depressive symptoms under psychological capital value.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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