Previous researches have confirmed that perceived social support has a profound effect on individuals’ mental health. However, the effects and potential mechanisms of perceived social support on mental health of college athletes are still largely unknown, especially during and after the COVID-19 pandemic. Thus, the aim of this study was to explore the relationship between perceived social support and mental health in college football athletes, and to evaluate whether hopelessness and psychological pressure affected this relationship. A sample of 672 Chinese college football athletes (37.9% girls; M_age = 20.43 years; SD_age = 1.68) were investigated with the Perceived Social Support Scale (PSSS), the Kessler Psychological Distress Scale (K10), the Beck Hopelessness Scale (BHS) and the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS). Surveys were voluntary and anonymous. The findings revealed that, after adjusting for demographic factors, hopelessness mediated the relationship between Chinese college football athletes’ perceived social support and their mental health. Furthermore, psychological pressure moderated the negative association between perceived social support and hopelessness, and the association was stronger for them with high-level psychological pressure. These results underline the need for focused strategies in the prevention and treatment of mental health issues among Chinese college football athletes.

The isolation and blockade during the COVID-19 pandemic have a great impact on the mental health of Chinese college soccer players. This study aimed to explore the effect of perceived social support on mental health of college soccer players, as well as the mediating role of athlete burnout and hopelessness during the COVID-19 lockdown. Based on a sample of 674 college soccer players from several universities in China, the study used the Perceived Social Support Scale (PSSS), Kessler Psychological Distress Scale (K10), Athlete Burnout Questionnaire (ABQ) and Beck Hopelessness Scale (BHS). The results indicated that: (1) there was a significant positive correlation between perceived social support and mental health of college soccer players; (2) the athlete burnout played a mediating role between perceived social support and mental health of college soccer players; (3) the hopelessness also played a mediating role between perceived social support and mental health of college soccer players; (4) the athlete burnout and hopelessness played a chain mediating role between perceived social support and mental health. These findings could contribute to insight into the mechanisms by which perceived social support affects the mental health of college soccer players and provide important practical guidance for protecting and promoting their mental health.

Amid the ongoing digital transformation of higher education, increasing attention has been paid to the impact of digital technologies on teaching quality—particularly in physical education settings that require high levels of interaction and physical engagement. This study examined 1158 university students across China using a cross-sectional design, integrating interpretable machine learning models with structural equation modeling to systematically assess how the frequency of use of seven common digital technologies influences teaching quality in physical education classes. The study also investigated the mediating roles of perceived teacher support and academic self-efficacy. Nine machine learning models and logistic regression analyses were conducted to predict teaching quality, employing feature permutation importance and SHapley Additive exPlanations (SHAP) to evaluate the relative contribution of each digital tool. Results identified multimedia courseware, e-textbooks, and question banks as the most influential predictors of teaching quality. The SHAP analysis further revealed that management software, educational websites, and multimedia materials had significant positive effects and exhibited synergistic interactions in improving teaching outcomes. Structural equation modeling showed that digital technology use had a significant direct positive effect on teaching quality (B = 0.347, p < 0.001). Moreover, perceived teacher support and academic self-efficacy not only served as independent mediators (95% CI = [0.146, 0.226], p < 0.001; 95% CI = [0.024, 0.063], p < 0.001) but also functioned as a chain mediating effect (95% CI = [0.036, 0.083], p < 0.001). This study is the first to integrate interpretable machine learning with structural modeling to elucidate the mechanisms through which digital technologies influence teaching quality in university-level physical education. The findings underscore the critical mediating roles of teacher support and student self-efficacy, providing both theoretical contributions and practical implications for enhancing digital pedagogy in higher education.

Objectives: Distress rumination is a cause of suicidality and self-injurious behavior (SSIB) among individuals. Although previous studies have shown that distress rumination, SSIB, resilience, and depression are significantly related, the interaction mechanism remains unclear. This study aimed to evaluate resilience and depression as mediators of the relationship between distress rumination and SSIB among Chinese college athletes infected with COVID-19.Methods: Convenience sampling was used to recruit participants from the National College Football Championship in Guangxi City, China from January to February 2023. Participants completed the Ruminative Responses Scale (RRS), a subscale of the Health-Risk Behavior Inventory (HBI), the Mental Toughness Index (MTI) and the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9). We used the PROCESS macro for SPSS to determine the mediating effect of resilience and depression between distress rumination and SSIB.Results: A total of 350 Chinese college athletes participated in this study and completed the questionnaire survey. 289 (81.7% boys; M_age = 20.31 years, SD = 1.60) of them have been infected with COVID-19. 59.9% (n = 173) participants were from urban areas and 15.6% (n = 45) of participants have engaged in self-injurious behaviors or suicidal ideation. College athletes’ distress rumination was significantly negatively correlated with resilience (r = − 0.28, p < 0.01), and was significantly positively correlated with depression (r = 0.49, p < 0.01) and SSIB (r = − 0.18, p < 0.01). Resilience was significantly negatively correlated with depression (r = − 0.35, p < 0.01) and SSIB (r = − 0.30, p < 0.01). Finally, depression was significantly positively correlated with SSIB (r = − 0.38, p < 0.01). Resilience and depression played a mediating role of the total effects of distress rumination and SSIB, respectively. Meanwhile, the chain mediating effect of resilience and depression was also significant.Conclusion: This study found that distress rumination can directly predict SSIB, and indirectly predict SSIB through the mediating effect of resilience and depression, and the chain mediating effect of resilience-depression. Therefore, reducing the degree of distress rumination of college athletes infected by COVID-19 and improving their resilience, as well as reducing their depression may help prevent SSIB.

Digital technology has become increasingly prevalent in higher education classrooms. However, the impact of different types and use frequencies of digital technology on college students’ classroom engagement can vary substantially. This study aims to develop an interpretable machine learning model to predict student classroom engagement based on various digital technologies and construct a structural equation model (SEM) to further investigate the underlying mechanisms involving perceived usefulness (PU), perceived ease of use (PEU), and academic self-efficacy (ASE). Nine machine learning algorithms were employed to develop interpretable predictive models, rank the importance of digital technology tools, and identify the optimal predictive model for student engagement. A total of 1158 eligible Chinese university students participated in this study. The results indicated that subject-specific software, management software, websites, and mobile devices were identified as key factors influencing student engagement. Interaction effect analyses revealed significant synergistic effects between management software and subject-specific software, identifying them as primary determinants of student engagement. SEM results demonstrated that digital technology usage frequency indirectly influenced student engagement through PU, PEU, and ASE, with both PU and ASE as well as PEU and ASE playing chain-mediated roles. The findings underscore the importance of integrating digital tools strategically in PE classrooms to enhance engagement. These insights offer practical implications for higher education institutions and policymakers.

Background: The sudden and unpredictable changes caused by the COVID-19 pandemic are a serious threat to the occupational stress and mental health of referees worldwide, which has not attracted widespread attention. The mental health of football referees has a certain influence on their job satisfaction or the accuracy of judgments. Methods: This study constructed a moderated mediation model to explore the buffer factors between occupational stress and mental health in Chinese soccer referees in the early stage of reopening soccer matches during the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak. Data from 317 Chinese soccer referees (aged 19–45) were collected through an online questionnaire in September–October 2022. Occupational stress, mental health, job burnout and perceived social support were measured, and moderated mediation model was analyzed. Results: The results of this study showed that occupational stress was negatively correlated with mental health through the mediating effect of job burnout and the moderated effect of perceived social support after controlling for demographic variables. Specifically, the association between occupational stress and mental health was weaker when perceived social support was higher and stronger. Conclusions: The results demonstrate that job burnout and perceived social support played important roles in buffering the negative effects of occupational stress on the mental health of Chinese soccer referees in the early stage of reopening soccer matches during the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak. The findings provide implications for mental health interventions in soccer referees during the public health crises.