Considering the role of school adjustment in the development of adolescent populations, it is particularly essential to find ways to improve the school adjustment of middle school students and to develop further the socialization of adolescents. Based on the 2014–2015 data of the China Education Panel Survey, the effects of physical exercise on adolescents’ school adjustment and possible mechanisms were systematically explored. Based on the ordinary least squares method, instrumental variable method, and propensity score matching method, the results of the study showed that physical exercise significantly improved adolescents’ school adjustment. The results of the mediation effects test indicated that physical exercise not only enhances adolescents’ school adjustment by alleviating negative emotions, but also enhances adolescents’ school adjustment by improving prosocial behavior. This study reveals the mechanism of physical exercise and adolescents’ school adjustment, and provides reasonable and effective suggestions for better promoting adolescents’ school adjustment and formulating related policies.

This study aims to explore the relationship between physical activity and interpersonal distress among high school students and its mechanism of action. Based on triadic reciprocal determinism, social cognitive theory, and the protective factor–protective factor Model, a cross-sectional study was conducted on 2072 high school students using the International Physical Activity Questionnaire Short Version (IPAQ-S), the Regulatory Emotional Self-Efficacy Scale, the Adolescent Psychological Resilience Scale, and the Interpersonal Relationship Comprehensive Diagnosis Scale. The results showed that (1) physical activity has a significant adverse predictive effect on interpersonal distress among high school students. (2) Physical activity can not only directly predict interpersonal distress among high school students, but also indirectly predict interpersonal distress through the mediating effect of regulatory emotional self-efficacy. (3) Psychological resilience plays a moderating role in the relationship between emotional regulation self-efficacy, and interpersonal distress. For high school students with low psychological resilience, emotional regulation self-efficacy has a more significant predictive effect on interpersonal distress; however, for high school students with high psychological resilience, the moderating effect is not significant.

Background: Insufficient physical exercise is a growing public health concern in China, where only 30.3% of adults exercise regularly. Exploring the key factors associated with physical exercise participation is essential for promoting healthier lifestyles. Method: This study utilized data from the 2021 China General Social Survey (CGSS) to apply a progressive framework of dimensionality reduction, machine learning prediction, and SHAP-based interpretability analysis. A total of 19 potential factors were considered, with LassoCV used for feature selection and multiple models constructed for comparison. Results: The SVM model showed the best predictive performance. SHAP analysis revealed that watching sports events, household registration, educational attainment, subjective well-being, smoking, age, sleep quality, social activities, and residence suitability for physical exercise are the most important factors influencing participation. Higher education, greater subjective well-being, urban residency, frequent sports viewing, and residence suitability for physical exercise were positively associated with participation, while smoking and poor sleep quality were negatively associated with it. Conclusion: This study highlights the value of combining machine learning with interpretability methods to uncover the key predictors of physical exercise. The findings provide new evidence on the social, psychological, and environmental factors associated with Chinese adults’ exercise behavior, offering insights for targeted health promotion strategies.

Background: Physical exercise is known to promote positive psychological functioning among college students; however, its relationship with meaning in life within naturally occurring friendship dyads remains underexplored. This study examined both actor and partner associations between physical exercise, social support, and meaning in life. Methods: A cross-sectional dyadic survey was conducted among 415 friendship dyads (830 Chinese college students, aged 17–23 years). Participants completed validated measures of physical exercise, perceived social support, and meaning in life. Intraclass correlations, Pearson correlations, actor–partner interdependence models (APIMs), and an indistinguishable APIM mediation model were applied to assess within-dyad nonindependence, actor and partner effects, and indirect pathways through social support. Results: Intraclass correlations revealed within-dyad similarities in physical exercise, social support, and meaning in life, with ICCs of 0.101, 0.188, and 0.253, respectively. The constrained indistinguishable mediation model demonstrated acceptable fit: χ²(6) = 12.81, p = 0.046; CFI = 0.973; TLI = 0.933; RMSEA = 0.052; SRMR = 0.028. Physical exercise was positively associated with social support at both the actor level (B = 0.150, p < 0.001) and partner level (B = 0.095, p < 0.001). Social support, in turn, was positively linked to meaning in life at both actor (B = 0.174, p < 0.001) and partner levels (B = 0.206, p < 0.001). Direct effects of physical exercise on meaning in life remained significant for both actor (B = 0.055, p = 0.001) and partner pathways (B = 0.067, p < 0.001). Bootstrap analyses confirmed significant total indirect effects for actors (B = 0.046, 95% CI [0.030, 0.063]) and partners (B = 0.047, 95% CI [0.032, 0.065]). Conclusions: Physical exercise is associated with meaning in life not only via intrapersonal pathways but also through interpersonal pathways within friendship dyads. Social support serves as a key mediating factor in this relationship.

Bullying victimization is a major risk factor for adolescents’ school adjustment, yet the mechanisms linking these experiences remain unclear. This study examined whether psychological resilience mediates the association between bullying victimization and school adjustment among junior high school students, and whether physical activity moderates this process. Using a cross-sectional design, data were obtained from 19,149 junior high school students in the Adolescent Health Theme Database. Regression, Bootstrap mediation, and moderated mediation analyses were conducted. Bullying victimization significantly and negatively associated with school adjustment (β = −0.460, p < 0.001). Psychological resilience partially accounted for this association: bullying victimization was negatively associated with psychological resilience (β = −0.314, p < 0.001), and psychological resilience was positively associated with school adjustment (β = 0.472, p < 0.001). The indirect effect was −0.149, with a 95% confidence interval of −0.157 to −0.140, accounting for 32.391% of the total effect. Physical activity moderated both the direct association between bullying victimization and school adjustment (β = 0.055, p < 0.001) and the association between psychological resilience and school adjustment (β = 0.020, p < 0.001). These findings indicate that bullying victimization is negatively associated with school adjustment, both directly and indirectly through its association with psychological resilience. Physical activity may serve as a modest but statistically significant protective factor by attenuating the adverse association between bullying victimization and school adjustment and strengthening the positive association between psychological resilience and school adjustment.

To examine the complex relationships among physical activity, emotion regulation, psychological stress, and mood states in college students, this study analyzed questionnaire data collected from 494 participants. Network analysis was employed to construct a global association network, compare gender differences, and characterize patterns of directed statistical dependencies via directed acyclic graph (DAG) analysis. The results showed that: (1) the network comprised 25 nodes and 94 non-zero edges, reflecting extensive conditional associations across the four domains; (2) bridge centrality analysis identified cognitive reappraisal, self-related emotions, and anger as key bridge nodes, with cognitive reappraisal exhibiting the highest bridge strength; (3) accuracy and stability analyses yielded a centrality stability coefficient (CS) of 0.749 for strength, indicating adequate network stability; (4) network comparison tests revealed no significant gender differences in overall network structure or global strength, although certain local edge weights differed; (5) DAG analysis suggested that stable directional dependencies were primarily concentrated within individual subsystems, with no marked structural differences observed between male and female groups. In conclusion, physical activity, emotion regulation, psychological stress, and mood states appear to constitute an interconnected psychological adaptation system. Cognitive reappraisal, self-related emotions, and anger likely serve as pivotal bridge nodes warranting priority in future longitudinal research and targeted interventions.