How physical activity protects against smartphone addiction: examining the mediating pathways of resilience and subjective wellbeing in Chinese university students

Background: Phone addiction has become a global concern, and empirical evidence indicates that physical activity is negatively associated with phone addiction. However, the mediating roles of resilience and subjective wellbeing in this relationshihp have scarcely been studied, especially in Chinese university students. The present study aimed to explore the direct and indirect associations between physical activity and phone addiction through the mediating roles of resilience and subjective wellbeing in Chinese university students. Methods: This cross-sectional study recruited 515 Chinese university students. Physical activity, resilience, subjective wellbeing, and phone addiction were assessed using validated self-report questionnaires. Pearson’s correlations were conducted to examine associations among variables, and mediation analyses were performed using bias-corrected bootstrap procedures in AMOS 26.0 and RStudio. Results: Of the four variables that showed significant correlations, the association between physical activity and lower levels of phone addiction was specifically mediated only by subjective wellbeing and by the chain pathway involving both resilience and subjective wellbeing. Conclusion: Within the specific context of educational involution in China, this study provides a specific insight into the relationship between physical activity and phone addiction. Promoting physical activity may be beneficial as a preventive strategy to address phone addiction. Further research is required to expand these results in diverse populations.