The relationship between physical activity and social adjustment in adolescents: the longitudinal mediating role of emotional resilience

Objective: This study examined the bidirectional longitudinal associations between physical activity (PA) and social adjustment in adolescents and tested the mediating role of emotional resilience across time. Methods: A three-wave longitudinal survey was conducted at six-month intervals with 529 adolescents. The International Physical Activity Questionnaire-Short Form (IPAQ-SF), the Adolescent Social Adjustment Behavior Scale, and the Adolescent Emotional Resilience Questionnaire were utilized as measurement tools. Cross-lagged panel models and mediation analyses were applied in this study. Results: Gender and school-stage differences were observed across all waves: males and high school students exhibited higher PA and positive adjustment but lower negative adjustment than females and middle school students. Cross-lagged analyses revealed reciprocal predictive relationships between PA and social adjustment over time. Furthermore, emotional resilience significantly mediated the longitudinal associations between PA and both positive and negative adjustment outcomes. Conclusion: PA and social adjustment dynamically influence each other throughout adolescence. Emotional resilience serves as a key psychological mechanism linking these two domains.