The effect of physical exercise on social adaptability in Chinese middle school students: The mediating role of social anxiety

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to explore the effect of physical exercise on the social adaptability of middle school students and further analyze the mediating role of social anxiety. A total of 1056 middle school students from 6 middle schools in Sichuan, China, voluntarily participated in the survey. The Physical Activity Rating Scale (PARS-3), Social Anxiety Subscale of the Self-Consciousness Scale, and Social Adaptability Scale were used in this study. The data obtained in this study were processed by SPSS 19.0 and Process 3.0. The results showed that physical exercise could positively predict social adaptability (b = 0.08, P < .05), and social anxiety played a mediation role between physical exercise and social adaptability (indirect effect = 0.11, 95% confidence interval = 0.066–0.150). Some practical implications have been discussed on the physical exercise intervention for promoting social adaptability in middle school students.