Gender Differences in School Stress and Academic Satisfaction in Pre-Adolescents: The Role of Physical Activity

  1. Josivaldo De Souza-Lima
  2. Gerson Ferrari
  3. Rodrigo Yáñez-Sepúlveda
  4. Frano Giakoni-Ramírez
  5. Catalina Muñoz-Strale
  6. Javiera Alarcon-Aguilar
  7. Maribel Parra-Saldias
  8. Daniel Duclos-Bastias
  9. Andrés Godoy-Cumillaf
  10. Eugenio Merellano-Navarro
  11. José Bruneau-Chávez
  12. Claudio Farias-Valenzuela
  13. Pedro Valdivia-Moral
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Abstract

Background/Objectives: Gender differences in school stress and academic sat-isfaction among pre-adolescents remain underexplored, particularly in relation to physical activity as a potential protective factor. This study aimed to examine these dif-ferences and investigate the role of sports/exercise frequency in mitigating boredom and stress, controlling for school safety, using a large multinational dataset. Methods: Data from the International Survey of Children's Well-Being (ISCWeB, third wave; N=128,184 pre-adolescents aged 6-14 from 35 countries) were analyzed. Key variables included boredom and stress (0-10 scales), sports/exercise frequency (categorized as low: 0-2 days/week, medium: 3-4, high: 5-6), and school safety (0-4 scale). Descriptive statistics were stratified by gender and sports level. Multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) tested combined effects of sports level, gender, and their interaction, followed by uni-variate ANOVAs (Type II). Results: Modest gender differences were found in stress (boys: mean=4.05; girls: mean=4.16) and academic satisfaction (boys: 8.50; girls: 8.66), with similar distributions in physical activity variables. Higher sports frequency was associ-ated with lower boredom (high: 4.00 vs. low: 4.46) and stress (high: 4.03 vs. low: 4.05). MANOVA confirmed a significant multivariate effect of sports level (Wilks' lamb-da=0.9984, F=49.74, p< 0.0001), with marginal gender effect (p=0.0525) and significant interaction (Wilks' lambda=0.9998, F=6.59, p< 0.0001); small effect sizes (partial η²≤0.014). School safety was a significant covariate (Wilks' lambda=0.9807, F=1262.84, p< 0.0001, partial η²≈0.013). Conclusions: Physical activity modestly protects against school-related boredom and stress in pre-adolescents, with modest gender moderation. Findings support universal school programs promoting daily exercise, with gender-sensitive adaptations, to enhance emotional well-being and academic satisfaction.

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  1. Version published to 10.20944/preprints202509.0659.v1