The effect of physical activity on resilience of Chinese children: the chain mediating effect of executive function and emotional regulation

Background: Children's mental health has become a major public health challenge, with approximately 19.3% of Chinese children and adolescents facing mental health problems. Resilience, a positive adaptive trait, serves as a key protective factor in children's mental health. While studies indicate that physical activity (PA) enhances resilience, its underlying mechanisms remain unclear. This study aims to examine the relationship between PA and resilience, with a focus on the mediated roles of executive function (EF) and emotion regulation (ER). Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted with a sample of 971 primary school students from grades 2 to 6 (mean age = 9.8 years) in Yangzhou City, Jiangsu Province. The Physical Activity Rating Scale (PARS-3), the Chinese Adolescent Resilience Scale (RSCA), the Emotion Regulation Strategies Questionnaire for Children and Adolescents (ERQ-CA), and the Computerized Neuropsychological Assessment System were used to evaluate the relevant variables. SPSS 29.0 and AMOS 29.0 were used for data analysis and structural equation model testing. Results: The results revealed significant positive correlations between PA and resilience (r = 0.545, p < 0.01) and ER (r = 0.413, p < 0.01), as well as a significant negative correlation with EF reaction time (r = -0.341, p < 0.01). PA was found to have a significant direct effect on resilience (β = 0.294, p < 0.001). Bootstrap mediation analysis revealed that EF and ER jointly formed a significant chain-mediated pathway between PA and resilience, accounting for 17.39% of the total indirect effect. Among them, emotion regulation played the most prominent independent mediating role, contributing 68.38% of the indirect effect. Conclusions: This study elucidates the mechanisms through which PA influences children's resilience via executive function and emotion regulation, highlighting the crucial role of cognitive and ER skills in this process. These findings not only enhance the understanding of the mechanisms underlying children's resilience development but also offer new perspectives for designing interventions to promote children's mental health. Future educational and public health policies should integrate PA with cognitive-emotional training to effectively enhance children's ability to cope with stress and challenges.