Longitudinal relationships among early adolescent physical exercise, internalizing symptoms, and learning engagement: exploring within-person dynamics and the role of gender differences.

Abstract

Background: Current research lacks comprehensive investigation into the longitudinal relationships among physical exercise (PE), internalizing symptoms (IS), and learning engagement (LE) from an integrated perspective. Particularly scarce are examinations of underlying mediating mechanisms and gender differences within these longitudinal relationships.

Aims: (1) To adopt a comprehensive approach in examining the within-person relationships among PE, IS, and LE, as well as their potential mediating mechanisms; (2) To investigate whether gender differences exist in the relationships among these three variables.

Sample and methods: A one-year longitudinal study with 1,601 Chinese junior high school students assessed PE, IS, and LE at three time points (T1: December 2023, T2: June 2024, T3: December 2024). Random intercept cross-lagged panel models (RI-CLPM) and multi-group analyses were conducted.

Results: RI-CLPM results revealed that: (1) T1 PE positively predicted T2 LE, and T2 PE positively predicted T3 LE; (2) T1 LE negatively predicted T2 IS; (3) T1 IS negatively predicted T2 LE, T2 IS negatively predicted T3 LE, and T2 LE negatively predicted T3 IS, confirming bidirectional relationships; (4) T2 IS longitudinally mediated between T1 PE and T3 LE. The results of gender-based multi-group comparison showed that: (1) autoregressive pathway of T1 PE to T2 PE was only significant in boys; (2) the autoregressive path of T2 IS to T3 IS was only significant in girls; (3) The positive prediction path of T1 PE on T2 LE was only significant in boys, and the positive prediction path of T2 PE on T3 LE was only significant in boys. (4) The negative prediction path of T2 LE on T3 IS was only significant in boys. (5) In both boys and girls, T2 IS plays a longitudinal mediating role between T1 PE and T3 LE.

Conclusions: Among boys in early adolescence, physical exercise habits were more persistent. Physical exercise promoted learning engagement, while higher learning engagement was linked to reduced internalizing symptoms. Among girls in early adolescence, internalizing symptoms showed greater persistence over time. Importantly, for both genders, internalizing symptoms undermine their learning engagement; physical exercise exerts a long-term protective effect against internalizing symptoms. Furthermore, for both genders, physical exercise enhanced learning engagement by mitigating internalizing symptoms.