ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Psychol.
Sec. Sport Psychology
The Impact of Social Exclusion on Malevolent Creativity in College Students: The Mediating Role of Aggression and the Moderating Effect of Team Sports Participation — Evidence from Universities in Shanghai
Provisionally accepted
- 1Shanghai University, Shanghai, China
- 2Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shanghai, China
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Introduction: This study examined how social exclusion relates to malevolent creativity among college students and tested the mediating role of aggression and the moderating role of team sports participation. Methods: A total of 1,288 students (656 males, 632 females) from universities in Shanghai completed validated scales assessing social exclusion, aggression, malevolent creativity, and team sports participation. Data were analyzed using the PROCESS macro with bootstrapping, controlling for gender, grade, and age. Results: Social exclusion significantly and positively predicted malevolent creativity, and that aggression partially mediated this association. Social exclusion remained a significant predictor of malevolent creativity after including aggression, while the indirect effect via aggression was also significant, indicating a partial mediation pattern. Furthermore, team sports participation significantly moderated both the social exclusion–aggression and the aggression– malevolent creativity paths: the positive associations were stronger at low levels and weaker at high levels of team sports participation. Conclusion: These findings suggest that social exclusion may impact malevolent creativity in emerging adults partly by increasing aggression, whereas sustained engagement in team sports functions as a protective factor that mitigates this risk. The study highlights the importance of integrating sport-based interventions into campus mental health and behavioral prevention programs to guide creativity toward prosocial ends.
Keywords: Aggression, college students, Malevolent creativity, social exclusion, Team SportsParticipation
Received: 30 Nov 2025; Accepted: 31 Jan 2026.
Copyright: © 2026 Shi, Qiu, Li and Liu. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence:
Jingjing Li
Bing Liu
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