ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Public Health
Sec. Children and Health
This article is part of the Research TopicExploring the cognitive benefits of physical activity in young peopleView all 4 articles
The Reciprocal Relationship Between Physical Activity and Prosocial Behavior Among Rural Left-Behind Children: A Cross-Lagged Mediation Analysis of Psychological Resilience
Provisionally accepted
- 1Jiangxi Normal University, Nanchang, China
- 2The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, Edinburg, United States
- 3Chongqing City Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Chongqing, China
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Abstract Although physical activity benefits youth development, little is known about how it is related to prosocial behavior over time, especially among structurally disadvantaged groups such as rural left-behind children in China. This longitudinal study examined the bidirectional relationship between physical activity and prosocial behavior and the mediating role of psychological resilience. A total of 612 children (Grades 5–6; approximately 10–12 years old; 50.5% male) from three schools in Ji'an City, Jiangxi Province, completed measures of physical activity, psychological resilience, and prosocial behavior at three time points over six months. Cross-lagged mediation structural equation modeling revealed reciprocal pathways: Time 1 physical activity was related to Time 3 prosocial behavior, and vice versa. In both directions, psychological resilience at Time 2 significantly mediated these associations (indirect effects = .07 and .04, respectively; ps < .001). These findings underscore psychological resilience as a key developmental mechanism linking physical and social functioning. The results highlight the potential for integrated school-based interventions that promote physical activity to enhance psychological resilience and social functioning in vulnerable youth populations, particularly rural left-behind children.
Keywords: physical activity, Prosocial Behavior, psychological resilience, rural left-behind children, Longitudinal mediation
Received: 22 Aug 2025; Accepted: 31 Oct 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Huang, Xiong, Wang and Xu. 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: Peiyi Wang, peiyi.wang@uci.edu
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