The relationship between family physical activity environment and mental health in high school students: the chain mediating role of parent–child relationship and exercise behavior

TL;DR

A supportive family environment for physical activity improves mental health in high school students by enhancing parent-child relationships and encouraging exercise.

Contribution

This study identifies a chain-mediating pathway linking family physical activity environment to adolescent mental health via parent-child relationships and exercise behavior.

Findings

A supportive family PA environment was positively associated with better mental health (β = 0.31).

Parent-child relationship and exercise behavior each independently mediated the association.

A chain-mediating effect was observed, accounting for 41% of the overall association.

Abstract

Adolescence is a high-incidence period for mental health problems. Evidence suggests that the family physical activity (PA) environment may shape adolescents’ psychological well-being, but the underlying mechanisms remain unclear. This study examined whether the parent–child relationship and adolescents’ own exercise behaviour serially mediate the association between the family PA environment and mental health among Chinese seniorhigh-school students.

A cross-sectional survey was conducted among 2,049 senior-high-school students (mean age = 15.7 ± 1.2 years; 52 % girls) recruited from six provinces in China. Validated instruments were used to assess the family PA environment (Family Physical Activity Environment Questionnaire), mental health problems (Mental Health Diagnostic Test), parent–child relationship quality (Parent–Child Relationship Scale), and exercise behaviour (Physical Activity Rating Scale). Structural equation modelling was employed to test direct and indirect effects, with sex, age, and socioeconomic status as covariates.

The family PA environment was significantly and positively associated with mental health (β = 0.31, p < 0.001). The parent–child relationship and exercise behaviour each independently mediated this association (indirect effect β = 0.09, 95 % CI 0.06–0.12; β = 0.07, 95 % CI 0.04–0.10, respectively). A significant chain-mediating effect was also observed (β = 0.05, 95 % CI 0.03–0.07), indicating that a supportive family PA environment improved relationship quality, which in turn promoted exercise behaviour and subsequently better mental health. The total mediated effect accounted for 41 % of the overall association.

Findings underscore the family PA environment as a critical determinant of adolescents’ mental health. Intervention programmes that simultaneously strengthen family-based physical activity and parent–child relationship quality may confer synergistic benefits for adolescent psychological well-being.

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