Health Psychology Research / HPR / Online First / DOI: 10.14440/hpr.0336
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RESEARCH ARTICLE

Adolescent Depressive Symptoms, Physical Activity, and Core Self-Evaluation in Chinese Adolescents: Evidence from Mediation and Latent Profile Approaches

Chang Hu1† ,  Jing Yang2†* ,  Wenling Gou3
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1 Department of Physical Education, Physical Education College, Jiangxi Normal University, Nanchang, Jiangxi 330022, China
2 Department of Social Work, School of Psychology and Sociology, Mianyang Normal University, Mianyang, Sichuan 621000, China
3 SanTESiH Research Unit (UR_UM211), Faculty of Physical and Sports Sciences and Techniques (UFR STAPS), University of Montpellier, Montpellier, Occitanie 34090, France
HPR, e81240054 https://doi.org/10.14440/hpr.0336
Submitted: 17 October 2025 | Revised: 15 December 2025 | Accepted: 25 December 2025 | Published: 26 January 2026
© 2026 by the Author(s). This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution -Noncommercial 4.0 International License (CC-by the license) ( https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ )
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Abstract

Background

Adolescent depressive symptoms are a significant mental health concern. Physical activity and core self-evaluation are potential protective factors against mental health issues. However, their combined associations with depression and subgroup heterogeneity in Chinese adolescents remain insufficiently understood.

Objective

This study examines the relationship between physical activity and core self-evaluation in relation to depressive symptoms, employing both variable-centered and person-centered approaches, and identifies subgroups defined by joint patterns of these variables.

Methods

Participants included 948 junior high school students (mean age: 12.54 ± 1.11 years; 56.2% female) who completed the Physical Activity Rating Scale, the Core Self-Evaluation Scale, and the depression subscale of the Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scale‑21. Controlling for sex, grade, and residence, mediation was tested in SPSS using PROCESS Model 4 with 5,000 bootstrap resamples. Item-level indicators were entered into Mplus 8.3 for latent profile analysis (LPA) of physical activity and core self-evaluation.

Results

Physical activity was inversely associated with depressive symptoms (β = −0.22, p<0.001) and positively associated with core self-evaluation (β = 0.46, p<0.001). Core self-evaluation was negatively associated with depressive symptoms (β = −0.35, p<0.001) and partially accounted for the association between physical activity and depressive symptoms (indirect β = −0.16, 95% confidence interval = [−0.21, −0.12]), representing about 42% of the total effect. LPA identified three subgroups: low physical activity-low core self-evaluation (18.36%), moderate-moderate (60.55%), and high-high (21.09%), with the low-low group reporting the highest depressive symptoms and the high-high group the lowest.

Conclusion

Physical activity and core self-evaluation show complementary associations with lower depressive symptoms in Chinese adolescents, supporting integrated, stratified programs that foster active lifestyles and positive self-views.

Keywords
Adolescent
Mental health
Depressive symptoms
Mediation analysis
Core self-evaluation
Latent profile analysis
China
Funding
This research was funded by Mianyang Normal University (Grant No.: CXTD2023PY07 and QD2024A04).
Conflict of interest
The authors declare that they have no competing interests.
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