Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41646929›Full record

ArticleFrontiers in psychology2026

The relationship between physical exercise and learning engagement among chinese college students: the chain mediating roles of cognitive flexibility and psychological resilience.

Zigu Zhang, Zhijian Rao, Mingyang Liu, Jin Han, Lifang Zheng

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Frontiers in psychology, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
3citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

3 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

5 authors.

Zigu ZhangCollege of Physical Education, Shanghai University, Shanghai, China.
Zhijian RaoCollege of Physical Education, Shanghai Normal University, Shanghai, China.
Mingyang LiuCollege of Physical Education, Shanghai University, Shanghai, China.
Jin HanCollege of Physical Education, Shanghai University, Shanghai, China.
Lifang ZhengCollege of Physical Education, Shanghai University, Shanghai, China.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Objectives: This study tested a sequential mediation model examining whether cognitive flexibility and psychological resilience explain the relationship between physical exercise and learning engagement among Chinese college students. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted with 670 Chinese college student. Participants completed the Physical Activity Rating Scale, Learning Engagement Scale, Cognitive Flexibility Inventory, and Psychological Resilience Scale. Data were analyzed using SPSS 27.0 and the PROCESS macro (Version 4.2) for serial mediation analysis with 5,000 bootstrap samples. Results: Regression analyses revealed that physical exercise positively predicted cognitive flexibility (β = 0.507, Conclusion: This cross-sectional study reveals a significant positive association between physical exercise and learning engagement among Chinese college students. The findings support a model in which cognitive flexibility and psychological resilience act as sequential mediators in this relationship. These results suggest that fostering psychological resources alongside physical activity may be a relevant consideration for promoting student engagement in learning. Future longitudinal and intervention studies are needed to establish causality.

Indexed as

cognitive flexibilitycollege studentslearning engagementphysical exercisepsychological resilience

Identifiers

PMID41646929
PMCPMC12867897

What Socratic holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.