Engaging in physical activity has emerged as a behavior conferring numerous advantages for individuals and society, including physical health, psychological well-being, and social aspects. Primarily, physical activity enhances blood flow and oxygen delivery to the brain (Nay et al., 2021), thereby augmenting students’ concentration in academic settings (Haverkamp et al., 2020). Additionally, physical activities possess the capacity to alleviate stress, anxiety, and depression (Singh et al., 2023), with neurotransmitters like endorphins released during exercise contributing to mood improvement and overall well-being (Pahlavani, 2023). Moreover, certain physical activities, like team sports and group exercise classes, frequently involve social interaction. In these settings, individuals collaborate with teammates to achieve common goals, fostering opportunities for socialization. Research suggests that engaging in such activities enhances students’ interpersonal skills (Ortega-Gómez et al., 2023), cooperation, and teamwork (Opstoel et al., 2020), culminating in a positive social experience. This positive experience, characterized by a sense of belonging and acceptance within the school environment (Smith et al., 2021), contributes significantly to students’ overall well-being (Opstoel et al., 2020).

Resilience encapsulates an individual’s ability to navigate challenges and overcome setbacks by adjusting their mindset when confronted with stress, adversity, or significant setbacks (Luthar et al., 2000). According to resilience theory, despite the negative correlation between adolescent mental health and various stressors, there exists individuals with well-developed psychological states (Werner, 1984). Individuals facing stressful situations may not necessarily experience maladjustment; rather, they may exhibit strong resilience. Several studies have demonstrated a robust association between physical activity and resilience (Moljord et al., 2014; Belcher et al., 2021). Students who engage in elevated levels of physical activity display heightened resilience (Hu, 2019) and optimism (Kolovelonis and Goudas, 2018) in comparison to their less active counterparts. At the same time, resilience plays a key role as a protective mediator in coping with challenges, managing stress and maintaining emotional stability (Wang, 2023). It provides students with the psychological resources to cope with the complex emotional (Arslan, 2016), academic (Reeve et al., 2020) and interpersonal issues (Liu et al., 2021). These factors significantly influence adaptability to the school environment. Hence, association between resilience and school adaptation may exist.

Coping styles encompass the cognitive and behavioral strategies individuals employ when confronted with stress and frustration (Patterson and McCubbin, 1987), with a notable distinction between positive and negative coping styles. Researches have affirmed that physical activity among junior high school students associated with the positive coping styles (Cao and Zhang, 2006; Liu, 2016a). The higher the frequency of engagement in physical activity among students, the more adept they become at coping with problems rather than avoiding them when confronted with challenging situations (Wu, 2012). Moreover, coping styles represent significant variables influencing school adaptation (Zhang et al., 2021). Those accustomed to positive coping styles typically adopt a problem-solving approach rather than an emotionally oriented one (Stanisławski, 2019). They excel in cultivating a positive self-concept (Coelho et al., 2020), and this optimistic mindset proves beneficial in addressing academic (Marsh and Martin, 2011) and social (Miao et al., 2018) challenges. Conversely, junior high school students embracing negative coping styles, such as avoidance or giving up, may encounter difficulties in school environment (Sun et al., 2023).

Resilience and coping styles are adaptive states displayed by individuals when confronted with stressors and adversities (DiCorcia and Tronick, 2011). Resilient junior high school adolescents, with their robust ability to handle personal and academic challenges, often see obstacles as opportunities for growth and adopt a versatile approach to problem-solving (Song and Li, 2020). This adaptability allows them to navigate academic (De la Fuente et al., 2017) and interpersonal (Guo et al., 2021) pressures with enhanced effectiveness. Conversely, individuals with diminished resilience tend to avoid challenges and exhibit apprehension toward unfamiliar experiences or difficult circumstances (Beasley et al., 2003). These individuals are more sensitive to failures and setbacks, making them susceptible to negative emotions (Yao et al., 2022). Additionally, they may harbor uncertainties about their capabilities and worth, experiencing discomfort in educational and social contexts (Liu et al., 2016).

In summary, this study aims to investigate the correlation between physical activity and school adaptation among Chinese junior high school students, and to examine whether resilience and coping styles serve as chain mediators in this relationship. The hypotheses are as followed: H1 physical activity is positively associated with school adaptation. H2 resilience mediates the relationship between physical activity and school adaptation. H3 coping styles mediate the relationship between physical activity and school adaptation. H4 resilience and coping styles play chain mediating role between physical activity and school adaptation. Figure 1 shows the hypotheses model between physical activity and school adaptation. The insights gleaned from this study contribute to a deeper understanding of the underlying mechanisms and offer a more comprehensive perspective on the factors influencing junior high school students’ school adaptation. Moreover, by providing theoretical evidence for innovative interventions and targeted support programs aimed at enhancing students’ school adaptation, this study has the potential to benefit not only junior high school students but also individuals across different age groups and educational settings.

This study employed a cross-sectional to investigate the relationships outlined in the hypotheses. Convenience sampling was employed to select participants from March 2023 to May 2023. The survey adhered to a systematic protocol with explicit permissions secured from the school principal, class teacher, and participating students. Administered class by class during recess, participants were provided specific guidelines for self-completing the comprehensive questionnaire within a designated timeframe. Respecting students’ autonomy, the 25-min investigation allowed withdrawal at any point if desired. To ensure confidentiality and data integrity, an immediate on-site recycling process was implemented upon questionnaire completion.

In this study, participants were recruited from a diverse range of schools located across Changsha city, Hunan Province, situated in the southeast region of China. To ensure a comprehensive representation, schools were carefully chosen using random sampling techniques, encompassing both urban and rural areas. Eligible schools were public or private institutions serving students in grades 9–12, with a minimum enrollment of 1,000 students, and a willingness to partake in the study. Ultimately, participants were selected using convenience sampling from two junior high schools located in Changsha. The study involved distributing questionnaires to a total of 1,630 students across 43 classes, after excluding duplicated or inconsistently answered questionnaires, a final valid sample of 1,488 questionnaires was obtained, resulting in an effective response rate of 91.2%. The participants included 769 male and 719 female students, distributed across the three school years (500 in year one, 493 in year two, and 495 in year three), with an average age of 13.59 ± 1.017 years (see Table 1). All invited participants are voluntary, thus confidentiality has been guaranteed, and written informed consent of all participants’ parents or guardians has been obtained.

The formal questionnaire employed in this research comprises two principal sections. The first section is dedicated to collecting essential demographic information about the respondents, encompassing variables such as gender, age, and grade level. The subsequent section incorporates well-established scales to assess various dimensions, including physical activity, resilience, coping styles, and school adaptation.

To evaluate the physical activity levels of individuals, the well-established Physical Activity Rank Scale (PARS-3) developed by Liang (1994) was utilized. This scale has been widely used among Chinese adolescents (Bai et al., 2022; Zhang and Li, 2023), particularly in cross-sectional studies. This scale encompasses three dimensions: exercise intensity (e.g., How intensely do you engage in physical activity?), exercise time, and exercise frequency. Each dimension is further stratified into five grades. Intensity and frequency of physical activity are rated on a scale from 1 to 5, while time spent on physical activity is rated on a scale from 0 to 4. The total physical activity score is computed by multiplying intensity, time, and frequency, resulting in a score ranging from 0 to 100. A higher score indicates a more substantial level of exercise engagement. In this study, the internal consistency coefficient α of the questionnaire was 0.830.

The school adaptation Scale, adapted from the revised Questionnaire by Cui (2008), has been extensively employed for assessing school adaptation among junior high school students in China (Wu et al., 2023). Comprising 27 questions (e.g., I was often distracted while studying.), the scale includes dimensions such as Routine Adjustment, Course Adjustment, Teacher-Student Relationship Adjustment, Friend Adjustment, and School Attitude Adjustment. Utilizing a five-point rating system, ranging from “1 = extremely inconsistent” to “5 = extremely consistent”, the scale employs reverse scoring for questions 3, 5, 14, 16, and 23. Here, “1 = extremely consistent” corresponds to the highest level of agreement, while “5 = extremely inconsistent” denotes the lowest level. Elevated scores in each dimension indicate a higher level of adaptability to the school environment. In this study, the internal consistency coefficient α of the questionnaire was 0.890.

The resilience Scale for Adolescents, revised by Hu and Gan (2008), comprises 27 questions (e.g., Failure always makes me feel discouraged.) distributed across five dimensions: Goal Focus, Emotional Control, Positive Cognition, Family Support, and Interpersonal Assistance. Utilizing a five-level scoring system, ranging from “1 = extremely inconsistent” to “5 = extremely consistent”, the scale employs reverse scoring for questions 1, 2, 5, 6, 9, 12, 15, 16, 17, 21, 26, and 27, with the same rating scale applied. A higher cumulative score across the selected items corresponds to an elevated level of resilience. This scale has been proven to have good validity and reliability among Chinese adolescent (Song and Li, 2020; Guo et al., 2021). In this study, the internal consistency coefficient α of the questionnaire was 0.926.

The Simple Coping Style Questionnaire, developed and consolidated by Xie (1998), consists of 20 items (e.g., When life gets tough, I can find several solutions to my problems or I relieve my worries by eating, smoking, drinking, or taking medication.) categorized into two dimensions: Positive Coping and Negative Coping. Respondents rate each item using a four-point scale, ranging from “0 = extremely inconsistent” to “3 = extremely consistent.” Questions 1 to 12 form the Positive Coping style (PCS), while questions 13 to 20 constitute the Negative Coping style (NCS). Higher scores in Positive Coping indicate a propensity to employ positive strategies in the face of challenges, whereas higher scores in Negative Coping suggest a tendency to adopt negative approaches. This scale has been proven to have good validity and reliability among Chinese students (Wu et al., 2020; Zhao et al., 2021). In this study, the internal consistency coefficient α of positive and negative dimension were 0.945 and 0.923, respectively.

The research analyzed the collected data using SPSS 26.0 and Amos 26.0, with a significance level set at 0.05. To address potential common method bias, a Harman’s common method bias test was initially conducted using SPSS. Subsequently, a confirmatory factor analysis using Amos. Pearson’s correlation analysis was utilized to explore relationships among physical activity, resilience, coping styles, and school adaptation. Lastly, the study delved into examining the mediating effects of resilience and coping styles through Amos’s structural equation modeling, including an assessment of the chained mediating role of mental resilience and coping styles within this framework. The Bootstrap method was applied for evaluating the significance of the intermediate effect, with the samples being replicated 5000 times. The assessment of the mediating effect’s significance relied on whether the Bias-Corrected 95% confidence interval (CI) included zero. A non-zero inclusion within the confidence interval signifies a noteworthy mediation effect, whereas zero inclusion implies an insignificant mediation effect.

The data collection method employed in this study relied on self-report measures. It is crucial to acknowledge that such methods carry the potential for common methodology bias, which could influence the research outcomes. To address this concern, Harman’s single-factor test method was utilized to examine the presence of common bias within the research data. The Kaiser–Meyer–Olkin (KMO) value, calculated at 0.956 with a significance level of p < 0.001, indicated the suitability of the data for exploratory factor analysis. Unrotated principal component analysis, conducted on the variable measurement questions using SPSS 26.0 software, revealed that the first principal component accounted for only 22.86% of the total variation, falling below the critical value of 40%. This suggests that common method deviation did not exert a significant impact on the study’s results.

The present study employed Pearson correlation coefficient analysis to assess the strength and direction of the relationship between variables derived from the value of the phase relationship. The findings are presented in Table 2. Notably, the correlation coefficients between any two variables, namely PA, SA, PR, PCS, and NCS, were all statistically significant at a 1% level. Moreover, a significant positive correlation was observed between PA, PR, and PCS, and SA (r = 0.576, r = 0.499, r = 0.519, p < 0.01). Conversely, a significant negative correlation was found between NCS and SA (r = −0.563, p < 0.01), thereby providing preliminary evidence to support the plausibility of the hypothesis proposed in this study. Further investigation is warranted to validate these findings.

Although this study has provides valuable insights into fostering adaptive development among junior high school students within the school environment, some limitations also require special attention. Firstly, the cross-sectional design impedes the establishment of definitive causal relationships between variables without longitudinal data. Secondly, although the sample size meets statistical criteria, the limited geographical distribution coverage, confined to two middle schools in Changsha, Hunan Province, may not adequately represent the characteristics of the entire population. Lastly, due to time and energy constraints, the study primarily employs Likert scale-based questionnaires, lacking in-depth interviews with respondents.

In future studies, researchers could enhance the study’s depth by incorporating longitudinal follow-up or experimental interventions to gain a more comprehensive understanding of how physical activity influences the school adaptation of junior high school students. Future investigations should aim to broaden the sampling area, improving the generalizability of research findings and yielding more robust conclusions. Additionally, researchers can consider using a combination of quantitative and qualitative research methods to collect diverse data and materials, contributing to a richer analysis of the phenomena under investigation.