Mental disorders have consistently ranked among the top ten causes of global burden, with no signs of decline since 1990 (GBD 2019 Mental Disorders Collaborators, 2022). Although there is no universally accepted definition of mental disorder, anxiety is a key contributor to declining individual mental health (Biddle et al., 2019). For instance, anxiety disorders increased from 194.9 million to 301.4 million cases globally between 1990 and 2019 (GBD 2019 Mental Disorders Collaborators, 2022). This rising prevalence of anxiety poses a significant threat to global public health and decreases individuals’ life satisfaction (Luengo-González et al., 2023). Specifically, Chinese children and adolescents are a vulnerable population at a higher risk of anxiety due to significant pressures from intense competition for future opportunities and the demands of maintaining a fast-paced lifestyle in contemporary society (Guo and Liang, 2023). Given the concern regarding the negative relationship between anxiety disorders and life satisfaction, it is crucial to ascertain protective health factors to mitigate the harmful effects of anxiety disorders on both individual and public health.

Social anxiety, a type of anxiety disorder (WHO, 2023), significantly impairs daily functioning and quality of life (Bogels et al., 2010). This impairment may be because social relationships play a fundamental role in emotional development (La Greca et al., 1988). Social anxiety is characterized by excessive fear of negative evaluation in social situations, often leading to feelings of humiliation, embarrassment, or rejection (Kogan et al., 2016). Previous studies have indicated that social anxiety is associated with increased negative factors such as bullying victimization (Wu et al., 2021), internet addiction (Ye et al., 2021), suicidal ideation (Tan et al., 2024), and Loneliness (Lin and Fan, 2023), and decreased positive factors such as perceiving support from family, friends, and others (Ren and Li, 2020), physical activity (Wang H. et al., 2024), social cognitive ability (Pearcey et al., 2021), and resilience (Jefferies et al., 2021). Moreover, social anxiety frequently manifests during childhood and adolescence, with a significant increase in incidence between the ages of 9 and 19 years (Beesdo et al., 2007). Although a meta-analysis indicated that the pooled prevalence of social anxiety disorder among Chinese children, adolescents, and young adults was estimated to be 2.1%, the study reported that the proportion of study participants experiencing social anxiety symptoms was estimated to be 23.5% (Tang et al., 2022). This high prevalence of social anxiety symptoms highlights the need for targeted mental health prevention among Chinese children and adolescents. In addition, primary school students represent a particularly critical subgroup within this population. At this developmental stage, children’s social cognition is still maturing, and higher levels of social anxiety have been associated with difficulties in specific aspects of social cognition (Pearcey et al., 2021). Consequently, social anxiety at this age may exert stronger and more enduring effects on resilience, sport commitment, and life satisfaction than at later stages of development.

Life satisfaction is a crucial component of subjective wellbeing (Diener et al., 1999). It involves a cognitive process of evaluative judgments, influenced not only by comparing one’s present situation to personal standards but also by a range of life experiences (Diener et al., 1985). Thus, life satisfaction can be regarded as the attainment of benefits that enhance an individual’s personal hedonic satisfaction (Çikrikci et al., 2022). This perspective highlights the importance of personal life experiences in shaping satisfaction, which is influenced by various events and environments. Although the process of adapting to events generally stabilizes life satisfaction, certain life events and experiences in specific domains can have lasting impacts, such as stressful experiences (Pavot and Diener, 2008). Research indicates that unpleasant experiences, including anxiety, may disproportionately impact an individual’s life satisfaction compared to positive experiences, with undesirable events potentially affecting subjective wellbeing up to five times more intensely than pleasant events (Hanson and Mendius, 2009). Moreover, previous studies have indicated that life satisfaction is negatively associated with perceived stress (Zheng et al., 2019), depression (Wang et al., 2009), and social anxiety (Wang and Yao, 2020), while a positive association has been reported between life satisfaction and physical activity (Dong et al., 2023a) as well as resilience (Shi et al., 2015). The present study aims to explore how resilience and sport commitment mediate the relationship between social anxiety and life satisfaction, suggesting that these mediators may be associated with the negative factor of social anxiety and life satisfaction.

Resilience plays a crucial role in protecting adolescents’ wellbeing, and there is growing academic interest in investigating its impact as a protective factor (Hjemdal et al., 2006). Resilience is defined as the dynamic process of efficiently handling significant stress or trauma and the capacity for resilience to recover is facilitated by a combination of personal and environmental resources, with its experience varying across different stages of life (Windle, 2011). Studies have demonstrated that personal resilience contributes to positive outcomes such as subjective wellbeing (Chuning et al., 2024) and sleep quality (Ashour et al., 2024). In addition to these positive outcomes, personal resilience also mitigates the negative impacts of internalizing issues such as anxiety and depression (Şanlı et al., 2024) and childhood trauma (Hu et al., 2024), as well as externalizing issues such as cell phone addiction (Zhang and Gao, 2023). For instance, adolescents with higher levels of resilience exhibit fewer behavioral and emotional problems despite experiencing psychological maltreatment (Arslan, 2016). Therefore, personal resilience may act as a mediator, alleviating the impact of risk factors that harm health while enhancing the positive effects that improve subjective wellbeing.

Resilience involves multisystemic processes that improve wellbeing through interactions across psychological, social, and environmental systems (Ungar and Theron, 2020). A key aspect of resilience is the ability of individuals to access supportive resources in meaningful ways, such as those provided by families and communities, to foster wellbeing (Resilience Research Centre, 2018). From this perspective, the capacity to overcome adverse experiences and utilize relationships with parents are two key factors in maintaining wellness (Liebenberg et al., 2012). Indeed, primary caregiver parents serve as a crucial support system, helping children navigate adverse situations and fostering their growth and development (Zhang Y. et al., 2024). This highlights the importance of parents creating a harmonious and stable nurturing environment, essential for a child’s healthy growth and development (Qi and Yang, 2024). Previous studies have shown a positive relationship between family resilience and personal resilience (Qi and Yang, 2024; Wang Y. et al., 2024; Zhang Y. et al., 2024). This emphasizes that personal resilience and parent resilience interact and interrelate in cultivating subjective wellbeing. Rather than solely studying personal resilience, investigating the relationships between personal resilience and parent resilience in mediating negative effects and positive factors of subjective wellbeing may provide valuable insights into the field of mental health. We hypothesize that the personal resilience and parent resilience may be associated with life satisfaction and social anxiety.

One of the most promising factors to increase adolescents’ subjective wellbeing is physical activity. Previous studies have confirmed a positive relationship between physical activity and wellbeing (McMahon et al., 2017), and a negative relationship between physical activity and mental disorders such as anxiety and depression (Gedda-Muñoz et al., 2023). Furthermore, physical activity also has a strong reciprocal relationship with resilience. For example, physical activity is not only revealed as a positive factor correlated with resilience (Kamini, 2019) but also as a causal variable contributing to resilience among adolescents (Guo and Liang, 2023). Thus, the benefits of physical activity in enhancing resilience are partially attributed to its capacity to cultivate positive physiological and psychological development by minimizing the negative impact of adverse experiences on health (Arida and Teixeira-Machado, 2021). Moreover, physical activity and resilience are interrelated and mutually beneficial, improving subjective wellbeing, reducing the effects of mental disorders, and offering numerous health benefits for children and adolescents. However, despite these benefits, a high rate of insufficient physical activity persists among adolescents globally. Specifically, data from 146 countries indicate that approximately 81% of adolescents aged 11–17 do not achieve sufficient levels of physical activity (Guthold et al., 2020). The high rate of physical inactivity among adolescents has put individual and public healthcare systems at risk (Ding et al., 2016; Lee et al., 2012). Therefore, it is urgent to increase participation levels in physical activity.

Sport Commitment Theory, a key concept in motivational psychology, provides valuable insights into the mechanisms by which physical activity influences subjective wellbeing. This theory defines sport commitment as a psychological construct that embodies an individual’s motivation and resolve to continue engaging in sport (Scanlan et al., 1993a). This construct encompasses sport enjoyment, involvement alternatives, personal investments, social constraints, and involvement opportunities, (Carpenter et al., 1993; Scanlan et al., 1993a). Grounded in examining motivations for persistent participation in sports, this theoretical model illustrates how attachment, as a component of motivational force, drives persistent involvement and fosters a comprehensive understanding of commitment (Carpenter et al., 1993; Scanlan et al., 1993b). Moreover, a positive association exists between sport commitment and satisfaction, with sport enjoyment particularly emphasizing the positive affective response to sport experiences (Carpenter and Scanlan, 1998). Empirical evidence supports these theoretical claims. For instance, a study demonstrated that sport commitment is positively associated with the pleasure factor of participation motivation and continuous participation intention and also mediates the relationship between the pleasure factor of participation motivation and continuous participation intention (Choi, 2023). This underscores the importance of emotional experiences in fostering long-term commitment, highlighting how collective emotional experiences contribute to satisfaction and sustained engagement in physical and sports activities (Hall et al., 2017). Understanding the associations between these emotional dynamics and motivational forces is crucial for cultivating sport commitment and maintaining long-term engagement in physical activity. According to Hodge et al. (2023), the connection between sport commitment and Self-Determination Theory serves as a key framework for predicting behavioral persistence and continued participation in sports. Previous studies have shown a positive relationship between sport commitment and intrinsic motivation (Zahariadis et al., 2006), autonomous motivation and need satisfaction (Murillo et al., 2022), subjective exercise experience and exercise adherence (Tian and Shi, 2022), satisfaction (Wilson et al., 2004), and exercise behavior (Zhang Z. et al., 2024). Therefore, Sport Commitment Theory offers a theoretical foundation for understanding how commitment to physical activity can serve as a mediator in the relationship between social anxiety and life satisfaction.

Building on the integrated theoretical perspectives, this study aims to examine the mediating roles of resilience and sport commitment in the relationship between social anxiety and life satisfaction. The inclusion of both resilience and sport commitment as mediators is grounded on the theoretical understanding that these constructs interact to the negative effects of social anxiety, thereby fostering life satisfaction. This research seeks to uncover the mechanisms through which these constructs influence subjective wellbeing, providing valuable insights for future interventions targeting mental health and physical activity engagement in children and adolescents. Based on the theoretical frameworks of sport commitment and resilience, this study addresses two research questions (RQ) and proposes four hypotheses. Additionally, the hypothesized conceptual model is presented in Figure 1.

This study aimed to investigate the relationship among social anxiety, life satisfaction, resilience, and sport commitment while accounting for demographic variables of gender and age among primary school students in China. The results revealed that the proposed path model had satisfactory model fit. First, significant gender and age differences were observed among the variables of sport commitment, personal resilience, and social anxiety. Second, positive correlations were found between sport commitment, personal resilience, caregiver resilience, and life satisfaction, while negative associations were observed between these variables and social anxiety, supporting H1 and H2. Third, sport commitment, personal resilience, and caregiver resilience were found to mediate the relationship between social anxiety and life satisfaction, supporting H3 and H4. Our results provide empirical evidence indicating that sport commitment and resilience are crucial factors for enhancing individual and public health. Moreover, individual differences, such as gender and age, should be considered when developing strategies to promote sport commitment and resilience.

Our findings revealed significant gender differences in the measured variables of sport commitment and personal resilience among primary school students in China. The result aligned with previous studies (Tian and Shi, 2022; Zhang Z. et al., 2024), which similarly identified significant gender differences in sport commitment, with boys demonstrating higher levels than girls. The observed gender discrepancy might be attributed to boys’ inclination to engage in more autonomous, consistent, and regular sports activities during their leisure time, driven by a heightened enthusiasm for sports, which ultimately fostered lifelong engagement in physical activities (He et al., 2022). In contrast, girls’ sport commitment might be impacted by insufficient social support from family and peers, as well as traditional social norms and cultural expectations that encourage girls to be more reserved and prioritize education over maintaining regular sports participation (Zhang Z. et al., 2024). Moreover, the findings were consistent with previous research (Jefferies et al., 2018; Qi and Yang, 2024), which identified gender differences in personal resilience, with females demonstrating higher levels than males. This variation might stem from inherent gender distinctions or societal role expectations (Jefferies et al., 2018). Furthermore, girls’ proficiency in establishing interpersonal relationships, particularly their ability to form strong emotional ties with those around them, could contribute to their elevated resilience levels (Qi and Yang, 2024). Additionally, the rapid progression of adolescents’ personal resilience, along with their anticipation of future societal roles, emphasized the critical role of education and social support in nurturing this resilience (Guo and Liang, 2023). To address these disparities, it is imperative to implement targeted interventions that enhance social support while ensuring that these interventions are tailored to meet the unique needs and challenges faced by boys and girls in promoting their overall development.

Our study indicated that both personal and caregiver resilience mediates the relationship between social anxiety and life satisfaction among primary school students in China. These forms of resilience might mediate the negative impact of social anxiety on life satisfaction by providing emotional and psychological support. Furthermore, our findings revealed a positive relationship between personal and caregiver resilience, underscoring the importance of supportive caregiver relationships in helping students cope with adverse life experiences (Qi and Yang, 2024; Wang Y. et al., 2024). Caregiver resilience enables individuals to benefit from family support, which in turn bolsters their personal resilience (Chen et al., 2021). Consistent with previous studies (Shi et al., 2015; Wang and Yao, 2020), our research demonstrated that primary school students with high levels of both personal and caregiver resilience experience greater life satisfaction and lower social anxiety. Elevated resilience levels are often associated with positive attitudes, such as optimism, which help primary school students cope with life challenges and achieve higher life satisfaction (Shi et al., 2015). A stable and healthy caregiver relationship fosters a nurturing environment that supports effective management of life’s challenges, especially during early childhood and adolescence. This support is crucial for children and adolescents, who rely on social and emotional resources to navigate developmental changes and challenges (Pinkerton and Dolan, 2007), particularly those from under-resourced families and communities (Marlotte et al., 2023). Proactive strategies by individuals and families can significantly mitigate the impact of adverse situations (Walsh, 2016). Enhanced resilience in both individuals and caregivers facilitate the development of critical cognitive and communicative skills necessary for navigating traumatic experiences and building effective support systems (Saltzman, 2016). These support systems often develop through successful resolution of conflicts and enhancement of communication skills (Kalisch et al., 2017). Moreover, life satisfaction may be more influenced by how students’ interpretations of events rather than the events themselves (Yang et al., 2024). By fostering personal and caregiver resilience, individuals can redirect their focus away from negative perceptions of social interactions, thereby improving relationships with their surroundings and alleviating social anxiety (Jefferies et al., 2021). Therefore, resilience functions as a protective factor, diminishing the fear of negative evaluation and enhancing life satisfaction.

The research demonstrated that sport commitment serves as a mediator between social anxiety and life satisfaction among primary school students in China. The findings indicated that sport commitment was associated with the social anxiety and life satisfaction within this sample. As a result, primary school students who exhibited higher levels of sport commitment reported enhanced life satisfaction and diminished social anxiety. These findings were consistent with previous studies (Dong et al., 2024; Pulido et al., 2018; Murillo et al., 2022), which have consistently demonstrated a positive relationship between sport commitment and health-related factors. Moreover, the sport commitment framework highlighted the significant role of psychological commitment in sustaining students’ involvement in sports. This framework theorized that psychological commitment is reflected in an individual’s persistent desire to continue participating in sport, a desire significantly influenced by the satisfaction and enjoyment derived from the activity (Scanlan et al., 1993a). A core idea of this framework is the notion that satisfaction is a critical determinant of sport commitment. Satisfaction and enjoyment result from intrinsic motivation, which is categorized into three distinct types: pleasure derived from acquiring knowledge, fulfillment from skill development or creation, and emotional gratification through active engagement (Zahariadis et al., 2006). According to the Sport Commitment Theory, satisfaction is not merely a byproduct of participation but an essential element that actively influences an individual’s ongoing commitment to sport (Carpenter and Scanlan, 1998). Building on this, our findings suggested that sustained engagement in sports prioritizes health benefits, such as alleviating social anxiety and improving life satisfaction and self-fulfillment, consistent with a comprehensive approach to holistic health (Welk et al., 2003). Moreover, despite the implementation of several policies to promote physical fitness and health among Chinese students (Zhang Z. et al., 2024), a declining trend in health-related physical fitness among Chinese college students has been observed (Dong et al., 2023b). In light of these findings, the dedication to lifelong physical activity is crucial for both individual and public health (Williams, 2013). Previous studies indicated a positive relationship between sport commitment and continuous engagement intention (Choi, 2023). Our findings suggested that incorporating sport commitment as a core component in designing interventions could effectively promote a persistent engagement in physical activity by fostering individuals’ motivation and, consequently, enhancing health-related fitness and psychological well-being.