Anxiety and Emotion Regulation in Middle School Students: Subjective Well-Being as a Mediator and Physical Activity as a Buffer

Anxiety and Emotion Regulation in Middle School Students: Subjective Well-Being as a Mediator and Physical Activity as a Buffer | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Article Anxiety and Emotion Regulation in Middle School Students: Subjective Well-Being as a Mediator and Physical Activity as a Buffer Wanchun Xue, Jianhua Zhang This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-9246910/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Under Revision Version 1 posted 11 You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Background and Objectives: Anxiety has been widely linked to adolescents’ emotional functioning, yet the mechanism through which anxiety is associated with emotion regulation remains insufficiently clear, particularly regarding the roles of subjective well-being and physical activity. This study aimed to construct a moderated mediation model to examine whether anxiety is associated with emotion regulation through subjective well-being and whether physical activity moderates the anxiety-subjective well-being pathway and the direct anxiety-emotion regulation pathway. Methods Using convenience sampling, a cross-sectional self-report survey was conducted in June 2025 among 2,500 middle school students. After data screening, 2,354 valid questionnaires were retained, including 1,098 boys and 1,256 girls. Anxiety, subjective well-being, emotion regulation, and physical activity were assessed. Pearson correlation analysis was first conducted to examine bivariate associations, followed by moderated mediation analyses using the SPSS PROCESS macro (Models 4 and 8). Results Anxiety was significantly and negatively associated with emotion regulation, and this association was partially mediated by subjective well-being. Anxiety was also significantly and negatively associated with subjective well-being, whereas subjective well-being was significantly and positively associated with emotion regulation. In addition, physical activity significantly moderated both the anxiety-subjective well-being pathway and the direct anxiety-emotion regulation pathway. Conclusions These findings suggest that anxiety is associated with adolescents’ emotion regulation both directly and indirectly through subjective well-being, and that physical activity plays an important moderating role in this process. The study provides evidence for understanding emotional adjustment in middle school students and offers practical implications for school- and family-based mental health promotion. Health sciences/Health care Biological sciences/Psychology Social science/Psychology middle school students anxiety subjective well-being emotion regulation physical activity moderated mediation model Figures Figure 1 Figure 2 Figure 3 Figure 4 1 Introduction Adolescence is a critical developmental period marked by rapid biological, cognitive, and social changes[ 1 – 6 ]. During this stage, young people are required to adapt to increasing academic demands, shifting peer relationships, stronger family expectations, and the growing complexity of online and offline environments[ 6 – 9 ]. Under these combined pressures, emotional and psychological problems in adolescents have received increasing attention from researchers, educators, families, and public health systems[ 10 – 13 ]. According to the World Health Organization, approximately one in seven adolescents aged 10–19 years experiences a mental disorder, and anxiety disorders are among the most common emotional disorders in this age group, affecting an estimated 4.1% of those aged 10–14 years and 5.3% of those aged 15–19 years[ 14 ]. Persistent anxiety during adolescence may not only undermine current emotional well-being and daily functioning, but may also interfere with healthy developmental trajectories if not identified and addressed in time[ 15 – 20 ]. Accordingly, clarifying how anxiety is associated with adolescents’ emotional functioning is important not only from a theoretical perspective, but also for school-based mental health promotion, family support, and early prevention efforts[ 14 ]. Emotion regulation is widely regarded as a central component of adolescent mental health[ 21 – 24 ]. It generally refers to the processes through which individuals monitor, evaluate, and modify their emotional responses in accordance with situational demands and personal goals[ 21 , 25 ]. During middle school, emotion regulation is especially important because students are frequently exposed to emotionally challenging situations while their regulatory capacities are still developing[ 22 , 26 , 27 ]. Difficulties in emotion regulation during this period have been linked to a range of maladaptive outcomes, including emotional distress, impulsive reactions, interpersonal conflict, and poor academic adjustment[ 21 , 28 – 30 ]. In the youth literature, emotion dysregulation has increasingly been conceptualized as a transdiagnostic factor associated with a broad range of psychopathological outcomes[ 31 – 35 ], and systematic review evidence further indicates that adolescence is a particularly important stage for the development and flexibility of emotion regulation[ 27 , 36 ]. From a practical perspective, reduced emotion regulation may also make it more difficult for students to cope with school stress, maintain stable peer relationships, and engage constructively with family support[ 27 , 37 , 38 ]. Therefore, identifying factors associated with emotion regulation in middle school students may help provide a clearer basis for psychological screening, educational support, and targeted intervention. Anxiety is one such factor that warrants particular attention[ 39 – 42 ]. Anxiety is commonly characterized by excessive worry, heightened threat sensitivity, tension, and persistent anticipation of negative outcomes[ 43 – 46 ]. In adolescence, anxiety may be intensified by academic competition, social comparison, family pressure, and uncertainty about future performance[ 47 – 49 ]. From the perspective of the Process Model of Emotion Regulation, anxiety may interfere with effective emotion regulation at multiple stages[ 50 – 53 ]. Adolescents with higher anxiety may be more likely to show attentional bias toward threatening information, stronger emotional reactivity, and greater difficulty using adaptive strategies such as cognitive reappraisal[ 39 , 54 , 55 ]. At the same time, they may rely more heavily on less flexible responses such as suppression, avoidance, or repetitive worry, thereby undermining their overall regulatory functioning[ 45 , 52 , 56 ]. Previous studies have suggested that anxiety is associated with poorer emotional adaptation, yet the pathways through which anxiety relates to emotion regulation in middle school students remain insufficiently clarified[ 51 , 57 ]. Given the growing burden of anxiety-related difficulties in youth populations and the central place of emotional disorders in adolescent mental health, examining this association may help improve understanding of which students are at greater risk of emotional maladjustment and why. Accordingly, H1 was proposed: anxiety is negatively associated with emotion regulation in middle school students. However, the relationship between anxiety and emotion regulation may not be purely direct[ 56 , 58 , 59 ]. Subjective well-being may represent an important psychological pathway through which anxiety is associated with adolescents’ emotional functioning[ 60 – 62 ]. Subjective well-being generally reflects individuals’ evaluations of their lives, including positive affect, life satisfaction, and a relatively lower burden of negative emotional experiences[ 63 – 65 ]. For adolescents, higher subjective well-being is often associated with greater resilience, stronger perceived support, better adjustment in daily life, and more positive engagement with academic and social experiences[ 66 – 69 ]. By contrast, anxiety may reduce subjective well-being by increasing worry, distress, social withdrawal, dissatisfaction, and a diminished sense of control over daily life[ 61 , 70 – 73 ]. When adolescents remain in a prolonged anxious state, they may find it more difficult to derive enjoyment, confidence, and meaning from school, family, and peer experiences, thereby reporting lower well-being[ 18 , 57 , 61 , 74 ]. This issue is socially relevant because subjective well-being is closely connected to students’ quality of school participation, family interaction, and broader developmental adjustment. At the same time, subjective well-being may be positively associated with emotion regulation[ 75 – 77 ]. According to the Broaden-and-Build Theory, positive emotional experiences broaden individuals’ thought-action repertoires and help build enduring psychological resources[ 78 – 80 ]. Adolescents with higher subjective well-being may therefore show greater cognitive flexibility, stronger coping resources, and better capacity to regulate emotional responses in stressful situations[ 36 , 81 , 82 ]. They may be more likely to reinterpret challenges constructively, recover from setbacks, and maintain emotional balance[ 83 , 84 ]. In contrast, lower subjective well-being may be accompanied by emotional depletion, narrowed attention, and reduced capacity to manage distress effectively[ 79 , 85 , 86 ]. Empirical work has also suggested that subjective well-being and emotion regulation strategies are meaningfully related in student populations[ 87 – 90 ]. Taken together, these perspectives suggest that subjective well-being may mediate the association between anxiety and emotion regulation. In other words, anxiety may be related to poorer emotion regulation not only directly, but also indirectly through lower subjective well-being. Exploring this pathway may deepen understanding of adolescent emotional maladjustment and provide more specific intervention targets beyond symptom reduction alone. Therefore, H2 was proposed: subjective well-being mediates the association between anxiety and emotion regulation in middle school students. In addition to this mediating process, the strength of these associations may vary depending on adolescents’ level of physical activity[ 91 ]. Physical activity has increasingly been recognized as an important correlate of mental health in young people[ 92 – 94 ]. Regular physical activity is associated with lower tension, improved mood, better self-perception, and more adaptive psychological functioning[ 94 – 97 ]. Recent review evidence likewise suggests that physical activity and exercise are generally associated with better mental health outcomes in adolescents, including anxiety, stress, self-esteem, and social competence, although the strength of evidence varies across outcomes and study designs[ 94 , 98 – 100 ]. For adolescents, physical activity has particular practical relevance because it represents a relatively accessible and modifiable behavioral factor that can be promoted in school, family, and community settings[ 101 – 103 ]. Importantly, WHO estimates indicate that about 80% to 81% of adolescents worldwide do not meet recommended levels of physical activity, underscoring the public health relevance of examining physical activity in relation to emotional adjustment[ 14 ]. Compared with some psychological interventions that require specialized resources, physical activity may offer a more feasible public health approach for supporting emotional adjustment in large student populations[ 104 – 106 ]. From this perspective, physical activity may play an important moderating role in the associations among anxiety, subjective well-being, and emotion regulation. Accordingly, H3 was proposed: physical activity moderates the association of anxiety with subjective well-being and emotion regulation in middle school students. Therefore, examining these variables within a single framework may have both theoretical and applied value. Theoretically, such an approach may help clarify how anxiety is associated with adolescents’ emotion regulation and through which psychological pathway this association may operate[ 37 , 52 , 56 , 59 ]. Practically, it may help identify whether physical activity is linked to weaker adverse associations of anxiety with positive psychological functioning[ 94 , 97 , 107 ]. This is especially meaningful in the context of increasing concern about adolescent mental health and widespread physical inactivity among adolescents, because it may inform not only psychological counseling and emotional education in schools, but also family support strategies and health promotion efforts centered on daily behavioral habits. Based on these considerations, the present study aimed to examine the associations among anxiety, subjective well-being, emotion regulation, and physical activity in middle school students. More specifically, this study tested whether subjective well-being mediates the association between anxiety and emotion regulation and whether physical activity moderates both the anxiety-subjective well-being pathway and the direct anxiety-emotion regulation pathway. The hypothesized model tested in this study is shown in Fig. 1 . Accordingly, the following hypotheses were proposed: H1 Anxiety is negatively associated with emotion regulation in middle school students. H2 Subjective well-being mediates the association between anxiety and emotion regulation in middle school students. H3 Physical activity moderates the association of anxiety with subjective well-being and emotion regulation in middle school students. 2. Statistical Methods 2.1 Participants In June 2025, this study employed convenience sampling to recruit 2,500 middle school students from four provinces in China (Sichuan, Guangxi, Henan, and Fujian). After questionnaire collection, responses were screened and excluded as invalid based on the following criteria: (1) extensive missing data or duplicate responses; (2) highly patterned responding indicative of inattentive or careless completion; and (3) excessively short completion time insufficient to reflect respondents’ true status. After data cleaning, 2,354 valid questionnaires were retained, yielding an effective response rate of 94.16%. The final sample comprised 1,098 boys (46.64%) and 1,256 girls (53.36%). Prior to data collection, the research team provided all participants and their legal guardians with a detailed explanation of the study purpose, procedures, and data confidentiality protections. All methods were carried out in accordance with relevant guidelines and regulations. Participation was voluntary and involved no foreseeable risks. Because the participants were minors, written informed consent was obtained from the participants and/or their legal guardians before participation. The questionnaire was administered online at the class level in a standardized manner. The study protocol was reviewed and approved by the Biomedical Ethics Committee of Jishou University (Approval No.: JSDX-2025-0071).The present study was conducted under the broader approved project on physical exercise and physical and mental health regulation in middle school students. 2.2 Measures 2.2.1 Anxiety Anxiety symptoms were assessed using the Generalized Anxiety Disorder 7-item scale (GAD-7), a brief self-report instrument designed to evaluate the severity of anxiety symptoms over the past two weeks. The scale comprises seven items covering worry-related and somatic symptoms, rated on a 4-point Likert scale (0 = not at all, 3 = nearly every day). Total scores range from 0 to 21, with higher scores indicating greater anxiety severity[ 108 ]. In the present study, the GAD-7 demonstrated good internal consistency (Cronbach’s α = 0.869). 2.2.2 Subjective Well-Being Subjective well-being (SWB) was measured using the Index of Well-Being (IWB) developed by Campbell (1976)[ 109 ], which has been widely used to assess well-being among children and adolescents in China. The scale consists of an eight-item General Affect Index and a single-item Life Satisfaction measure, both rated on a 7-point scale. Scores from the two components were combined using a weighted sum with a 1:1.1 weighting, with higher scores reflecting greater SWB. In this sample, the IWB showed excellent internal consistency (Cronbach’s α = 0.926). 2.2.3 Emotion Regulation Emotion regulation was assessed using the Chinese revised version of the Emotion Regulation Questionnaire (ERQ-CRV), originally developed by Gross and John (2003)[ 110 ]. The ERQ-CRV contains 10 items assessing two emotion regulation strategies: cognitive reappraisal and expressive suppression. Items are rated on a 7-point Likert scale (1 = strongly disagree, 7 = strongly agree), with higher subscale and total scores indicating more frequent use of the corresponding strategy. The ERQ-CRV has been validated in Chinese samples and has demonstrated good reliability and validity, and it is widely used in research on emotion and mental health[ 111 ]. In the present study, the scale exhibited excellent internal consistency (Cronbach’s α = 0.929). 2.2.4 Physical Activity Physical activity was measured using the Physical Activity Rating Scale-3 (PARS-3) [ 112 ], which assesses activity level across three dimensions: exercise intensity, frequency, and duration (one item per dimension). Each item is rated on a 5-point Likert scale. The physical activity score is computed as: Activity score = intensity × (duration − 1) × frequency. Total scores range from 0 to 100, with higher scores indicating higher physical activity levels. The PARS-3 has demonstrated good reliability in previous research [ 113 ].In the present study, internal consistency was good (Cronbach’s α = 0.877). 2.3 Statistical Analysis All analyses were conducted using SPSS 27.0. Descriptive statistics and Pearson correlation analyses were first performed for the main study variables. Common method bias was assessed using Harman’s single-factor test. The results showed that the first factor accounted for 29.179% of the total variance (< 40%), suggesting no serious common method bias. Subsequently, moderated mediation analyses were conducted using the SPSS PROCESS macro (Models 4 and 8), with 5,000 bootstrap resamples to estimate 95% confidence intervals. This approach was used to test the moderated mediation model and to examine whether physical activity moderated the indirect effect of anxiety on emotion regulation through subjective well-being. Statistical significance was set at p < 0.05 for all analyses. 3. Results 3.1 Assessment of Common Method Bias Because all study variables were collected via self-report, common method bias (CMB) could not be ruled out a priori. To mitigate this risk procedurally, anonymous administration was implemented and several items were reverse-coded. Statistically, following the recommendation in[ 114 ], Harman’s single-factor test was conducted. All measurement items were entered into an exploratory factor analysis using principal component analysis without rotation. The results yielded four factors with eigenvalues greater than 1, and the first unrotated factor accounted for 29.179% of the total variance, which is below the conventional 40% threshold. Nevertheless, Harman’s single-factor test has known diagnostic limitations. Therefore, potential CMB cannot be completely excluded and will be further addressed in the “Limitations” section. 3.2 Correlation Analysis As shown in Table 1 , anxiety was significantly and negatively correlated with subjective well-being, emotion regulation, and physical activity. In addition, physical activity showed relatively strong associations with anxiety, subjective well-being, and emotion regulation. Table 1 Correlation analysis Variables M SD 1 2 3 4 1 Anxiety 12.46 4.180 - 2 Subjective well-being 34.13 10.769 -0.483*** - 3 Emotional Regulation 39.68 11.463 -0.601*** 0.845*** - 4 Physical activity 12.34 13.599 -0.064*** 0.401*** 0.699*** - **: p<0.05;***: p<0.001 3.3 Mediation Model Test Results from the mediation analyses (Table 2 and Fig. 2) indicated that anxiety significantly and negatively predicted emotion regulation. After subjective well-being was entered as a mediator, the direct negative association between anxiety and emotion regulation remained significant, suggesting a partial mediation effect. Specifically, higher anxiety was associated with poorer emotion regulation. Anxiety also significantly and negatively predicted subjective well-being, whereas subjective well-being significantly and positively predicted emotion regulation, indicating that higher levels of subjective well-being were linked to better emotion regulation. Further analyses demonstrated that the effect of anxiety on emotion regulation was partially transmitted through subjective well-being, with a significant indirect effect via subjective well-being; the proportions of the specific pathway effects are reported in Table 3 . Table 2 Mediation model test Outcome variables Predictor variables β SE t R² F Emotional Regulation Anxiety -1.662 0.045 -36.686*** 0.367*** 226.508*** Gender -0.452 0.379 -1.191 Only 0.468 0.650 0.720 Father -0.041 0.163 -0.250 Mother 0.263 0.184 1.433 Grade 0.473 0.136 3.476*** Emotional Regulation Anxiety -0.693 0.032 -21.847*** 0.763*** 1078.614*** Subjective well-being 0.769 0.012 62.615*** Gender -0.532 0.232 -2.291* Only -0.050 0.398 -0.127 Father -0.135 0.100 -1.351 Mother 0.210 0.112 1.872 Grade 0.038 0.084 0.457 *: p<0.05; ***: p<0.001 Table 3 Mediation model path analysis Intermediate path Effect size SE Bootstrap 95% CI Proportion of mediating effect Total effect -1.662 0.045 -1.750, -1.573 Direct effect -0.693 0.032 -0.756, -0.631 41.76% Total indirect effect -0.968 0.035 -1.039, -0.900 58.24% 3.4 Moderated Mediation Model Testing The moderated mediation analyses (Table 4 ) showed that physical activity significantly moderated the effects of anxiety (A) on both subjective well-being and emotion regulation. Specifically, physical activity significantly moderated the anxiety → subjective well-being pathway, exhibiting a significant negative interaction effect such that the negative association between anxiety and subjective well-being weakened as physical activity increased (A × B: β = −0.040, p < 0.001). Physical activity also significantly moderated the direct anxiety → emotion regulation pathway. The significant positive interaction effect indicated that physical activity buffered the detrimental impact of anxiety on emotion regulation (A × B: β = 0.012, p < 0.001). In addition, Table 5 presents conditional effects showing that the magnitude of the anxiety–emotion regulation association differed across levels of physical activity. As physical activity increased from low to high, the negative effect of anxiety on emotion regulation progressively attenuated. Under low physical activity, anxiety exerted the strongest negative effect on emotion regulation (β = −1.022), whereas under high physical activity this effect was substantially reduced (β = −0.717). Table 4 has moderated mediation model tests Outcome variable Predictor variable β SE t R² F Subjective well-being Anxiety(A) -1.228 0.041 -30.279*** 0.430 220.685*** Physical activity(B) 0.302 0.012 24.345*** A*B -0.041 0.003 -14.729*** Gender 0.307 0.339 0.906 Only 0.589 0.580 1.015 Father 0.265 0.145 1.819 Mother -0.056 0.164 -0.340 Grade 0.568 0.122 4.670*** Emotional Regulation Anxiety(A) -0.881 0.014 -61.774*** 0.955 5553.047*** Subjective well-being 0.545 0.006 88.453*** Physical activity(B) 0.396 0.004 95.554*** A*B 0.012 0.001 13.622*** Gender 0.063 0.101 0.619 Only 0.090 0.173 0.522 Father -0.055 0.043 -1.275 Mother 0.081 0.049 1.651 Grade 0.056 0.036 1.543 *: p<0.05; ***: p<0.001 Table 5 Predictive effects of different physical activity levels Physical activity Levels Effect size SE t Lower limit 95%CI Upper limit 95%CI Physical activity Levels Low -0.727 0.052 -14.104*** -0.828 -0.626 Low Medium -1.228 0.041 -30.279*** -1.307 -1.148 Medium High -1.779 0.057 -31.439*** -1.890 -1.668 High *: p<0.05; ***: p<0.001 Figures 4A and 4B illustrate that as physical activity levels increase, the negative effects of anxiety on subjective well-being and emotion regulation progressively weaken. Under low physical activity, anxiety shows the most pronounced detrimental associations with these outcomes; however, these negative effects are attenuated at moderate-to-high levels of physical activity and appear smallest in the high physical activity group. Notably, physical activity also exerts a significant moderating effect on the direct pathway from anxiety to emotion regulation, buffering the adverse impact of anxiety on emotion regulation. Collectively, these findings indicate that physical activity plays a protective role in the process through which anxiety influences subjective well-being and emotion regulation, providing empirical support for promoting physical activity as a feasible approach to improving adolescents’ mental health. Discussion In the setting of continuing academic pressure and increasingly intense social competition, anxiety symptoms among middle school students have become a prominent issue in adolescent mental health research[ 115 – 118 ]. Because the present study used a cross-sectional design, the following interpretations should be understood as correlational rather than causal. Within this framework, the findings showed a significant negative association between anxiety and emotion regulation, indicating that higher anxiety was accompanied by poorer regulation across different components and stages of the regulatory process. Previous studies have likewise suggested that anxiety is closely related to adolescents’ emotional functioning and may be associated with emotion regulation through multiple levels of influence[ 22 , 51 , 57 , 119 , 120 ]. These associations may involve the combined action of physiological arousal, cognitive bias, behavioral tendencies, and differences in the use of regulation strategies[ 121 – 124 ]. From a neurophysiological viewpoint, anxiety has been associated with persistent hyperactivation of the hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal axis, sustained sympathetic activation, increased release of stress-related hormones such as cortisol, and decreased availability of neurotransmitters involved in emotional recovery, including serotonin[ 125 – 127 ]. This physiological state may correspond to weaker prefrontal regulation of amygdala activity, thereby maintaining heightened sensitivity in systems involved in the generation of emotions and emotional responses[ 128 – 131 ]. As a consequence, anxiety may undermine the flexible implementation of antecedent-focused regulation strategies, especially attentional deployment, while evidence regarding situation selection remains comparatively limited[ 36 , 39 , 132 , 133 ].From a cognitive perspective, anxious individuals often display attentional bias toward threat and preferential processing of negative information[ 42 , 134 – 136 ], which may interfere with objective evaluation of emotional situations and make it more difficult to implement adaptive strategies such as cognitive reappraisal[ 53 , 137 ]. At the level of strategy use, higher anxiety may co-occur with stronger avoidance tendencies during the antecedent-focused stage and more frequent use of relatively less adaptive response-focused strategies such as expressive suppression, along with reduced use of more adaptive strategies including reappraisal and positive reinterpretation[ 51 , 52 , 56 , 138 ]. This combination may be linked to lower overall regulatory effectiveness and may also accompany higher anxiety, creating a reinforcing cycle[ 139 – 141 ]. Such associations may be particularly evident among middle school students who are undergoing identity development and rapid social change, since their regulatory systems are still maturing and may be more sensitive to physiological arousal, threat-related cues, and socially evaluative stress[ 27 , 142 – 145 ]. Taken together, these findings are consistent with the hypothesis that anxiety is negatively associated with emotion regulation through interacting neurophysiological, cognitive, behavioral, and strategic pathways (H1). Beyond the direct association, the findings further suggest that anxiety may be indirectly related to emotion regulation through subjective well-being. During adolescence, anxiety connected with academic stress, peer conflict, and uncertainty about the future may be accompanied by depletion of emotional resources, diminished interest, social withdrawal, and reduced motivation for learning. Over time, these co-occurring patterns may intensify negative affect and cognitive burden, and thus be associated with less positive evaluations of life and lower subjective well-being[ 7 , 146 – 148 ]. From a neurobiological perspective, chronic anxiety has been linked to weaker top-down prefrontal control over amygdala responses, increased sensitivity to threatening and negative information, and reduced responsiveness to positive stimuli[ 130 , 139 , 149 ]. At the same time, weakened reward-system functioning may be associated with a reduced ability to derive satisfaction from academic success, friendships, or extracurricular participation[ 150 – 152 ]. Chronic anxiety has also been linked to physiological changes, such as elevated pro-inflammatory markers and neurotransmitter dysregulation, which may correspond to poorer emotional stability and perceived health and thereby potentially reduce well-being[ 127 , 153 , 154 ]. From a psychological perspective, the Process Model of emotion regulation suggests that anxious individuals may be more likely to depend on suppression, avoidance, or rumination, which are often less effective because they do not intervene early in the process of emotion generation[ 45 , 52 , 56 , 155 ]. For middle school students who are at a key stage of emotional and cognitive development, these strategies may be linked to the accumulation of negative emotions and ongoing cycles of excessive self-blame or repetitive worry, thereby restricting the development and accumulation of positive emotional experiences and further lowering subjective well-being[ 156 ]. As anxiety increases, students may also experience more doubts about the value of schoolwork, friendships, and life in general, which may correspond to stronger feelings of isolation and alienation. At the same time, although anxiety is negatively associated with subjective well-being, well-being itself may function as a positive psychological resource related to greater resilience. At the behavioral level, students with higher well-being may be more capable of balancing study and leisure and may participate more actively in exercise, social activities, and interest-related pursuits, which may promote the accumulation of positive emotional experiences[ 68 , 107 , 157 ]. From an affective perspective, consistent with Affect-as-Information accounts, positive affect has been associated with broader processing styles and greater cognitive flexibility, which may support more constructive coping and may correspond to weaker anxiety-related impairment under stress[ 79 , 158 , 159 ]. Physiologically, higher well-being has been associated with lower levels of stress hormones and more stable neuroendocrine functioning, which may support emotional balance and perceived health[ 160 , 161 ]. Overall, the present findings are consistent with the view that anxiety is associated with lower subjective well-being through neuropsychological correlates and maladaptive regulation and behavioral patterns, whereas higher subjective well-being may serve as a protective correlate that supports emotion regulation, in line with the proposed mediating role of subjective well-being (H2). The present study also found a positive association between physical activity and subjective well-being in middle school students. Regular and appropriately dosed exercise has often been associated with better physical fitness and healthier behaviors, lower levels of negative affect such as anxiety, depressive mood, and tension, and higher levels of positive affect and life satisfaction, all of which may correspond to greater well-being. Converging evidence from neuroscience suggests that exercise is associated with the release of endorphins, dopamine, and serotonin, as well as activation of reward-related neural circuits, which may relate to the subjective experience of well-being[ 162 – 164 ]. Effort–Recovery Theory further proposes that under sustained academic pressure and peer competition, students may experience depletion of self-regulatory resources, whereas physical activity may be associated with restoration and stress buffering through tension release and replenishment of cognitive resources and emotional resilience[ 105 , 165 – 169 ]. In addition, positive peer interaction and teamwork during exercise may be associated with better relationship quality, less loneliness and perceived rejection, stronger social support, and greater belongingness and life satisfaction[ 170 , 171 ]. Prior research has also suggested a dose–response association between exercise participation and well-being, with regularity and moderate intensity appearing especially important[ 93 , 94 , 172 – 174 ]. Objective health benefits such as better cardiovascular functioning, improved immunity, and lower obesity risk may also correspond to more positive life evaluations and stronger well-being. Consistent with these perspectives, physical activity in the present study showed a significant moderating pattern in the association between anxiety and subjective well-being: higher physical activity was associated with a weaker negative association between anxiety and subjective well-being. This buffering pattern may reflect that physical activity is associated with lower sympathetic overactivation and cortisol responses, less amygdala hyperreactivity to threat-related cues, and more stable positive affect and life satisfaction, thereby corresponding to smaller reductions in well-being at higher levels of anxiety. Physical activity may also be associated with greater satisfaction of basic needs, including autonomy, competence, and relatedness, as well as stronger self-efficacy and experiences of goal attainment, which may support more resilient well-being. In addition, physical activity significantly moderated the direct association between anxiety and emotion regulation. Regular exercise has been associated with better prefrontal functioning and cognitive flexibility, stronger goal-directed attention and executive control, more frequent use of adaptive strategies such as cognitive reappraisal and positive reinterpretation, and less reliance on suppression, avoidance, and rumination. Exercise has also been linked to improved prefrontal–amygdala coupling and higher heart rate variability, which may correspond to less pronounced anxiety-related difficulties in emotion regulation and more stable emotional recovery under highly stressful conditions such as examinations. Overall, physical activity appears to function as a protective correlate by being associated with higher subjective well-being and by weakening the negative associations of anxiety with both subjective well-being and emotion regulation, thus supporting the proposed moderation hypothesis (H3). Limitations and Future Directions Several methodological limitations should be acknowledged. First, the cross-sectional design does not allow definitive causal conclusions regarding directionality. The observed chained associations may also reflect reverse causality or the influence of unmeasured confounding variables. Second, all variables were measured through self-report, which introduces the possibility of shared-source bias. Although procedural remedies such as anonymous administration and Harman’s single-factor test with the first factor below 40% were applied, common method bias cannot be completely excluded, and shared method variance may have increased the observed associations. In addition, because the correlation between subjective well-being and emotion regulation was relatively high, collinearity diagnostics were conducted. The variance inflation factor values ranged from 2.562 to 4.992, which are within an acceptable range and indicate that multicollinearity did not substantially affect the regression analyses. Even so, future studies should include more diverse data sources, such as teacher reports, peer reports, and physiological indicators, in order to reduce the influence of self-report bias and further verify the observed relationships. With regard to physical activity assessment, this study used the PARS-3 scale. Although PARS-3 provides a useful quantitative index of physical activity, including intensity, duration, and frequency, it does not capture qualitative aspects of exercise, such as activity type, social and physical context, or the subjective quality of participation. These qualitative dimensions may influence psychological processes and may also shape the observed moderating effects. Therefore, future studies should adopt longitudinal designs or experimental interventions to clarify temporal order and causal pathways. The integration of multi-source and multi-method data, such as wearable monitoring, peer or teacher ratings, and ecological momentary assessment, may further help reduce common method bias. More fine-grained approaches, for example combining activity logs with qualitative interviews, could also help determine whether different exercise types, contexts, and subjective experiences are differentially associated with well-being and emotion regulation, thereby moving the field from showing whether variables are related to clarifying how and why physical activity may confer mental health benefits. Conclusions This study examined the associations among anxiety, emotion regulation, subjective well-being, and physical activity in a large sample of middle school students. The findings indicated that anxiety was negatively associated with emotion regulation and that subjective well-being statistically mediated this association. In addition, physical activity moderated both the association between anxiety and subjective well-being and the direct association between anxiety and emotion regulation, such that higher physical activity corresponded to weaker negative associations. From a theoretical perspective, these results extend existing frameworks of adolescent emotional health and school adjustment by highlighting subjective well-being and regular physical activity as correlates linked to adolescents’ psychological functioning and social adaptation. In practical terms, coordinated support from schools and families may contribute to adolescent mental health. Emotion management training and counseling may be useful for students with higher anxiety and lower well-being, whereas school physical education programs and extracurricular activities may help encourage regular moderate-intensity exercise and support the development of stable exercise habits. Future interventions may benefit from integrating psychological skills training, enhancement of well-being, and exercise prescriptions into a coherent multi-component framework that addresses psychological, physiological, and social determinants and provides sustained support for healthy adolescent development. Declarations Conflict of Interest: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest . Funding This research received no external funding. No specific grant from any funding agency in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors was received. Author Contribution *Initials refer to authors as follows: W.X., Wanchun Xue; J.Z., Jianhua Zhang; B.Z., Bo Zheng.* Acknowledgments The authors thank Jishou University (School of Physical Education) for institutional support. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-9246910","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":626880457,"identity":"cc2e34f7-4329-4cdc-aced-f568ce74f5ff","order_by":0,"name":"Wanchun Xue","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Jishou University","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Wanchun","middleName":"","lastName":"Xue","suffix":""},{"id":626880458,"identity":"beca1862-6bb9-4a2c-8226-3a7578c465c0","order_by":1,"name":"Jianhua Zhang","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAAA10lEQVRIie3RMQrCMBSA4VcKdYnU8ZVCPYGQEugkPYtB0NWxY4sQFw9Q8RKdnFs6uERn3Vq8QA8gaBydklEw//w+yHsBsNl+Mul0QzaP/FFR9IMhceNSrliwb7cMzQjxwrFoeXVbiwkxAdPi0lIiXRYcegEIaTTLNcTJr7zDzIv8kItuA0uW1BrigmSUSsKCI99RhJqfdMQDmSAXyKt7I5CYEPIhjaBqfceQoHpYnMuFOjJXR6YGu0xLGT+e2Ut95bnvhyyNtATwa4Lqxj/5ucmUzWaz/XVvfblHZCjSWW0AAAAASUVORK5CYII=","orcid":"","institution":"Hunan University of Medicine","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Jianhua","middleName":"","lastName":"Zhang","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2026-03-27 16:38:29","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":"","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-9246910/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-9246910/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":107624514,"identity":"4ee82eb0-88a1-4c1b-a298-f67565cedfe6","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-04-23 10:17:27","extension":"png","order_by":1,"title":"Figure 1","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"figure","size":16671,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"\u003cp\u003eMediation Model Diagram\u003c/p\u003e","description":"","filename":"floatimage1.png","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-9246910/v1/8f18283b7f31ddbf978d03a8.png"},{"id":107706289,"identity":"8e09818c-6ad3-4468-aa22-62e409d0132a","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-04-24 09:17:49","extension":"png","order_by":2,"title":"Figure 2","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"figure","size":20145,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"\u003cp\u003eMediation Model Diagram\u003c/p\u003e","description":"","filename":"floatimage2.png","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-9246910/v1/c74d9acf3ae124d7b521644c.png"},{"id":107707246,"identity":"e3868fac-f1ec-4651-82d0-41623814dca7","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-04-24 09:19:53","extension":"png","order_by":3,"title":"Figure 3","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"figure","size":62797,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"\u003cp\u003eModerated mediation model (***: p \u0026lt; 0.001)\u003c/p\u003e","description":"","filename":"floatimage3.png","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-9246910/v1/fdc71fd7b450c378d729b295.png"},{"id":107624517,"identity":"73d2cd6d-29b1-4df9-9064-b2bde1a5d39d","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-04-23 10:17:27","extension":"png","order_by":4,"title":"Figure 4","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"figure","size":40470,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"\u003cp\u003eA The Moderating Trends of Anxiety on Subjective Well-being at Different Levels of Physical Activity\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eB The Moderating Trends of Anxiety on Emotion Regulation at Different Levels of Physical Activity\u003c/p\u003e","description":"","filename":"4.png","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-9246910/v1/0a88a9cdd74a2ec072181c49.png"},{"id":107710410,"identity":"604bfad9-736b-4fa5-80ef-c1eeb321507d","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-04-24 09:40:40","extension":"pdf","order_by":0,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":855092,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"manuscript.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-9246910/v1/a18d1c2d-85f0-404d-94f5-7025dfc641ae.pdf"}],"financialInterests":"No competing interests reported.","formattedTitle":"Anxiety and Emotion Regulation in Middle School Students: Subjective Well-Being as a Mediator and Physical Activity as a Buffer","fulltext":[{"header":"1 Introduction","content":"\u003cp\u003eAdolescence is a critical developmental period marked by rapid biological, cognitive, and social changes[\u003cspan additionalcitationids=\"CR2 CR3 CR4 CR5\" citationid=\"CR1\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e1\u003c/span\u003e\u0026ndash;\u003cspan citationid=\"CR6\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e6\u003c/span\u003e]. During this stage, young people are required to adapt to increasing academic demands, shifting peer relationships, stronger family expectations, and the growing complexity of online and offline environments[\u003cspan additionalcitationids=\"CR7 CR8\" citationid=\"CR6\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e6\u003c/span\u003e\u0026ndash;\u003cspan citationid=\"CR9\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e9\u003c/span\u003e]. Under these combined pressures, emotional and psychological problems in adolescents have received increasing attention from researchers, educators, families, and public health systems[\u003cspan additionalcitationids=\"CR11 CR12\" citationid=\"CR10\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e10\u003c/span\u003e\u0026ndash;\u003cspan citationid=\"CR13\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e13\u003c/span\u003e]. According to the World Health Organization, approximately one in seven adolescents aged 10\u0026ndash;19 years experiences a mental disorder, and anxiety disorders are among the most common emotional disorders in this age group, affecting an estimated 4.1% of those aged 10\u0026ndash;14 years and 5.3% of those aged 15\u0026ndash;19 years[\u003cspan citationid=\"CR14\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e14\u003c/span\u003e]. Persistent anxiety during adolescence may not only undermine current emotional well-being and daily functioning, but may also interfere with healthy developmental trajectories if not identified and addressed in time[\u003cspan additionalcitationids=\"CR16 CR17 CR18 CR19\" citationid=\"CR15\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e15\u003c/span\u003e\u0026ndash;\u003cspan citationid=\"CR20\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e20\u003c/span\u003e]. Accordingly, clarifying how anxiety is associated with adolescents\u0026rsquo; emotional functioning is important not only from a theoretical perspective, but also for school-based mental health promotion, family support, and early prevention efforts[\u003cspan citationid=\"CR14\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e14\u003c/span\u003e].\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eEmotion regulation is widely regarded as a central component of adolescent mental health[\u003cspan additionalcitationids=\"CR22 CR23\" citationid=\"CR21\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e21\u003c/span\u003e\u0026ndash;\u003cspan citationid=\"CR24\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e24\u003c/span\u003e]. It generally refers to the processes through which individuals monitor, evaluate, and modify their emotional responses in accordance with situational demands and personal goals[\u003cspan citationid=\"CR21\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e21\u003c/span\u003e, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR25\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e25\u003c/span\u003e]. During middle school, emotion regulation is especially important because students are frequently exposed to emotionally challenging situations while their regulatory capacities are still developing[\u003cspan citationid=\"CR22\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e22\u003c/span\u003e, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR26\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e26\u003c/span\u003e, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR27\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e27\u003c/span\u003e]. Difficulties in emotion regulation during this period have been linked to a range of maladaptive outcomes, including emotional distress, impulsive reactions, interpersonal conflict, and poor academic adjustment[\u003cspan citationid=\"CR21\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e21\u003c/span\u003e, \u003cspan additionalcitationids=\"CR29\" citationid=\"CR28\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e28\u003c/span\u003e\u0026ndash;\u003cspan citationid=\"CR30\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e30\u003c/span\u003e]. In the youth literature, emotion dysregulation has increasingly been conceptualized as a transdiagnostic factor associated with a broad range of psychopathological outcomes[\u003cspan additionalcitationids=\"CR32 CR33 CR34\" citationid=\"CR31\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e31\u003c/span\u003e\u0026ndash;\u003cspan citationid=\"CR35\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e35\u003c/span\u003e], and systematic review evidence further indicates that adolescence is a particularly important stage for the development and flexibility of emotion regulation[\u003cspan citationid=\"CR27\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e27\u003c/span\u003e, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR36\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e36\u003c/span\u003e]. From a practical perspective, reduced emotion regulation may also make it more difficult for students to cope with school stress, maintain stable peer relationships, and engage constructively with family support[\u003cspan citationid=\"CR27\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e27\u003c/span\u003e, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR37\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e37\u003c/span\u003e, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR38\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e38\u003c/span\u003e]. Therefore, identifying factors associated with emotion regulation in middle school students may help provide a clearer basis for psychological screening, educational support, and targeted intervention.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eAnxiety is one such factor that warrants particular attention[\u003cspan additionalcitationids=\"CR40 CR41\" citationid=\"CR39\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e39\u003c/span\u003e\u0026ndash;\u003cspan citationid=\"CR42\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e42\u003c/span\u003e]. Anxiety is commonly characterized by excessive worry, heightened threat sensitivity, tension, and persistent anticipation of negative outcomes[\u003cspan additionalcitationids=\"CR44 CR45\" citationid=\"CR43\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e43\u003c/span\u003e\u0026ndash;\u003cspan citationid=\"CR46\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e46\u003c/span\u003e]. In adolescence, anxiety may be intensified by academic competition, social comparison, family pressure, and uncertainty about future performance[\u003cspan additionalcitationids=\"CR48\" citationid=\"CR47\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e47\u003c/span\u003e\u0026ndash;\u003cspan citationid=\"CR49\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e49\u003c/span\u003e]. From the perspective of the Process Model of Emotion Regulation, anxiety may interfere with effective emotion regulation at multiple stages[\u003cspan additionalcitationids=\"CR51 CR52\" citationid=\"CR50\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e50\u003c/span\u003e\u0026ndash;\u003cspan citationid=\"CR53\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e53\u003c/span\u003e]. Adolescents with higher anxiety may be more likely to show attentional bias toward threatening information, stronger emotional reactivity, and greater difficulty using adaptive strategies such as cognitive reappraisal[\u003cspan citationid=\"CR39\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e39\u003c/span\u003e, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR54\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e54\u003c/span\u003e, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR55\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e55\u003c/span\u003e]. At the same time, they may rely more heavily on less flexible responses such as suppression, avoidance, or repetitive worry, thereby undermining their overall regulatory functioning[\u003cspan citationid=\"CR45\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e45\u003c/span\u003e, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR52\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e52\u003c/span\u003e, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR56\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e56\u003c/span\u003e]. Previous studies have suggested that anxiety is associated with poorer emotional adaptation, yet the pathways through which anxiety relates to emotion regulation in middle school students remain insufficiently clarified[\u003cspan citationid=\"CR51\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e51\u003c/span\u003e, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR57\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e57\u003c/span\u003e]. Given the growing burden of anxiety-related difficulties in youth populations and the central place of emotional disorders in adolescent mental health, examining this association may help improve understanding of which students are at greater risk of emotional maladjustment and why. Accordingly, H1 was proposed: anxiety is negatively associated with emotion regulation in middle school students.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eHowever, the relationship between anxiety and emotion regulation may not be purely direct[\u003cspan citationid=\"CR56\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e56\u003c/span\u003e, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR58\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e58\u003c/span\u003e, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR59\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e59\u003c/span\u003e]. Subjective well-being may represent an important psychological pathway through which anxiety is associated with adolescents\u0026rsquo; emotional functioning[\u003cspan additionalcitationids=\"CR61\" citationid=\"CR60\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e60\u003c/span\u003e\u0026ndash;\u003cspan citationid=\"CR62\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e62\u003c/span\u003e]. Subjective well-being generally reflects individuals\u0026rsquo; evaluations of their lives, including positive affect, life satisfaction, and a relatively lower burden of negative emotional experiences[\u003cspan additionalcitationids=\"CR64\" citationid=\"CR63\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e63\u003c/span\u003e\u0026ndash;\u003cspan citationid=\"CR65\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e65\u003c/span\u003e]. For adolescents, higher subjective well-being is often associated with greater resilience, stronger perceived support, better adjustment in daily life, and more positive engagement with academic and social experiences[\u003cspan additionalcitationids=\"CR67 CR68\" citationid=\"CR66\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e66\u003c/span\u003e\u0026ndash;\u003cspan citationid=\"CR69\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e69\u003c/span\u003e]. By contrast, anxiety may reduce subjective well-being by increasing worry, distress, social withdrawal, dissatisfaction, and a diminished sense of control over daily life[\u003cspan citationid=\"CR61\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e61\u003c/span\u003e, \u003cspan additionalcitationids=\"CR71 CR72\" citationid=\"CR70\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e70\u003c/span\u003e\u0026ndash;\u003cspan citationid=\"CR73\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e73\u003c/span\u003e]. When adolescents remain in a prolonged anxious state, they may find it more difficult to derive enjoyment, confidence, and meaning from school, family, and peer experiences, thereby reporting lower well-being[\u003cspan citationid=\"CR18\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e18\u003c/span\u003e, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR57\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e57\u003c/span\u003e, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR61\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e61\u003c/span\u003e, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR74\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e74\u003c/span\u003e]. This issue is socially relevant because subjective well-being is closely connected to students\u0026rsquo; quality of school participation, family interaction, and broader developmental adjustment.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eAt the same time, subjective well-being may be positively associated with emotion regulation[\u003cspan additionalcitationids=\"CR76\" citationid=\"CR75\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e75\u003c/span\u003e\u0026ndash;\u003cspan citationid=\"CR77\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e77\u003c/span\u003e]. According to the Broaden-and-Build Theory, positive emotional experiences broaden individuals\u0026rsquo; thought-action repertoires and help build enduring psychological resources[\u003cspan additionalcitationids=\"CR79\" citationid=\"CR78\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e78\u003c/span\u003e\u0026ndash;\u003cspan citationid=\"CR80\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e80\u003c/span\u003e]. Adolescents with higher subjective well-being may therefore show greater cognitive flexibility, stronger coping resources, and better capacity to regulate emotional responses in stressful situations[\u003cspan citationid=\"CR36\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e36\u003c/span\u003e, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR81\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e81\u003c/span\u003e, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR82\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e82\u003c/span\u003e]. They may be more likely to reinterpret challenges constructively, recover from setbacks, and maintain emotional balance[\u003cspan citationid=\"CR83\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e83\u003c/span\u003e, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR84\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e84\u003c/span\u003e]. In contrast, lower subjective well-being may be accompanied by emotional depletion, narrowed attention, and reduced capacity to manage distress effectively[\u003cspan citationid=\"CR79\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e79\u003c/span\u003e, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR85\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e85\u003c/span\u003e, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR86\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e86\u003c/span\u003e]. Empirical work has also suggested that subjective well-being and emotion regulation strategies are meaningfully related in student populations[\u003cspan additionalcitationids=\"CR88 CR89\" citationid=\"CR87\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e87\u003c/span\u003e\u0026ndash;\u003cspan citationid=\"CR90\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e90\u003c/span\u003e]. Taken together, these perspectives suggest that subjective well-being may mediate the association between anxiety and emotion regulation. In other words, anxiety may be related to poorer emotion regulation not only directly, but also indirectly through lower subjective well-being. Exploring this pathway may deepen understanding of adolescent emotional maladjustment and provide more specific intervention targets beyond symptom reduction alone. Therefore, H2 was proposed: subjective well-being mediates the association between anxiety and emotion regulation in middle school students.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eIn addition to this mediating process, the strength of these associations may vary depending on adolescents\u0026rsquo; level of physical activity[\u003cspan citationid=\"CR91\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e91\u003c/span\u003e]. Physical activity has increasingly been recognized as an important correlate of mental health in young people[\u003cspan additionalcitationids=\"CR93\" citationid=\"CR92\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e92\u003c/span\u003e\u0026ndash;\u003cspan citationid=\"CR94\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e94\u003c/span\u003e]. Regular physical activity is associated with lower tension, improved mood, better self-perception, and more adaptive psychological functioning[\u003cspan additionalcitationids=\"CR95 CR96\" citationid=\"CR94\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e94\u003c/span\u003e\u0026ndash;\u003cspan citationid=\"CR97\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e97\u003c/span\u003e]. Recent review evidence likewise suggests that physical activity and exercise are generally associated with better mental health outcomes in adolescents, including anxiety, stress, self-esteem, and social competence, although the strength of evidence varies across outcomes and study designs[\u003cspan citationid=\"CR94\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e94\u003c/span\u003e, \u003cspan additionalcitationids=\"CR99\" citationid=\"CR98\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e98\u003c/span\u003e\u0026ndash;\u003cspan citationid=\"CR100\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e100\u003c/span\u003e]. For adolescents, physical activity has particular practical relevance because it represents a relatively accessible and modifiable behavioral factor that can be promoted in school, family, and community settings[\u003cspan additionalcitationids=\"CR102\" citationid=\"CR101\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e101\u003c/span\u003e\u0026ndash;\u003cspan citationid=\"CR103\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e103\u003c/span\u003e]. Importantly, WHO estimates indicate that about 80% to 81% of adolescents worldwide do not meet recommended levels of physical activity, underscoring the public health relevance of examining physical activity in relation to emotional adjustment[\u003cspan citationid=\"CR14\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e14\u003c/span\u003e]. Compared with some psychological interventions that require specialized resources, physical activity may offer a more feasible public health approach for supporting emotional adjustment in large student populations[\u003cspan additionalcitationids=\"CR105\" citationid=\"CR104\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e104\u003c/span\u003e\u0026ndash;\u003cspan citationid=\"CR106\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e106\u003c/span\u003e]. From this perspective, physical activity may play an important moderating role in the associations among anxiety, subjective well-being, and emotion regulation. Accordingly, H3 was proposed: physical activity moderates the association of anxiety with subjective well-being and emotion regulation in middle school students.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eTherefore, examining these variables within a single framework may have both theoretical and applied value. Theoretically, such an approach may help clarify how anxiety is associated with adolescents\u0026rsquo; emotion regulation and through which psychological pathway this association may operate[\u003cspan citationid=\"CR37\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e37\u003c/span\u003e, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR52\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e52\u003c/span\u003e, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR56\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e56\u003c/span\u003e, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR59\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e59\u003c/span\u003e]. Practically, it may help identify whether physical activity is linked to weaker adverse associations of anxiety with positive psychological functioning[\u003cspan citationid=\"CR94\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e94\u003c/span\u003e, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR97\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e97\u003c/span\u003e, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR107\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e107\u003c/span\u003e]. This is especially meaningful in the context of increasing concern about adolescent mental health and widespread physical inactivity among adolescents, because it may inform not only psychological counseling and emotional education in schools, but also family support strategies and health promotion efforts centered on daily behavioral habits.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eBased on these considerations, the present study aimed to examine the associations among anxiety, subjective well-being, emotion regulation, and physical activity in middle school students. More specifically, this study tested whether subjective well-being mediates the association between anxiety and emotion regulation and whether physical activity moderates both the anxiety-subjective well-being pathway and the direct anxiety-emotion regulation pathway. The hypothesized model tested in this study is shown in Fig.\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Fig1\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e1\u003c/span\u003e. Accordingly, the following hypotheses were proposed:\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cstrong\u003eH1\u003c/strong\u003e \u003cp\u003eAnxiety is negatively associated with emotion regulation in middle school students.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cstrong\u003eH2\u003c/strong\u003e \u003cp\u003eSubjective well-being mediates the association between anxiety and emotion regulation in middle school students.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cstrong\u003eH3\u003c/strong\u003e \u003cp\u003ePhysical activity moderates the association of anxiety with subjective well-being and emotion regulation in middle school students.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"2. Statistical Methods","content":"\u003cdiv id=\"Sec3\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003e2.1 Participants\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eIn June 2025, this study employed convenience sampling to recruit 2,500 middle school students from four provinces in China (Sichuan, Guangxi, Henan, and Fujian). After questionnaire collection, responses were screened and excluded as invalid based on the following criteria: (1) extensive missing data or duplicate responses; (2) highly patterned responding indicative of inattentive or careless completion; and (3) excessively short completion time insufficient to reflect respondents\u0026rsquo; true status. After data cleaning, 2,354 valid questionnaires were retained, yielding an effective response rate of 94.16%.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe final sample comprised 1,098 boys (46.64%) and 1,256 girls (53.36%). Prior to data collection, the research team provided all participants and their legal guardians with a detailed explanation of the study purpose, procedures, and data confidentiality protections. All methods were carried out in accordance with relevant guidelines and regulations. Participation was voluntary and involved no foreseeable risks. Because the participants were minors, written informed consent was obtained from the participants and/or their legal guardians before participation. The questionnaire was administered online at the class level in a standardized manner. The study protocol was reviewed and approved by the Biomedical Ethics Committee of Jishou University (Approval No.: JSDX-2025-0071).The present study was conducted under the broader approved project on physical exercise and physical and mental health regulation in middle school students.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec4\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003e2.2 Measures\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec5\" class=\"Section3\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003e2.2.1 Anxiety\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eAnxiety symptoms were assessed using the Generalized Anxiety Disorder 7-item scale (GAD-7), a brief self-report instrument designed to evaluate the severity of anxiety symptoms over the past two weeks. The scale comprises seven items covering worry-related and somatic symptoms, rated on a 4-point Likert scale (0\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;not at all, 3\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;nearly every day). Total scores range from 0 to 21, with higher scores indicating greater anxiety severity[\u003cspan citationid=\"CR108\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e108\u003c/span\u003e]. In the present study, the GAD-7 demonstrated good internal consistency (Cronbach\u0026rsquo;s α\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.869).\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec6\" class=\"Section3\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003e2.2.2 Subjective Well-Being\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eSubjective well-being (SWB) was measured using the Index of Well-Being (IWB) developed by Campbell (1976)[\u003cspan citationid=\"CR109\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e109\u003c/span\u003e], which has been widely used to assess well-being among children and adolescents in China. The scale consists of an eight-item General Affect Index and a single-item Life Satisfaction measure, both rated on a 7-point scale. Scores from the two components were combined using a weighted sum with a 1:1.1 weighting, with higher scores reflecting greater SWB. In this sample, the IWB showed excellent internal consistency (Cronbach\u0026rsquo;s α\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.926).\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec7\" class=\"Section3\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003e2.2.3 Emotion Regulation\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eEmotion regulation was assessed using the Chinese revised version of the Emotion Regulation Questionnaire (ERQ-CRV), originally developed by Gross and John (2003)[\u003cspan citationid=\"CR110\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e110\u003c/span\u003e]. The ERQ-CRV contains 10 items assessing two emotion regulation strategies: cognitive reappraisal and expressive suppression. Items are rated on a 7-point Likert scale (1\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;strongly disagree, 7\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;strongly agree), with higher subscale and total scores indicating more frequent use of the corresponding strategy. The ERQ-CRV has been validated in Chinese samples and has demonstrated good reliability and validity, and it is widely used in research on emotion and mental health[\u003cspan citationid=\"CR111\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e111\u003c/span\u003e]. In the present study, the scale exhibited excellent internal consistency (Cronbach\u0026rsquo;s α\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.929).\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec8\" class=\"Section3\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003e2.2.4 Physical Activity\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003ePhysical activity was measured using the Physical Activity Rating Scale-3 (PARS-3) [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR112\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e112\u003c/span\u003e], which assesses activity level across three dimensions: exercise intensity, frequency, and duration (one item per dimension). Each item is rated on a 5-point Likert scale. The physical activity score is computed as: Activity score\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;intensity \u0026times; (duration\u0026thinsp;\u0026minus;\u0026thinsp;1) \u0026times; frequency. Total scores range from 0 to 100, with higher scores indicating higher physical activity levels. The PARS-3 has demonstrated good reliability in previous research [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR113\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e113\u003c/span\u003e].In the present study, internal consistency was good (Cronbach\u0026rsquo;s α\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.877).\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec9\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003e2.3 Statistical Analysis\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eAll analyses were conducted using SPSS 27.0. Descriptive statistics and Pearson correlation analyses were first performed for the main study variables. Common method bias was assessed using Harman\u0026rsquo;s single-factor test. The results showed that the first factor accounted for 29.179% of the total variance (\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;40%), suggesting no serious common method bias.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eSubsequently, moderated mediation analyses were conducted using the SPSS PROCESS macro (Models 4 and 8), with 5,000 bootstrap resamples to estimate 95% confidence intervals. This approach was used to test the moderated mediation model and to examine whether physical activity moderated the indirect effect of anxiety on emotion regulation through subjective well-being. Statistical significance was set at p\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.05 for all analyses.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e"},{"header":"3. Results","content":"\u003cdiv id=\"Sec11\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003e3.1 Assessment of Common Method Bias\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eBecause all study variables were collected via self-report, common method bias (CMB) could not be ruled out a priori. To mitigate this risk procedurally, anonymous administration was implemented and several items were reverse-coded. Statistically, following the recommendation in[\u003cspan citationid=\"CR114\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e114\u003c/span\u003e], Harman\u0026rsquo;s single-factor test was conducted. All measurement items were entered into an exploratory factor analysis using principal component analysis without rotation. The results yielded four factors with eigenvalues greater than 1, and the first unrotated factor accounted for 29.179% of the total variance, which is below the conventional 40% threshold. Nevertheless, Harman\u0026rsquo;s single-factor test has known diagnostic limitations. Therefore, potential CMB cannot be completely excluded and will be further addressed in the \u0026ldquo;Limitations\u0026rdquo; section.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec12\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003e3.2 Correlation Analysis\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eAs shown in Table\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Tab1\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e1\u003c/span\u003e, anxiety was significantly and negatively correlated with subjective well-being, emotion regulation, and physical activity. In addition, physical activity showed relatively strong associations with anxiety, subjective well-being, and emotion regulation.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"gridtable\"\u003e\u003ctable float=\"Yes\" id=\"Tab1\" border=\"1\"\u003e \u003ccaption language=\"En\"\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionNumber\"\u003eTable 1\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionContent\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eCorrelation analysis\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003c/caption\u003e \u003ccolgroup cols=\"7\"\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c1\" colnum=\"1\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"char\" char=\".\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c2\" colnum=\"2\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"char\" char=\".\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c3\" colnum=\"3\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c4\" colnum=\"4\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c5\" colnum=\"5\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c6\" colnum=\"6\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c7\" colnum=\"7\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cthead\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eVariables\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eM\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eSD\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e2\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e3\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e4\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/thead\u003e \u003ctbody\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1 Anxiety\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e12.46\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e4.180\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e2 Subjective well-being\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e34.13\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e10.769\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-0.483***\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e3 Emotional Regulation\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e39.68\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e11.463\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-0.601***\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.845***\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e4 Physical activity\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e12.34\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e13.599\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-0.064***\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.401***\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.699***\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/tbody\u003e \u003c/colgroup\u003e \u003ctfoot\u003e \u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd colspan=\"7\"\u003e**: p\u0026lt;0.05;***: p\u0026lt;0.001\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/tfoot\u003e \u003c/table\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec13\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003e3.3 Mediation Model Test\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eResults from the mediation analyses (Table\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Tab2\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e2\u003c/span\u003e and Fig.\u0026nbsp;2) indicated that anxiety significantly and negatively predicted emotion regulation. After subjective well-being was entered as a mediator, the direct negative association between anxiety and emotion regulation remained significant, suggesting a partial mediation effect. Specifically, higher anxiety was associated with poorer emotion regulation. Anxiety also significantly and negatively predicted subjective well-being, whereas subjective well-being significantly and positively predicted emotion regulation, indicating that higher levels of subjective well-being were linked to better emotion regulation. Further analyses demonstrated that the effect of anxiety on emotion regulation was partially transmitted through subjective well-being, with a significant indirect effect via subjective well-being; the proportions of the specific pathway effects are reported in Table\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Tab3\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e3\u003c/span\u003e.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"gridtable\"\u003e\u003ctable float=\"Yes\" id=\"Tab2\" border=\"1\"\u003e \u003ccaption language=\"En\"\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionNumber\"\u003eTable 2\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionContent\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eMediation model test\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003c/caption\u003e \u003ccolgroup cols=\"7\"\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c1\" colnum=\"1\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c2\" colnum=\"2\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"char\" char=\".\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c3\" colnum=\"3\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"char\" char=\".\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c4\" colnum=\"4\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"char\" char=\".\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c5\" colnum=\"5\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"char\" char=\".\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c6\" colnum=\"6\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"char\" char=\".\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c7\" colnum=\"7\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cthead\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eOutcome variables\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003ePredictor variables\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eβ\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eSE\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003et\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eR\u0026sup2;\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eF\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/thead\u003e \u003ctbody\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eEmotional Regulation\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eAnxiety\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-1.662\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.045\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-36.686***\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.367***\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e226.508***\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eGender\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-0.452\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.379\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-1.191\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eOnly\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.468\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.650\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.720\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eFather\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-0.041\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.163\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-0.250\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eMother\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.263\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.184\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1.433\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eGrade\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.473\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.136\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e3.476***\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eEmotional Regulation\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eAnxiety\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-0.693\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.032\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-21.847***\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.763***\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1078.614***\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eSubjective well-being\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.769\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.012\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e62.615***\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eGender\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-0.532\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.232\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-2.291*\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eOnly\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-0.050\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.398\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-0.127\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eFather\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-0.135\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.100\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-1.351\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eMother\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.210\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.112\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1.872\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eGrade\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.038\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.084\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.457\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/tbody\u003e \u003c/colgroup\u003e \u003ctfoot\u003e \u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd colspan=\"7\"\u003e*: p\u0026lt;0.05; ***: p\u0026lt;0.001\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/tfoot\u003e \u003c/table\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"gridtable\"\u003e\u003ctable float=\"Yes\" id=\"Tab3\" border=\"1\"\u003e \u003ccaption language=\"En\"\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionNumber\"\u003eTable 3\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionContent\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eMediation model path analysis\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003c/caption\u003e \u003ccolgroup cols=\"6\"\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c1\" colnum=\"1\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c2\" colnum=\"2\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c3\" colnum=\"3\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c4\" colnum=\"4\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c5\" colnum=\"5\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c6\" colnum=\"6\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cthead\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eIntermediate path\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eEffect size\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eSE\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eBootstrap 95% CI\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colspan=\"2\" nameend=\"c6\" namest=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eProportion of mediating effect\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/thead\u003e \u003ctbody\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eTotal effect\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-1.662\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.045\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-1.750, -1.573\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"2\" nameend=\"c6\" namest=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eDirect effect\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-0.693\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.032\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-0.756, -0.631\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"2\" nameend=\"c6\" namest=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e41.76%\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eTotal indirect effect\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-0.968\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.035\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-1.039, -0.900\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"2\" nameend=\"c6\" namest=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e58.24%\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/tbody\u003e \u003c/colgroup\u003e\u003c/table\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec14\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003e3.4 Moderated Mediation Model Testing\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe moderated mediation analyses (Table\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Tab4\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e4\u003c/span\u003e) showed that physical activity significantly moderated the effects of anxiety (A) on both subjective well-being and emotion regulation. Specifically, physical activity significantly moderated the anxiety \u0026rarr; subjective well-being pathway, exhibiting a significant negative interaction effect such that the negative association between anxiety and subjective well-being weakened as physical activity increased (A \u0026times; B: β = \u0026minus;0.040, p\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.001).\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003ePhysical activity also significantly moderated the direct anxiety \u0026rarr; emotion regulation pathway. The significant positive interaction effect indicated that physical activity buffered the detrimental impact of anxiety on emotion regulation (A \u0026times; B: β\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.012, p\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.001).\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eIn addition, Table\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Tab5\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e5\u003c/span\u003e presents conditional effects showing that the magnitude of the anxiety\u0026ndash;emotion regulation association differed across levels of physical activity. As physical activity increased from low to high, the negative effect of anxiety on emotion regulation progressively attenuated. Under low physical activity, anxiety exerted the strongest negative effect on emotion regulation (β = \u0026minus;1.022), whereas under high physical activity this effect was substantially reduced (β = \u0026minus;0.717).\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"gridtable\"\u003e\u003ctable float=\"Yes\" id=\"Tab4\" border=\"1\"\u003e \u003ccaption language=\"En\"\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionNumber\"\u003eTable 4\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionContent\"\u003e \u003cp\u003ehas moderated mediation model tests\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003c/caption\u003e \u003ccolgroup cols=\"7\"\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c1\" colnum=\"1\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c2\" colnum=\"2\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c3\" colnum=\"3\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c4\" colnum=\"4\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c5\" colnum=\"5\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c6\" colnum=\"6\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c7\" colnum=\"7\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cthead\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eOutcome variable\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003ePredictor variable\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eβ\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eSE\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003et\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eR\u0026sup2;\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eF\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/thead\u003e \u003ctbody\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\" morerows=\"7\" rowspan=\"8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eSubjective well-being\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eAnxiety(A)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-1.228\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.041\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-30.279***\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.430\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e220.685***\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003ePhysical activity(B)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.302\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.012\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e24.345***\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eA*B\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-0.041\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.003\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-14.729***\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eGender\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.307\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.339\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.906\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eOnly\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.589\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.580\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1.015\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eFather\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.265\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.145\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1.819\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eMother\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-0.056\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.164\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-0.340\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eGrade\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.568\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.122\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e4.670***\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\" morerows=\"8\" rowspan=\"9\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eEmotional Regulation\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eAnxiety(A)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-0.881\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.014\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-61.774***\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.955\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e5553.047***\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eSubjective well-being\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.545\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.006\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e88.453***\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003ePhysical activity(B)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.396\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.004\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e95.554***\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eA*B\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.012\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.001\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e13.622***\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eGender\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.063\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.101\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.619\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eOnly\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.090\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.173\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.522\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eFather\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-0.055\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.043\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-1.275\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eMother\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.081\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.049\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1.651\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eGrade\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.056\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.036\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1.543\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/tbody\u003e \u003c/colgroup\u003e \u003ctfoot\u003e \u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd colspan=\"7\"\u003e*: p\u0026lt;0.05; ***: p\u0026lt;0.001\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/tfoot\u003e \u003c/table\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"gridtable\"\u003e\u003ctable float=\"Yes\" id=\"Tab5\" border=\"1\"\u003e \u003ccaption language=\"En\"\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionNumber\"\u003eTable 5\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionContent\"\u003e \u003cp\u003ePredictive effects of different physical activity levels\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003c/caption\u003e \u003ccolgroup cols=\"7\"\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c1\" colnum=\"1\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c2\" colnum=\"2\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c3\" colnum=\"3\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c4\" colnum=\"4\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c5\" colnum=\"5\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c6\" colnum=\"6\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c7\" colnum=\"7\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cthead\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003ePhysical activity Levels\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eEffect size\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eSE\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003et\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eLower limit 95%CI\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eUpper limit 95%CI\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003ePhysical activity Levels\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/thead\u003e \u003ctbody\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eLow\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-0.727\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.052\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-14.104***\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-0.828\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-0.626\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eLow\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eMedium\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-1.228\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.041\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-30.279***\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-1.307\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-1.148\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eMedium\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eHigh\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-1.779\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.057\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-31.439***\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-1.890\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-1.668\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eHigh\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/tbody\u003e \u003c/colgroup\u003e \u003ctfoot\u003e \u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd colspan=\"7\"\u003e*: p\u0026lt;0.05; ***: p\u0026lt;0.001\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/tfoot\u003e \u003c/table\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eFigures 4A and 4B illustrate that as physical activity levels increase, the negative effects of anxiety on subjective well-being and emotion regulation progressively weaken. Under low physical activity, anxiety shows the most pronounced detrimental associations with these outcomes; however, these negative effects are attenuated at moderate-to-high levels of physical activity and appear smallest in the high physical activity group. Notably, physical activity also exerts a significant moderating effect on the direct pathway from anxiety to emotion regulation, buffering the adverse impact of anxiety on emotion regulation. Collectively, these findings indicate that physical activity plays a protective role in the process through which anxiety influences subjective well-being and emotion regulation, providing empirical support for promoting physical activity as a feasible approach to improving adolescents\u0026rsquo; mental health.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e"},{"header":"Discussion","content":"\u003cp\u003eIn the setting of continuing academic pressure and increasingly intense social competition, anxiety symptoms among middle school students have become a prominent issue in adolescent mental health research[\u003cspan additionalcitationids=\"CR116 CR117\" citationid=\"CR115\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e115\u003c/span\u003e\u0026ndash;\u003cspan citationid=\"CR118\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e118\u003c/span\u003e]. Because the present study used a cross-sectional design, the following interpretations should be understood as correlational rather than causal. Within this framework, the findings showed a significant negative association between anxiety and emotion regulation, indicating that higher anxiety was accompanied by poorer regulation across different components and stages of the regulatory process. Previous studies have likewise suggested that anxiety is closely related to adolescents\u0026rsquo; emotional functioning and may be associated with emotion regulation through multiple levels of influence[\u003cspan citationid=\"CR22\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e22\u003c/span\u003e, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR51\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e51\u003c/span\u003e, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR57\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e57\u003c/span\u003e, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR119\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e119\u003c/span\u003e, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR120\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e120\u003c/span\u003e]. These associations may involve the combined action of physiological arousal, cognitive bias, behavioral tendencies, and differences in the use of regulation strategies[\u003cspan additionalcitationids=\"CR122 CR123\" citationid=\"CR121\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e121\u003c/span\u003e\u0026ndash;\u003cspan citationid=\"CR124\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e124\u003c/span\u003e].\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eFrom a neurophysiological viewpoint, anxiety has been associated with persistent hyperactivation of the hypothalamic\u0026ndash;pituitary\u0026ndash;adrenal axis, sustained sympathetic activation, increased release of stress-related hormones such as cortisol, and decreased availability of neurotransmitters involved in emotional recovery, including serotonin[\u003cspan additionalcitationids=\"CR126\" citationid=\"CR125\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e125\u003c/span\u003e\u0026ndash;\u003cspan citationid=\"CR127\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e127\u003c/span\u003e]. This physiological state may correspond to weaker prefrontal regulation of amygdala activity, thereby maintaining heightened sensitivity in systems involved in the generation of emotions and emotional responses[\u003cspan additionalcitationids=\"CR129 CR130\" citationid=\"CR128\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e128\u003c/span\u003e\u0026ndash;\u003cspan citationid=\"CR131\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e131\u003c/span\u003e]. As a consequence, anxiety may undermine the flexible implementation of antecedent-focused regulation strategies, especially attentional deployment, while evidence regarding situation selection remains comparatively limited[\u003cspan citationid=\"CR36\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e36\u003c/span\u003e, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR39\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e39\u003c/span\u003e, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR132\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e132\u003c/span\u003e, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR133\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e133\u003c/span\u003e].From a cognitive perspective, anxious individuals often display attentional bias toward threat and preferential processing of negative information[\u003cspan citationid=\"CR42\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e42\u003c/span\u003e, \u003cspan additionalcitationids=\"CR135\" citationid=\"CR134\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e134\u003c/span\u003e\u0026ndash;\u003cspan citationid=\"CR136\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e136\u003c/span\u003e], which may interfere with objective evaluation of emotional situations and make it more difficult to implement adaptive strategies such as cognitive reappraisal[\u003cspan citationid=\"CR53\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e53\u003c/span\u003e, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR137\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e137\u003c/span\u003e]. At the level of strategy use, higher anxiety may co-occur with stronger avoidance tendencies during the antecedent-focused stage and more frequent use of relatively less adaptive response-focused strategies such as expressive suppression, along with reduced use of more adaptive strategies including reappraisal and positive reinterpretation[\u003cspan citationid=\"CR51\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e51\u003c/span\u003e, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR52\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e52\u003c/span\u003e, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR56\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e56\u003c/span\u003e, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR138\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e138\u003c/span\u003e]. This combination may be linked to lower overall regulatory effectiveness and may also accompany higher anxiety, creating a reinforcing cycle[\u003cspan additionalcitationids=\"CR140\" citationid=\"CR139\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e139\u003c/span\u003e\u0026ndash;\u003cspan citationid=\"CR141\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e141\u003c/span\u003e]. Such associations may be particularly evident among middle school students who are undergoing identity development and rapid social change, since their regulatory systems are still maturing and may be more sensitive to physiological arousal, threat-related cues, and socially evaluative stress[\u003cspan citationid=\"CR27\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e27\u003c/span\u003e, \u003cspan additionalcitationids=\"CR143 CR144\" citationid=\"CR142\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e142\u003c/span\u003e\u0026ndash;\u003cspan citationid=\"CR145\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e145\u003c/span\u003e]. Taken together, these findings are consistent with the hypothesis that anxiety is negatively associated with emotion regulation through interacting neurophysiological, cognitive, behavioral, and strategic pathways (H1).\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eBeyond the direct association, the findings further suggest that anxiety may be indirectly related to emotion regulation through subjective well-being. During adolescence, anxiety connected with academic stress, peer conflict, and uncertainty about the future may be accompanied by depletion of emotional resources, diminished interest, social withdrawal, and reduced motivation for learning. Over time, these co-occurring patterns may intensify negative affect and cognitive burden, and thus be associated with less positive evaluations of life and lower subjective well-being[\u003cspan citationid=\"CR7\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e7\u003c/span\u003e, \u003cspan additionalcitationids=\"CR147\" citationid=\"CR146\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e146\u003c/span\u003e\u0026ndash;\u003cspan citationid=\"CR148\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e148\u003c/span\u003e]. From a neurobiological perspective, chronic anxiety has been linked to weaker top-down prefrontal control over amygdala responses, increased sensitivity to threatening and negative information, and reduced responsiveness to positive stimuli[\u003cspan citationid=\"CR130\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e130\u003c/span\u003e, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR139\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e139\u003c/span\u003e, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR149\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e149\u003c/span\u003e]. At the same time, weakened reward-system functioning may be associated with a reduced ability to derive satisfaction from academic success, friendships, or extracurricular participation[\u003cspan additionalcitationids=\"CR151\" citationid=\"CR150\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e150\u003c/span\u003e\u0026ndash;\u003cspan citationid=\"CR152\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e152\u003c/span\u003e]. Chronic anxiety has also been linked to physiological changes, such as elevated pro-inflammatory markers and neurotransmitter dysregulation, which may correspond to poorer emotional stability and perceived health and thereby potentially reduce well-being[\u003cspan citationid=\"CR127\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e127\u003c/span\u003e, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR153\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e153\u003c/span\u003e, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR154\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e154\u003c/span\u003e]. From a psychological perspective, the Process Model of emotion regulation suggests that anxious individuals may be more likely to depend on suppression, avoidance, or rumination, which are often less effective because they do not intervene early in the process of emotion generation[\u003cspan citationid=\"CR45\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e45\u003c/span\u003e, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR52\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e52\u003c/span\u003e, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR56\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e56\u003c/span\u003e, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR155\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e155\u003c/span\u003e]. For middle school students who are at a key stage of emotional and cognitive development, these strategies may be linked to the accumulation of negative emotions and ongoing cycles of excessive self-blame or repetitive worry, thereby restricting the development and accumulation of positive emotional experiences and further lowering subjective well-being[\u003cspan citationid=\"CR156\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e156\u003c/span\u003e]. As anxiety increases, students may also experience more doubts about the value of schoolwork, friendships, and life in general, which may correspond to stronger feelings of isolation and alienation.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eAt the same time, although anxiety is negatively associated with subjective well-being, well-being itself may function as a positive psychological resource related to greater resilience. At the behavioral level, students with higher well-being may be more capable of balancing study and leisure and may participate more actively in exercise, social activities, and interest-related pursuits, which may promote the accumulation of positive emotional experiences[\u003cspan citationid=\"CR68\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e68\u003c/span\u003e, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR107\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e107\u003c/span\u003e, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR157\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e157\u003c/span\u003e]. From an affective perspective, consistent with Affect-as-Information accounts, positive affect has been associated with broader processing styles and greater cognitive flexibility, which may support more constructive coping and may correspond to weaker anxiety-related impairment under stress[\u003cspan citationid=\"CR79\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e79\u003c/span\u003e, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR158\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e158\u003c/span\u003e, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR159\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e159\u003c/span\u003e]. Physiologically, higher well-being has been associated with lower levels of stress hormones and more stable neuroendocrine functioning, which may support emotional balance and perceived health[\u003cspan citationid=\"CR160\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e160\u003c/span\u003e, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR161\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e161\u003c/span\u003e]. Overall, the present findings are consistent with the view that anxiety is associated with lower subjective well-being through neuropsychological correlates and maladaptive regulation and behavioral patterns, whereas higher subjective well-being may serve as a protective correlate that supports emotion regulation, in line with the proposed mediating role of subjective well-being (H2).\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe present study also found a positive association between physical activity and subjective well-being in middle school students. Regular and appropriately dosed exercise has often been associated with better physical fitness and healthier behaviors, lower levels of negative affect such as anxiety, depressive mood, and tension, and higher levels of positive affect and life satisfaction, all of which may correspond to greater well-being. Converging evidence from neuroscience suggests that exercise is associated with the release of endorphins, dopamine, and serotonin, as well as activation of reward-related neural circuits, which may relate to the subjective experience of well-being[\u003cspan additionalcitationids=\"CR163\" citationid=\"CR162\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e162\u003c/span\u003e\u0026ndash;\u003cspan citationid=\"CR164\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e164\u003c/span\u003e]. Effort\u0026ndash;Recovery Theory further proposes that under sustained academic pressure and peer competition, students may experience depletion of self-regulatory resources, whereas physical activity may be associated with restoration and stress buffering through tension release and replenishment of cognitive resources and emotional resilience[\u003cspan citationid=\"CR105\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e105\u003c/span\u003e, \u003cspan additionalcitationids=\"CR166 CR167 CR168\" citationid=\"CR165\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e165\u003c/span\u003e\u0026ndash;\u003cspan citationid=\"CR169\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e169\u003c/span\u003e]. In addition, positive peer interaction and teamwork during exercise may be associated with better relationship quality, less loneliness and perceived rejection, stronger social support, and greater belongingness and life satisfaction[\u003cspan citationid=\"CR170\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e170\u003c/span\u003e, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR171\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e171\u003c/span\u003e]. Prior research has also suggested a dose\u0026ndash;response association between exercise participation and well-being, with regularity and moderate intensity appearing especially important[\u003cspan citationid=\"CR93\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e93\u003c/span\u003e, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR94\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e94\u003c/span\u003e, \u003cspan additionalcitationids=\"CR173\" citationid=\"CR172\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e172\u003c/span\u003e\u0026ndash;\u003cspan citationid=\"CR174\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e174\u003c/span\u003e]. Objective health benefits such as better cardiovascular functioning, improved immunity, and lower obesity risk may also correspond to more positive life evaluations and stronger well-being.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eConsistent with these perspectives, physical activity in the present study showed a significant moderating pattern in the association between anxiety and subjective well-being: higher physical activity was associated with a weaker negative association between anxiety and subjective well-being. This buffering pattern may reflect that physical activity is associated with lower sympathetic overactivation and cortisol responses, less amygdala hyperreactivity to threat-related cues, and more stable positive affect and life satisfaction, thereby corresponding to smaller reductions in well-being at higher levels of anxiety. Physical activity may also be associated with greater satisfaction of basic needs, including autonomy, competence, and relatedness, as well as stronger self-efficacy and experiences of goal attainment, which may support more resilient well-being. In addition, physical activity significantly moderated the direct association between anxiety and emotion regulation. Regular exercise has been associated with better prefrontal functioning and cognitive flexibility, stronger goal-directed attention and executive control, more frequent use of adaptive strategies such as cognitive reappraisal and positive reinterpretation, and less reliance on suppression, avoidance, and rumination. Exercise has also been linked to improved prefrontal\u0026ndash;amygdala coupling and higher heart rate variability, which may correspond to less pronounced anxiety-related difficulties in emotion regulation and more stable emotional recovery under highly stressful conditions such as examinations. Overall, physical activity appears to function as a protective correlate by being associated with higher subjective well-being and by weakening the negative associations of anxiety with both subjective well-being and emotion regulation, thus supporting the proposed moderation hypothesis (H3).\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eLimitations and Future Directions\u003c/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSeveral methodological limitations should be acknowledged. First, the cross-sectional design does not allow definitive causal conclusions regarding directionality. The observed chained associations may also reflect reverse causality or the influence of unmeasured confounding variables. Second, all variables were measured through self-report, which introduces the possibility of shared-source bias. Although procedural remedies such as anonymous administration and Harman\u0026rsquo;s single-factor test with the first factor below 40% were applied, common method bias cannot be completely excluded, and shared method variance may have increased the observed associations.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eIn addition, because the correlation between subjective well-being and emotion regulation was relatively high, collinearity diagnostics were conducted. The variance inflation factor values ranged from 2.562 to 4.992, which are within an acceptable range and indicate that multicollinearity did not substantially affect the regression analyses. Even so, future studies should include more diverse data sources, such as teacher reports, peer reports, and physiological indicators, in order to reduce the influence of self-report bias and further verify the observed relationships.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eWith regard to physical activity assessment, this study used the PARS-3 scale. Although PARS-3 provides a useful quantitative index of physical activity, including intensity, duration, and frequency, it does not capture qualitative aspects of exercise, such as activity type, social and physical context, or the subjective quality of participation. These qualitative dimensions may influence psychological processes and may also shape the observed moderating effects. Therefore, future studies should adopt longitudinal designs or experimental interventions to clarify temporal order and causal pathways. The integration of multi-source and multi-method data, such as wearable monitoring, peer or teacher ratings, and ecological momentary assessment, may further help reduce common method bias. More fine-grained approaches, for example combining activity logs with qualitative interviews, could also help determine whether different exercise types, contexts, and subjective experiences are differentially associated with well-being and emotion regulation, thereby moving the field from showing whether variables are related to clarifying how and why physical activity may confer mental health benefits.\u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"Conclusions","content":"\u003cp\u003eThis study examined the associations among anxiety, emotion regulation, subjective well-being, and physical activity in a large sample of middle school students. The findings indicated that anxiety was negatively associated with emotion regulation and that subjective well-being statistically mediated this association. In addition, physical activity moderated both the association between anxiety and subjective well-being and the direct association between anxiety and emotion regulation, such that higher physical activity corresponded to weaker negative associations.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eFrom a theoretical perspective, these results extend existing frameworks of adolescent emotional health and school adjustment by highlighting subjective well-being and regular physical activity as correlates linked to adolescents\u0026rsquo; psychological functioning and social adaptation. In practical terms, coordinated support from schools and families may contribute to adolescent mental health. Emotion management training and counseling may be useful for students with higher anxiety and lower well-being, whereas school physical education programs and extracurricular activities may help encourage regular moderate-intensity exercise and support the development of stable exercise habits. Future interventions may benefit from integrating psychological skills training, enhancement of well-being, and exercise prescriptions into a coherent multi-component framework that addresses psychological, physiological, and social determinants and provides sustained support for healthy adolescent development.\u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"Declarations","content":" \u003cp\u003e \u003cstrong\u003eConflict of Interest:\u003c/strong\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cem\u003eThe authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest\u003c/em\u003e.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/p\u003e\u003ch2\u003eFunding\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eThis research received no external funding. No specific grant from any funding agency in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors was received.\u003c/p\u003e\u003ch2\u003eAuthor Contribution\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003e*Initials refer to authors as follows: W.X., Wanchun Xue; J.Z., Jianhua Zhang; B.Z., Bo Zheng.*\u003c/p\u003e\u003ch2\u003eAcknowledgments\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cem\u003eThe authors thank Jishou University (School of Physical Education) for institutional support.\u003c/em\u003e \u003c/p\u003e\u003ch2\u003eData Availability\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eAll data supporting the findings of this study are available within the paper and its Supplementary Information.\u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"References","content":"\u003col\u003e\u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eUddin, L. Q. \u0026amp; De Los Reyes, A. Developmental considerations for understanding perceptions and impacts of identity-related differences: focusing on adolescence. \u003cem\u003eBiol. Psychiatry Cogn. Neurosci. 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Psychol.\u003c/em\u003e \u003cb\u003e83\u003c/b\u003e, 101864. \u003cspan class=\"ExternalRef\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"RefSource\"\u003ehttps://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvp.2022.101864\u003c/span\u003e\u003cspan address=\"10.1016/j.jenvp.2022.101864\" targettype=\"DOI\" class=\"RefTarget\"\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e (2022).\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\u003c/ol\u003e"}],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":true,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":false,"hideJournal":false,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":false,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":false,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":false,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"scientific-reports","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"externalIdentity":"scirep","sideBox":"Learn more about [Scientific Reports](http://www.nature.com/srep/)","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"","title":"Scientific Reports","twitterHandle":"","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":true,"editorialSystem":"stoa","reportingPortfolio":"Scientific Reports","inReviewEnabled":true,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true},"keywords":"middle school students, anxiety, subjective well-being, emotion regulation, physical activity, moderated mediation model","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-9246910/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-9246910/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"\u003ch2\u003eBackground and Objectives:\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eAnxiety has been widely linked to adolescents\u0026rsquo; emotional functioning, yet the mechanism through which anxiety is associated with emotion regulation remains insufficiently clear, particularly regarding the roles of subjective well-being and physical activity. This study aimed to construct a moderated mediation model to examine whether anxiety is associated with emotion regulation through subjective well-being and whether physical activity moderates the anxiety-subjective well-being pathway and the direct anxiety-emotion regulation pathway.\u003c/p\u003e\u003ch2\u003eMethods\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eUsing convenience sampling, a cross-sectional self-report survey was conducted in June 2025 among 2,500 middle school students. After data screening, 2,354 valid questionnaires were retained, including 1,098 boys and 1,256 girls. Anxiety, subjective well-being, emotion regulation, and physical activity were assessed. Pearson correlation analysis was first conducted to examine bivariate associations, followed by moderated mediation analyses using the SPSS PROCESS macro (Models 4 and 8).\u003c/p\u003e\u003ch2\u003eResults\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eAnxiety was significantly and negatively associated with emotion regulation, and this association was partially mediated by subjective well-being. Anxiety was also significantly and negatively associated with subjective well-being, whereas subjective well-being was significantly and positively associated with emotion regulation. In addition, physical activity significantly moderated both the anxiety-subjective well-being pathway and the direct anxiety-emotion regulation pathway.\u003c/p\u003e\u003ch2\u003eConclusions\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eThese findings suggest that anxiety is associated with adolescents\u0026rsquo; emotion regulation both directly and indirectly through subjective well-being, and that physical activity plays an important moderating role in this process. The study provides evidence for understanding emotional adjustment in middle school students and offers practical implications for school- and family-based mental health promotion.\u003c/p\u003e","manuscriptTitle":"Anxiety and Emotion Regulation in Middle School Students: Subjective Well-Being as a Mediator and Physical Activity as a Buffer","msid":"","msnumber":"","nonDraftVersions":[{"code":1,"date":"2026-04-23 10:17:23","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-9246910/v1","editorialEvents":[{"type":"communityComments","content":0},{"type":"decision","content":"Revision requested","date":"2026-05-18T18:47:32+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorInvitedReview","content":"","date":"2026-05-09T05:54:22+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorInvitedReview","content":"","date":"2026-05-04T15:38:51+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewerAgreed","content":"42387644006611896214254246098014048199","date":"2026-05-04T02:03:44+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewerAgreed","content":"312046709842118162457895159720722437438","date":"2026-05-03T06:11:16+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewerAgreed","content":"239217674571856038703145045139927253159","date":"2026-04-24T07:36:29+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewersInvited","content":"","date":"2026-04-15T07:15:58+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorInvited","content":"","date":"2026-04-13T18:21:01+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorAssigned","content":"","date":"2026-04-06T18:03:54+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"checksComplete","content":"","date":"2026-04-03T12:28:51+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"submitted","content":"Scientific Reports","date":"2026-04-03T12:21:51+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""}],"status":"published","journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"scientific-reports","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"externalIdentity":"scirep","sideBox":"Learn more about [Scientific Reports](http://www.nature.com/srep/)","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"","title":"Scientific Reports","twitterHandle":"","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":true,"editorialSystem":"stoa","reportingPortfolio":"Scientific Reports","inReviewEnabled":true,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true}}],"origin":"","ownerIdentity":"014051d1-7a8e-4ca0-b1e2-fea57d21cdd7","owner":[],"postedDate":"April 23rd, 2026","published":true,"recentEditorialEvents":[{"type":"decision","content":"Revision requested","date":"2026-05-18T18:47:32+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorInvitedReview","content":"","date":"2026-05-09T05:54:22+00:00","index":67,"fulltext":""},{"type":"editorInvitedReview","content":"","date":"2026-05-04T15:38:51+00:00","index":65,"fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewerAgreed","content":"42387644006611896214254246098014048199","date":"2026-05-04T02:03:44+00:00","index":64,"fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewerAgreed","content":"312046709842118162457895159720722437438","date":"2026-05-03T06:11:16+00:00","index":62,"fulltext":""}],"rejectedJournal":[],"revision":"","amendment":"","status":"in-revision","subjectAreas":[{"id":66714404,"name":"Health sciences/Health care"},{"id":66714405,"name":"Biological sciences/Psychology"},{"id":66714406,"name":"Social science/Psychology"}],"tags":[],"updatedAt":"2026-05-18T18:53:59+00:00","versionOfRecord":[],"versionCreatedAt":"2026-04-23 10:17:23","video":"","vorDoi":"","vorDoiUrl":"","workflowStages":[]},"version":"v1","identity":"rs-9246910","journalConfig":"researchsquare"},"__N_SSP":true},"page":"/article/[identity]/[[...version]]","query":{"redirect":"/article/rs-9246910","identity":"rs-9246910","version":["v1"]},"buildId":"XKTyCvWXoU3ODBz1xrDgd","isFallback":false,"isExperimentalCompile":false,"dynamicIds":[84888],"gssp":true,"scriptLoader":[]}