Yang Wenli, Xiang Zubing, Hu Hong, Zheng Haoyuan, Zhao Xin
School of Physical Education, Chongqing University, Chongqing, China.
Bashu Science City Secondary School, Chongqing, China.
Front Public Health. 2025 Feb 26;13:1540968. doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2025.1540968. eCollection 2025.
The physical and mental health of adolescents is a crucial cornerstone for social development. Therefore, this study aimed to examine whether family socioeconomic status made a difference in Chinese teenage mental and physical health and to disentangle the mediating role of parental involvement in youth sports in the process in which family socioeconomic status influenced adolescent health.
A quantitative analysis used a sample of approximately 11,000 adolescents from Chinese middle schools. The research employed structural equation modelling (SEM) to explore the relationships among family socioeconomic status, parental involvement in youth sports, and adolescent mental and physical health.
The findings indicated that both family socioeconomic status and parental involvement in youth sports significantly positively predict levels of adolescents' physical health and mental health. Further analysis revealed that parental involvement in youth sports mediated the relationship between family socioeconomic status and adolescent health.
It is evident that parental involvement in youth sports plays a crucial role in adolescent mental and physical health. Regardless of family socioeconomic status, parents should actively engage in sports activities with their children, which is not only an important way to promote adolescents' health but also a manifestation of realizing health equity.
青少年的身心健康是社会发展的关键基石。因此，本研究旨在探讨家庭社会经济地位是否对中国青少年的身心健康产生影响，并厘清父母参与青少年体育活动在家庭社会经济地位影响青少年健康过程中的中介作用。
定量分析采用了来自中国中学的约11000名青少年样本。该研究运用结构方程模型（SEM）来探究家庭社会经济地位、父母参与青少年体育活动与青少年身心健康之间的关系。
研究结果表明，家庭社会经济地位和父母参与青少年体育活动均能显著正向预测青少年的身体健康和心理健康水平。进一步分析显示，父母参与青少年体育活动在家庭社会经济地位与青少年健康之间起中介作用。
显然，父母参与青少年体育活动对青少年的身心健康起着至关重要的作用。无论家庭社会经济地位如何，父母都应积极与孩子一起参与体育活动，这不仅是促进青少年健康的重要方式，也是实现健康公平的体现。
