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Effects of Physical Exercise on Post-traumatic Growth of Adolescents After Disaster Stress Events: A Conditional Process Model

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Advancing Sports and Exercise via Innovation

Part of the book series: Lecture Notes in Bioengineering ((LNBE))

Abstract

After the disaster, stress would affect the people in the affected areas for a long time. If psychological relief and rescue were not carried out in time, it may induce a series of physical and mental diseases. Physical exercise is low cost and easy to popularize, which is in line with the characteristics of widespread disaster impact. Therefore, it has important research significance in post-disaster stress psychological rescue. The purpose of this study is to explore the comprehensive effects of adolescent physical exercise and empathy on post-traumatic growth after disaster stress events, investigate the mediating effect of empathy, the regulatory effect of gender and learning stage, and construct a conditional process model. A longitudinal follow-up design was used to investigate 1069 middle school students in Zhengzhou, which were affected by heavy rain in Henan Province. Physical exercise (β = 0.75), empathy (β = 0.79) had a significant positive impact on post-traumatic growth prosocial behavior (P < 0.01); when physical exercise affected post-traumatic growth, the mediating effect of empathy was significant (P < 0.01); in addition, the learning stage regulates the impact of physical exercise on post-traumatic growth, and gender regulates the impact of physical exercise on empathy. After disaster stress events, adolescent physical exercise cannot only directly affect post-traumatic growth, but also indirectly affect post-traumatic growth by inducing empathy; in contrast, physical exercise is more likely to trigger empathy among girls, and the body at this time, education and exercise have a greater impact on high school students’ prosocial behavior.

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Funding of Project

General program of Education of the National Social Science Fund of China: “Research on sports regulation mechanism and intervention scheme of middle school students’ psychological pressure.” (BLA210215), Postgraduate Research and Practice Innovation Program of Jiangsu Province (Project approval No.: KYCX22-3325).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Nantong University, Nantong, 226019, Jiangsu Province, China

    Jin Chen & Hu Lou

Authors
  1. Jin Chen
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  2. Hu Lou
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Hu Lou .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Exercise and Sports Science Programme, School of Health Sciences, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Kubang Kerian, Kelantan, Malaysia

    Garry Kuan

  2. Department of Physical Education and Sport Sciences, National Taiwan Normal University, Taipei City, Taiwan

    Yu-Kai Chang

  3. Victoria University, Melbourne, VLC, Australia

    Tony Morris

  4. University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

    Teo Eng Wah

  5. Centre for Fundamental and Continuing Education, Universiti Malaysia Terengganu, Kuala Nerus, Terengganu, Malaysia

    Rabiu Muazu Musa

  6. School of Robotics, Xi’an Jiaotong—Liverpool University, Suzhou, China

    Anwar P. P. Abdul Majeed

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© 2023 The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd.

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Chen, J., Lou, H. (2023). Effects of Physical Exercise on Post-traumatic Growth of Adolescents After Disaster Stress Events: A Conditional Process Model. In: Kuan, G., Chang, YK., Morris, T., Eng Wah, T., Musa, R.M., P. P. Abdul Majeed, A. (eds) Advancing Sports and Exercise via Innovation. Lecture Notes in Bioengineering. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-19-8159-3_19

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