Social support ecosystems for adolescent physical activity: a mixed-methods evaluation framework and empirical evidence from China

Purpose This study aimed to establish an evaluation system for social support in the field of adolescent physical health promotion and conduct empirical research, so as to provide a theoretical basis for optimizing the social support environment for adolescents’ physical activity. Methods This study employed the Delphi method and the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) to establish the evaluation index system. Subsequently, an empirical application was conducted from March to July 2025, involving 940 participants across six regions in Hunan Province. The Fuzzy Comprehensive Evaluation (FCE) method was utilized to analyze the data. Results The social support evaluation system for adolescent physical health promotion consists of 4 primary indicators (government support, school support, family support, and community support), 19 secondary indicators, and 54 tertiary indicators. Among the primary indicator weights, government support had the largest weight (0.3764), followed by school support (0.2885), family support (0.2442), and community support (0.0909). For social support of adolescent physical health promotion in Hunan Province, government support scored the highest (87.56), reaching a “good” level; school support (80.82) and family support (75.40) were also rated as “good”; and community support had the lowest score (60.35). Conclusion This study underscores the significant role of social support in adolescent physical health promotion. Relatively stable social support for adolescent physical health promotion mainly includes four dimensions: government, school, family, and community. Overall, the level of social support for adolescent physical health promotion in Hunan Province is relatively positive, but structural imbalances and other shortcomings still exist. Future efforts should focus on four key stakeholders, government responsibility: bridging the gap between policy intent and implementation, school implementation: overcoming academic pressure and resource constraints, family participation: reshaping parental perceptions and health literacy, and community extension: revitalizing grassroots support systems, so as to promote the comprehensive physical and mental development of adolescents.