Effect of physical exercise on mental health risks among Chinese left-behind children: chained mediating roles of regulatory emotional self-efficacy and psychological sense of school membership

Objective: Left-behind children (LBC) refer to youth aged less than 16 years whose parents have been absent for 6 months or longer. Given the absence of parental affection, these children frequently encounter challenges leading to severe mental health concerns. This study systematically examines the impact of physical exercise on mental health risks among LBC, including potential mediating mechanisms underlying regulatory emotional self-efficacy (RESE) and psychological sense of school membership (PSSM). Methods: The study selected 1,017 junior high students in Henan Province via cluster sampling and conducted a questionnaire survey. Results: Results revealed that physical exercise exhibited a significant negative correlation with mental health risks (r = -0.600, p < 0.01). Physical exercise was significantly and positively associated with RESE (β = 0.521) and PSSM (β = 0.299), and was significantly negatively associated with mental health risks (β = -0.613). RESE and PSSM were significantly and negatively associated with mental health risks. The total indirect effect was -0.075, accounting for 12.21% of the total effect. Conclusion: These results showed that physical exercise was not only directly associated with lower mental health risks but also showed indirect effects through RESE and PSSM.