Perceived parental emotional warmth and academic burnout in physical education pre-service teachers: the chain mediating roles of physical activity and smartphone addiction

Objective Academic burnout is a prominent challenge for physical education pre-service teachers facing dual pressures of academic study and physical training. This study aimed to examine the statistical association between perceived parental emotional warmth and academic burnout. Guided by self-determination theory and the behavioral substitution perspective, we also explored the chain mediating pathways involving physical activity and smartphone addiction to provide an integrated theoretical framework. Methods A cross-sectional design was adopted. In December 2025, a stratified sample of 1,192 physical education pre-service teachers from 15 Chinese provinces completed the S-EMBU (perceived parental emotional warmth), Physical Activity Scale, SAS-SV, and ALBI. Data were analyzed using PROCESS Model 6 in SPSS 25.0 with 5,000 bootstrap resamples. Results Correlation analysis showed all variables significantly intercorrelated. After controlling for gender and grade, the chain mediation model was supported. Perceived parental emotional warmth showed a direct negative statistical association with academic burnout and was also linked via three indirect pathways: (1) physical activity alone (β = −0.290, 95% CI [−0.323, −0.257]); (2) smartphone addiction alone (β = −0.026, 95% CI [−0.040, −0.012]); and (3) the sequential pathway via physical activity then smartphone addiction (β = −0.066, 95% CI [−0.080, −0.054]). Conclusion Perceived parental emotional warmth is associated with lower academic burnout among physical education pre-service teachers, partially through a behavioral sequence of increased physical activity and reduced smartphone addiction. Due to the cross-sectional design, causal inferences cannot be drawn. Nevertheless, these findings suggest perceived parental emotional warmth may associate with academic outcomes through a dynamic process associated with constructive behaviors and reduced risky behaviors. The results provide a novel behavioral-ecological perspective and may inform the development of future interventions combining family support, health behavior promotion, and digital literacy training.