The impact of physical exercise participation on residents’ sense of social justice: an empirical analysis based on the 2023 data of China’s CGSS

Background Elevating residents’ sense of social justice is vital for social stability and harmonious societal development. Existing literature has documented correlations between physical exercise and subjective well-being, social trust and life satisfaction, yet few studies have explored how physical exercise participation aligns with sense of social justice among Chinese residents or unpacked correlational linkages across relevant variables. This cross-sectional analysis addresses this research gap usingdata from a nationwide social survey. Methods Data were sourced from the 2023 Chinese General Social Survey (CGSS 2023), with 5,364 respondents retained after data screening and exclusion of missing, abnormal, and out-of-range observations. Multiple linear regression and structural equation modeling (SEM) with Bootstrap testing were applied to analyze synchronous correlations between physical exercise participation and residents’ sense of social justice, as well as correlated mediating chains involving self-rated physical health and social trust. Demographic, socioeconomic, health and social capital indicators were included as control covariates. Results The average score of residents’ sense of social justice reached 3.30 (above the medium threshold), and 52.49% of respondents held positive evaluations of societal fairness; the sample-wide physical exercise participation rate stood at 57.11%. After accounting for all control variables, physical exercise participation displayed significant positive correlations with sense of social justice, self-rated physical health and social trust. Both self-rated physical health and social trust were positively correlated with sense of social justice. Bootstrap tests confirmed two independent correlated mediating linkages and one serial correlated mediating chain connecting exercise participation and sense of social justice via physical health and social trust. Conclusion Physical exercise participation was positively associated with residents’ sense of social justice. The findings further suggest that physical health status and social trust may help explain the observed association between exercise participation and sense of social justice, highlighting the potential interplay among exercise, health, social relationships, and fairness perceptions. These results underscore the value of considering physical well-being and social trust alongside public fitness participation when seeking to understand residents’ perceptions of sense of social justice. Given the cross-sectional nature of the data, however, the observed relationships should be interpreted as associations rather than causal effects.