Parental marital conflict and adolescent anxiety: The moderating roles of physical activity and gender.

Objective: This cross‐sectional study examined the impact of parental marital conflict on adolescent anxiety and the moderating roles of physical activity and gender, with additional gender‐stratified analyses to test differences between boys and girls. Methods: A total of 3974 adolescents participa...

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Publicado en:Psychology & Psychotherapy: Theory, Research & Practice Vol. 99; no. 2; pp. 484 - 501
Autores principales: Yan, Chuqi, Liu, Yang, Xiao, Ting, Pan, Mengting, Zhang, Tiancheng, He, Ziling, Gan, Yan
Formato: research tables/charts Journal Article
Publicado: Wiley-Blackwell Jun2026
Acceso en línea:Ver este registro en EBSCOhost
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      dt: Jun2026
      vid: 99
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      pub: Wiley-Blackwell
      place: Malden, Massachusetts
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        10.1111/papt.70037
        193690764
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        atl: Parental marital conflict and adolescent anxiety: The moderating roles of physical activity and gender.
      aug:
        au:
          Yan, Chuqi
          Liu, Yang
          Xiao, Ting
          Pan, Mengting
          Zhang, Tiancheng
          He, Ziling
          Gan, Yan
        affil: School of Sports Science, Jishou University, Jishou, China
      sug:
        subj:
          Parents
          Family Conflict
          Anxiety Risk Factors
          Physical Activity
          Anxiety Prevention and Control
          Sex Factors
          Gender Role
          Risk Assessment
          Human
          China
          Male
          Female
          Adolescence
          Cross Sectional Studies
          Descriptive Statistics
          Unpaired T-Tests
          One-Way Analysis of Variance
          Pearson's Correlation Coefficient
          Data Analysis Software
          Psychological Well-Being
          Mental Health
          Scales
          Adolescent: 13-18 years
          Male
          Female
      ab: Objective: This cross‐sectional study examined the impact of parental marital conflict on adolescent anxiety and the moderating roles of physical activity and gender, with additional gender‐stratified analyses to test differences between boys and girls. Methods: A total of 3974 adolescents participated in this study. Standardized questionnaires assessed perceived parental marital conflict, anxiety symptoms and physical activity behaviours. Stepwise regression analyses were conducted using SPSS to examine associations among parental marital conflict, anxiety, physical activity and gender. Results: The findings revealed that parental marital conflict was positively associated with adolescent anxiety (r =.344, p <.001) and negatively associated with physical activity (r = −.047, p <.01), while physical activity was inversely related to anxiety (r = −.087, p <.001). Moderation analyses showed that physical activity exerted a significant buffering effect on the relationship between parental marital conflict and anxiety (β = −.040, p <.01). Gender also moderated this association (β =.045, p <.01), with girls being more vulnerable to anxiety under parental marital conflict. Gender‐stratified analyses indicated that the buffering effect of physical activity was more pronounced among boys than girls. Conclusion: This study suggested that physical activity may support the alleviation of adolescent anxiety related to parental marital conflict; however, its effects are limited and subject to individual differences. Accordingly, interventions should not rely solely on physical activity but adopt more comprehensive strategies that consider gender differences and psychological vulnerability to promote adolescents' mental health under family stress.
      pubtype: Academic Journal
      doctype:
        research
        tables/charts
        Journal Article
      ougenre: Article
    language: English
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