Longitudinal associations between group-sport-related physical activity and psychological distress in adolescents: the parallel indirect roles of self-esteem and perceived social support

Background This study examined prospective longitudinal associations among group-sport-related physical activity, self-esteem, perceived social support, and psychological distress among adolescents. Methods A three-wave longitudinal study was conducted among 545 Chinese adolescents. Participants had a mean age of 14.9 years (SD = 1.6; range = 12–18 years). Group-sport-related physical activity dose, operationalized with the Physical Activity Rating Scale-3 (PARS-3), was assessed at T1; self-esteem and perceived social support were assessed at T1 and T2 (perceived social support was also assessed at T3); and psychological distress was assessed at T1 and T3. A temporally ordered parallel mediation model with baseline controls was estimated. Because not all constructs were measured at every wave, the design was not a complete panel and did not permit a random-intercept cross-lagged panel model (RI-CLPM). Results Higher T1 PARS-3 scores were prospectively associated with lower T3 psychological distress. Self-esteem and perceived social support at T2 showed significant indirect associations, with the self-esteem pathway being comparatively stronger. Exploratory lagged analyses indicated that T1 self-esteem was associated with T2 perceived social support after accounting for prior support; however, these conventional lagged paths cannot be interpreted as within-person effects. Conclusions Group-sport-related physical activity may be prospectively associated with lower adolescent psychological distress through psychological and social resources. Given the convenience sample, asymmetric measurement schedule, possible residual confounding, and absence of an RI-CLPM, the findings should be interpreted as prospective associations rather than definitive causal mechanisms.