The effect of exercise adherence on life satisfaction of rural left-behind children：the chain mediation of school bullying and loneliness

doi:10.21203/rs.3.rs-4824967/v1

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Research Article

The effect of exercise adherence on life satisfaction of rural left-behind children：the chain mediation of school bullying and loneliness

https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-4824967/v1

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Purpose The objective of this study is to examine the influence of exercise adherence on the life satisfaction of rural left-behind children and to investigate the mediating effects of school bullying and loneliness. The findings will provide a theoretical and practical foundation for enhancing the life satisfaction of rural left-behind children through exercise adherence.

Methods A total of 472 left-behind children in five rural primary and middle schools in Hubei Province were surveyed using the Exercise Adherence Scale (SEA), Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS), Victim Questionnaire(VQ), and Children's Loneliness Scale (CLS). The relevant data were then subjected to statistical and analytical analysis using the correlation analysis method, the multiple regression analysis method, and the Bootstrap test method.

Results The relationship between the four variables of exercise adherence, school bullying, loneliness, and life satisfaction among rural left-behind children was significant, and the

results of multiple regression analysis showed that exercise adherence significantly and positively predicted life satisfaction (β = 0.451, P < 0.01); exercise adherence had a significant negative predictive effect on school bullying (β=-0.258, P < 0.01) and loneliness (β=-0.329, P < 0.01) negatively predicted significantly, school bullying positively predicted loneliness significantly (β = 0.269, P < 0.01), school bullying negatively predicted life satisfaction significantly (β=-0.098, P < 0.05); and loneliness negatively predicted life satisfaction significantly (β=-0.415, P < 0.01).Bootstrap test

results show that:The direct effect of exercise adherence on the life satisfaction of rural left-behind children is significant, with an effect value of 0.436, and the proportion of the direct effect is 57.80%; the mediating effect of school bullying between exercise adherence and life satisfaction is significant, with an effect value of 0.042, and the proportion of the mediating effect is 5.62%; the mediating effect of loneliness between exercise adherence and life satisfaction is significant, with an effect value of 0.228, and the percentage of mediation effect is 30.20%; the chain mediation effect of school bullying and loneliness between exercise adherence and life satisfaction is significant, the effect value is 0.048, and the percentage of mediation effect is 6.82%, and the percentage of indirect effect is 43.20%.

Conclusion Exercise adherence can enhance life satisfaction of rural left-behind children by reducing the incidence of school bullying and loneliness.

Exercise adherence

Rural left-behind children

School bullying

Loneliness

Life satisfaction

Life satisfaction can be defined as an individual's overall cognitive assessment of their own life situation, typically over an extended period of time in accordance with personal criteria[1]. It represents a cognitive component of an individual's subjective sense of well-being and is an important psychological variable during the developmental period of children and adolescents[2]. Furthermore, it is closely related to the level of psychological well-being, emotions and behaviors observed in children and adolescents [3, 4]. Finally, it serves as an important indicator for measuring the quality of people's lives and livelihoods, as well as their overall well-being. It is an important indicator. The term "rural left-behind children" refers to children residing in rural areas who are left in their hometowns due to the absence of one or both parents, who have departed for work. These children are typically supervised by one of their parents and/or other family members, including grandparents, relatives, and neighbors. For children over the age of six and under the age of 16[5], the separation of parents and children caused by left-behinds exposes children to a series of mental health problems[6]. The rural left-behind children, as a "special" group emerging from the process of urbanization, are closely related to the mental health level of children and adolescents. As a distinctive cohort emerging in the context of urbanization, children left behind in rural areas frequently encounter diverse social risks due to the absence of familial and social safeguards, rendering them more susceptible to physical and mental harm. Consequently, it is imperative to investigate the life satisfaction of this cohort.

The theoretical basis of life satisfaction encompasses a range of subject areas, primarily including psychology, sociology, economics, and others. These include positive psychology, self-determination theory, the hierarchy of needs theory, social capital theory, and others. The core idea is to examine the individual's comprehensive evaluation of the quality of life and the factors that influence it. Gilman (2003) conducted a study on children and adolescents' life satisfaction, noting that children's life satisfaction is a complex concept, affected by numerous factors, including family, school, social environment, religious beliefs, and others[7]. Team games have been demonstrated to be an effective method of improving students' life satisfaction. [8] Students' life satisfaction and problem-solving abilities are enhanced when they engage in regular physical activity[9]. Consequently, the relationship between exercise adherence and life satisfaction has attracted significant attention from scholars. Exercise adherence can be defined as an individual's behavioral tendency to demonstrate persistence, continuity, and effort in the context of physical exercise[10]. A number of studies have demonstrated a positive correlation between extracurricular physical exercise and life satisfaction (Pengpid et al., 2019; Zullig et al., 2011)[11, 12]. In 2011, it was demonstrated that exercise adherence has a facilitating effect on life satisfaction[13, 14]. These findings are based on self-efficacy theory and the social support theory. The aforementioned studies employed the efficacy theory and the social support theory to investigate the underlying mechanisms. They concluded that exercise perseverance can enhance students' self-confidence and mental toughness, improve self-efficacy, and facilitate the formation of individual multidimensional social networks, which in turn leads to an improvement in life satisfaction. However, the aforementioned results did not examine the specific group of rural left-behind children as a distinct research subject. It is therefore pertinent to question whether children in unique family environments exhibit the same mechanisms of action. In light of this, the present study proposes hypothesis H1: Exercise adherence significantly predicts life satisfaction among rural left-behind children.

The term "school bullying" encompasses two distinct forms: bullying others in schools and bullying in schools. In this study, the focus is on the latter. School bullying is defined as the victim being subjected to intentional, repeated, and persistent negative behaviors by one or more students, resulting in physical and psychological injuries or maladjustment[15]. School bullying is a pervasive phenomenon among the adolescent population, and it has been identified as a significant global problem. The aforementioned definition of school bullying is supported by the following evidence: As reported by UNICEF, approximately 50% of students aged 13–15 globally have been subjected to bullying within the past three months of the survey [16], with nearly 30% of students in China experiencing similar incidents within the same period [17]. Children left behind in rural areas, a group that has emerged in the process of urbanisation, are frequently exposed to various social risks due to the lack of family and social protection, rendering them more vulnerable to physical and mental harm[18]. Furthermore, research indicates that left-behind children are more likely to be subjected to bullying in schools than non-left-behind children[19]. Ford R et al. (2014). Eyuboglu M et al. (2021) employed the stress process model as a theoretical foundation, noting that school bullying can function as a chronic stressor, persistently impacting an individual's emotional state and mental health. This, in turn, may precipitate children's anxiety, depression, low self-esteem, suicidal ideation, and other psychological issues [20, 21]. Additionally, the researchers postulated that school bullying represents a pivotal and pervasive factor influencing children's life satisfaction.Wu Zhenghui et al. (2023), based on social support theory, argued that bullied individuals can be trained in social skills, provided with social support, etc., to improve their social skills and help-seeking ability, etc. in order to reduce the risk of bullying [22]. Exercise adherence can reduce the possibility of school bullying through several mechanisms such as occupying leisure time and establishing peer relationships [23], while improving mental toughness, self-confidence, self-efficacy, etc., can be used as a psychological protection mechanism to effectively restrain and control self-behaviour and reduce bullying in schools [24], and the benefits of appropriate physical exercise of less than one hour to reduce bullying in adolescent schools are even more obvious [25]. Based on the above, hypothesis H2: School bullying mediates the relationship between exercise adherence and life satisfaction of rural left-behind children is proposed.

Loneliness is a pessimistic, negative emotional experience caused by the discrepancy between an individual's desired level of interpersonal relationships and the perceived actual level of interpersonal relationships [26]. Interpersonal theory suggests that individuals who experience loneliness during social interaction can be triggered by psychological problems such as depression and social withdrawal, and can affect subsequent social behaviour [27]. Loneliness can have a negative impact on life satisfaction and has received extensive attention from researchers. As the emotional needs of left-behind children are not met due to the absence of their parents, it is possible to raise the level of loneliness, therefore, loneliness is one of the common emotional experiences of rural left-behind children [28].Salimi (2011) argued that: loneliness may predict a decline in life satisfaction [29].Matthews T, (2019) argues that loneliness is equally present in young people regardless of gender and class [30]. Prolonged loneliness reduces an individual's mental health, and good or bad mental health directly affects life satisfaction, and the two are closely related. Therefore, it is important to explore the role mechanism between loneliness and life satisfaction of left-behind children to improve their mental health and life satisfaction. Some studies have shown that under the intervention of long-term physical exercise, there is a significant reduction in the emotion of loneliness produced by left-behind children, and at the same time, it can also effectively reduce and prevent the occurrence of psychological diseases [31]. The correlation between sports participation, interpersonal communication and loneliness among left-behind junior high school students is significant, and exercise participation time, intensity, frequency, and exercise form can negatively predict the level of loneliness[32].Only when physical activity is experienced as something that young people enjoy doing does it reduce loneliness in the subsequent moment [33], Creese B, Khan Z, Henley W, et al. (2021) concluded that adherence to physical activity improves the mental health of middle-aged and older adults and reduces individual loneliness [34]. It can be seen that exercise adherence has the efficacy of improving the loneliness of exercise subjects in different populations, and social integration theory suggests that individuals' participation in social activities enhances their social connectedness and sense of belonging. Physical exercise, especially team sports and group activities, provides individuals with opportunities to interact with others and increase social networks, thus reducing loneliness. Based on the above research, hypothesis H3 is proposed: loneliness mediates the relationship between exercise adherence and life satisfaction of rural left-behind children.

Putra, G.N.E (2020), Schnepf, S.V (2023), et al, using cross-sectional studies [35, 36], Matthews, T, Segrin, C, et al, using prospective studies [37, 38], confirmed the existence of a significant positive correlation between bullying and loneliness in schools, i.e., the higher the individual's level of bullying the stronger the loneliness. Loneliness, as a negative emotional response accompanied by helplessness [39], predicts life satisfaction in different populations, as confirmed by relevant studies. Therefore, this study further proposes the hypothesis H4: School bullying and loneliness among left-behind children have a chain-mediated effect in the process of exercise adherence affecting life satisfaction. The hypothesis model of this study is shown in Fig. 1.

Objects of study

Left-behind children for the subjects were defined as children aged 16 years and younger who were separated from both or one parent for more than three consecutive months when both or one parent went out to work, or one parent went out to work, and were in the custody of grandparents, relatives or friends[40]. A stratified whole cluster random sampling method was used to survey 592 junior high school students and upper primary school students from five rural general junior high schools and rural general primary schools in Hubei Province from 1 December 2023 to 15 December 2023 by distributing paper questionnaires. A total of 592 scales were distributed, 592 were recovered, 79 invalid scales (scales not filled out by left-behind children) were excluded, and finally 551 scales were eligible for subjects, for: (1) more than 20% of the paper-based scales were omitted from the questionnaire; (2) the proportion of the same number appearing in the answers of a single scale was more than 70%; and (3) Z-values were calculated between each dimension, and scales with standardized values of more than ±3 were excluded, and finally 472 effective scales were obtained,with an effective recovery rate of 85.66%. Among them, 248 (52.54%) were boys and 224 (47.46%) were girls; 81 (17.16%) were fifth-grade students, 87 (18.43%) were sixth-grade students, 118 (25%) were seventh-grade students, 94 (19.92%) were eighth-grade students, and 92 (19.49%) were ninth-grade students, as shown in Table 1.

Table 1 Distribution of subjects

		Quorum	Proportions
Distinguishing between the sexes	Male	248	52.54 %
Distinguishing between the sexes	Women	224	47.46%
Age	10	8	1.69 %
	11	46	9.75%
	12	127	26.91 %
	13	91	19.28 %
	14	100	21.19 %
	15	65	13.77 %
	16	34	7.20 %
Grade	Fifth grade	81	17.16 %
	Sixth grade	87	18.43 %
	Seventh grade	118	25.00 %
	Eighth grade	94	19.92 %
	Ninth grade	92	19.49 %

Measuring tools

Scale of Exercise Adherence (SEA)

Revision of the Adolescent Outdoor Exercise Adherence Scale (6 questions) by Weina Liu et al.[41]. A 5-point Likert scale was used, with "completely disagree = 1 point" and "completely agree = 5 points", and the total score was added up to indicate the level of adherence to exercise. When revising the scale, core words such as "outdoor exercise" and "sport" were revised to "physical exercise" (e.g., participating in exercise has become a habit for me), and a reverse question was designed. (It is okay for me to give up physical activity). The Cronbach's α of the Exercise Adherence Scale was 0.881, which indicated that the scale had high reliability and met the statistical requirements.

Scales to Measure Satisfaction with Life (SWLS)

The Chinese version of the Satisfaction With Life Scale (SWLS)[42] was used, with a total of 5 items (e.g., "My life is close to my ideal in most aspects"), and a Likert-7 scale, with 1 indicating " not at all", and 7 means "completely meets". The mean score for all items was calculated, with higher scores representing higher levels of life satisfaction. The Cronbach's a of the Life Satisfaction Scale is 0.886, the reliability of the scale is high and meets the statistical requirements.

Victim Questionnaire (VQ)

The Victim Questionnaire (VQ) developed by Olweus (1993)[43]and revised by Zhang Wenxin (2002)[44] was used to assess bullying in schools. It consists of seven items, scored on a 5-point Likert scale from "none=0" to "5 or more times=4", and the mean score of the items was calculated, with higher mean values indicating more severe bullying in schools. In this study, the Cronbach's a of the scale in this measurement was 0.859, which indicated that the scale had high reliability and met the statistical requirements.

Children^，s Loneliness Scale (CLS)

The Student Loneliness Dimension of the Children's Loneliness Scale (CLS)[45] was used, which consists of 6 questions scored on a 5-point Likert scale, ranging inversely from "fits perfectly = 5 points" to "doesn't fit at all = 1 point". The Cronbach's alpha for the students' loneliness scale in this study was 0.939, which indicates that the scale has high reliability and meets the statistical requirements.

The skewness values of the variables ranged from -0.27 to 1.60 and the kurtosis values ranged from -0.12 to 3.57, with the absolute values of skewness being less than 3 and the absolute values of kurtosis being less than 7[46], indicating that the variables approximately obeyed a normal distribution. Therefore, parametric tests were used for all subsequent statistical analyses of the data.

Statistical methods

Valid data were imported into SPSS 26.0 statistical software using Pearson correlation analysis, regression analysis and chained mediation analysis. Chained mediation analysis was tested using Boot Strap. When analyzing the indirect effects of the variables using the Process (version 4.1) plug-in, the following settings were used: model #6 was used; X=exercise adherence, M1=school bullying, M2=loneliness, Y=life satisfaction; Boot Strap Samples=5000.

Common method bias test

The data used in the study were from paper-based questionnaire tests, and there is a possibility of common method bias problem. Harman's one-way model was used to test the common method bias problem, and the results showed that the exploratory factor analysis extracted a total of six factors with eigenvalues greater than 1, and the first factor explained 36.40% of the variance, which was lower than the critical value of 40%[47] , indicating that the common method bias problem was not serious.

Mean, standard deviation and correlation matrix for each variable

Table 2 Descriptive statistics and correlation coefficients of variables

	M±SD	1	2	3	4	5	6	7
Grade 1	3.060±1.360	1
2 Gender	1.470±0.500	-0.009	1
3 Age	13.250±1.449	0.908**	-0.048	1
4 Exercise Persistence	3.210±0.921	-0.183**	-.094*	-0.133**	1
5 Bullying in school	1.500±0.780	-0.130**	-0.132**	-0.144**	-0.196**	1
6 Loneliness	2.190±1.125	0.101*	-0.012	0.059	-0.389**	0.339**	1
7 Life satisfaction	4.111±1.522	-0.183**	0.041	-0.143**	0.482**	-0.279**	-0.539**	1

Note: Male = 1, female = 0. ** indicates p<0.01, * indicates p<0.05. Same below.

Correlation analyses of the variables in this study showed (see Table 2) that life satisfaction of rural left-behind children was significantly positively correlated with exercise adherence (r=0.482); life satisfaction was significantly negatively correlated with school bullying (r=-0.279) and loneliness (r=-0.539); loneliness was significantly negatively correlated with exercise adherence (r=-0.389) and significantly positively correlated with school bullying (r=0.339); school bullying and school adherence (r=-0.196); The level of correlation between the variables suggests that further statistical analyses are appropriate. In addition, the correlation analyses showed that gender, grade, and age were correlated with the variables of interest; therefore, gender, grade, and age of rural left-behind children were used as covariates in this study to exclude their effects on the results of the subsequent study.

Chain mediation effect test of school bullying and loneliness between exercise adherence and life satisfaction

Table 3 Mediation model regression analysis

Implicit variable	Independent variable	R	R2	F	β	t	P
Life satisfaction		0.478	0.229	30.524
	Distinguishing between the sexes				0.080	1.832	0.068
	Age				0.097	0.911	0.363
	Grade				-0.185	-1.724	0.085
	Exercise adherence				0.451	10.180	0.000
School bullying		0.315	0.099	11.320
	Distinguishing between the sexes				-0.157	-3.294	0.001
	Age				-0.200	-1.737	0.083
	Grade				0.020	0.169	0.866
	Exercise adherence				-0.258	-5.389	0.000
Loneliness		0.480	0.231	24.639
	Distinguishing between the sexes				-0.022	-0.486	0.627
	Age				-0.060	-0.558	0.577
	Grade				0.129	1.204	0.229
	Exercise adherence				-0.329	-7.170	0.000
	School bullying				0.269	5.902	0.000
Life satisfaction		0.633	0.401	45.642
	Distinguishing between the sexes				0.039	0.984	0.326
	Age				0.030	0.322	0.748
	Grade				-0.127	-1.341	0.181
	Exercise adherence				0.261	6.067	0.000
	School bullying				-0.098	-2.342	0.020
	Loneliness				-0.415	-9.508	0.000

Table 4 Proportion of mediating effects of school bullying and loneliness

Impact pathways	efficiency value	standard error	BootCI lower limit	BootCI cap	Effect size (%)
Aggregate effect	0.754	0.074	0.609	0.900	100.00 %
Direct effect	0.436	0.072	0.295	0.577	57.80%
Aggregate intermediary effect	0.318	0.018	0.223	0.414	42.20%
Exercise adherence - School bullying - Life satisfaction (Ind1)	0.042	0.018	0.011	0.080	5.62%
Exercise adherence - Loneliness - Life satisfaction (Ind2)	0.228	0.049	0.141	0.320	30.20 %
Exercise adherence - School bullying - Loneliness - Life satisfaction (Ind3)	0.048	0.015	0.024	0.081	6.38 %

Using Model 6 in the SPSS plug-in Process macro, the mediating effects of school bullying and loneliness between exercise adherence and life satisfaction of rural left-behind children were examined controlling for gender, grade, and age, and the relevant results are shown in Table 3. exercise adherence was a significant positive predictor of life satisfaction of rural left-behind children (β=0.451, t=10.180, P<0.01), and after putting in the mediator variables (school bullying and loneliness), the positive predictive effect of exercise persistence on life satisfaction remained significant (β=0.261, t=6.067, P<0.01); the positive predictive effect of exercise persistence on school bullying (β=-0.258, t=-5.389, P<0.01) and loneliness ( β=-0.329, t=-7.170, P<0.01) negatively predicted significantly, school bullying positively predicted loneliness (β=0.269, t=5.902, P<0.01), and school bullying negatively predicted life satisfaction (β=-0.098, t=-2.342, P<0.05); Loneliness has a significant negative predictive effect on life satisfaction (β=-0.415, t=-9.508, P<0.01), and based on the above results, the chain mediation model was constructed as shown in Figure 2.

In addition, Bootstrap mediation effect test was conducted, and the results are shown in Table 4, in terms of direct effect, the Bootstrap 95% confidence interval of the direct path of "Exercise persistence - Life satisfaction" is [0.295, 0.577], which doesn't contain 0, indicating that exercise persistence has a significant effect on the life satisfaction of rural left-behind children, and the effect value is 0.436, and the proportion of direct effect is 57.80%. In terms of the mediating effect, the Bootstrap 95% confidence interval of the path of "Exercise persistence - School bullying - Life satisfaction" is [0.011, 0.080], not including 0, indicating that the mediating effect of school bullying on rural left-behind children's life satisfaction is significant, with the effect value of 0.042, and the percentage of mediating effect is 5.62%;The Bootstrap 95% confidence interval for the path of "Exercise adherence - Loneliness - Life satisfaction" is [0.141, 0.320], which does not include 0, indicating that the mediating effect of loneliness of rural left-behind children is significant in the relationship between exercise adherence and life satisfaction, with the effect value of 0.228, and the ratio of the mediating effect is 30.20%;Bootstrap 95% confidence interval for the pathway of "Exercise adherence - School bullying - Loneliness - Life satisfaction" is [0.024, 0.081], not including 0, indicating that there is a significant mediating effect of the chain between exercise adherence and life satisfaction for rural left-behind children's bullying and loneliness, with an effect value of 0.048, and a mediation effect of 6.82%.

This study aims to address the issue of the mechanism of exercise adherence affecting the life satisfaction of rural left-behind children, and constructs and verifies the chain mediation model of the relationship between exercise adherence and the life satisfaction of rural left-behind children by introducing the variables of school bullying and loneliness. The results of the study showed that the total effect value of exercise adherence on life satisfaction was 0.754, the direct effect value was 0.436, and the total indirect effect value was 0.318, and the mediating effects of school bullying, loneliness, and the interaction between the two reached the statistical significance level. The results showed that the chain mediation model of the research hypothesis was valid and all four hypotheses were tested.

This study is a positive exploration of improving and increasing the life satisfaction of left-behind children in rural areas, which pays attention to the special group of left-behind children at the research perspective level; enriches the research on the factors and mechanisms influencing life satisfaction at the theoretical research level, and deepens the research results of school sports; and demonstrates the important role of exercise adherence at the practical level, which provides new ideas for cultivating the awareness of lifelong sports, reducing bullying in schools, and lowering the sense of loneliness of left-behind children. It provides new ideas for cultivating lifelong sports awareness, reducing bullying in schools, lowering the sense of loneliness of left-behind children, and improving the life satisfaction of left-behind children.

Relationship between exercise adherence and life satisfaction

This study showed that there was a significant positive correlation between exercise adherence and rural left-behind children's life satisfaction (r = 0.482), and that it positively and significantly predicted life satisfaction, with an effect value of: 0.451, a significant direct effect. The direct predictive effect of exercise adherence on life satisfaction remained significant after the inclusion of the mediating variables school bullying and loneliness. The theory of embodied cognition suggests that there is a strong link between physiological experience and psychological state, and that the state of the body can directly affect the cognitive process of an individual[48, 49]. Physical exercise is an inaccessible and important part of rural left-behind children's lives, and the consumption of energy, the catharsis of emotions during exercise, and the refinement of will quality in long-term physical exercise improve the physical quality of left-behind children, improve bad emotions, reduce anxiety and depression, and reduce the perceived psychological symptoms, thus enhancing positive cognition of the state of life, and life satisfaction is essentially a cognitive appraisal of the quality of life experience by the individual. life satisfaction is essentially an individual's cognitive evaluation of the quality of life experiences. Therefore exercise adherence as a prolonged, regular and sustained physical activity for the purpose of promoting physical and mental health is a behavioural manifestation of psychological characteristics, an individual's awareness and experience of his or her own behavioural abilities and values, and changes in the ability or traits to cope with stress and trauma, which can positively influence life satisfaction[50, 51].

The mediating role of school bullying

It was found that school bullying had a significant mediating effect between exercise adherence and life satisfaction, with an effect value of: 0.042, suggesting that school bullying plays an important role in explaining the influence of exercise adherence on rural left-behind children's life satisfaction. There was a significant negative correlation between exercise adherence and school bullying (r=-0.196), indicating that exercise adherence negatively affects the probability of school bullying among rural left-behind children. The reason for this is that physical exercise is a positive and effective cathartic pathway to irrational activities, which effectively circumvents potential school bullying incidents and thus reduces the probability of school bullying[52]. Physical exercise creates a natural social field for students, especially group sports, which is conducive to the active integration of individuals into the group and the formation of stable peer relationships, and the mutual support of peers provides opportunities and platforms for the emotional exchange, confession, and catharsis among the left-behind children, which reduces the aggression of the students with withdrawn personalities. Participating in aerobic exercise can effectively activate the excitability of the cerebral cortex and improve the individual's executive ability, thus suppressing the potential hidden aggression of left-behind children. Continuous participation in physical exercise can also improve the volume and density of grey matter in the prefrontal brain region of the participants, which can improve the cognition and emotion of rural left-behind children, and thus prevent bullying in schools. In addition, the persistence of exercise can also improve the physical fitness of rural left-behind children, promote the coordination of the body, strengthen the participants' self-confidence in sports, learn to reasonably cope with the adverse events in life and study, effectively avoid and reduce the occurrence of bullying in schools, and enhance the individual's self-esteem level, and there is a significant negative correlation between the degree of bullying in schools and the level of children's self-esteem, and the enhancement of the level of self-esteem of the children can reduce the number of times that they are bullied[53].

This study found that school bullying had a significant negative predictive effect on students' life satisfaction, a result consistent with previous research. Students are prone to emotional and physical consequences of school bullying, which leads to students experiencing poor environmental climate, interpersonal relationships thus affecting the life satisfaction of rural left-behind children at the psychological level. In addition to the emotional and behavioural problems that school bullying brings to students, it may also put the bullied at risk of physical illnesses, such as colds, body aches, dizziness, lack of sleep and other physical problems[54]. What's more, the harm caused by bullying in schools has a certain lagging effect on students. Many victims of bullying have experienced symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder, or even suicidal thoughts and behaviour[55], which seriously affects the life satisfaction of the victims.

The mediating role of loneliness

The present study showed a significant negative mediating effect of loneliness between exercise adherence and life satisfaction with an effect value of

0.228, indicating that loneliness is significant in explaining how exercise adherence affects left-behind children's life satisfaction. There was a significant negative correlation between loneliness and life satisfaction (r=-0.539), indicating that loneliness negatively predicts life satisfaction, and the higher the loneliness, the lower the life satisfaction of left-behind children. Loneliness is a feeling that arises when one is excluded from the system of meaningful integration of oneself with others and groups, and it is an inner experience[56], for rural left-behind children whose interpersonal network is not yet sound, who are far away from their relatives (especially their mothers), who fail to form a good attachment relationship, and who fail to satisfy their attachment needs, the loneliness is even more intense[57]. As a form of social activity for left-behind children, exercise perseverance expands the social relationship network of left-behind children in rural areas, increases the communication and interaction among left-behind children, and the sharing of happiness and joy among left-behind children increases the friendship among individuals, which in turn makes the dependence relationship between left-behind children in rural areas and their relatives "diluted" or "shifted". As a result, the dependency (love) relationship between rural left-behind children and their relatives is "diluted" or "shifted", so that their sense of loneliness decreases, their perception of life becomes more positive and they experience more positive emotions, and they have a higher degree of life satisfaction.

Loneliness is categorized as social loneliness and emotional loneliness, and it is a negative indicator of people's quality of life. Being in a state of loneliness for a long period of time may have a negative impact on an individual's mental health, such as lowering the level of psychological well-being, increasing the sense of isolation and detachment from other people and society, and in the long term it may lead to Individuals may suffer from physical disorders. It is found that most of the adolescents with low loneliness can obtain more social support in the process of social interaction, have a better psychological state, have a higher mental ability to withstand negative events, and have a more positive perspective on problems, so their subjective well-being and life satisfaction are higher[58]. In the present study, loneliness of rural left-behind children was able to significantly negatively predict life satisfaction, confirming the above view. The main reason may be that exercise adherence reduces the social and emotional loneliness of rural left-behind children, which enhances their personal psychological state and improves their life satisfaction.

Chain-mediated effects of bullying and loneliness in schools

The study showed that in addition to the separate mediating effects of school bullying and loneliness between exercise adherence and life satisfaction, they could also have a chain mediating effect between exercise adherence and life satisfaction, with an effect value of 0.048, which is a significant chain mediating effect. Exercise adherence can not only significantly and indirectly predict rural left-behind children's life satisfaction through the separate mediating effects of school bullying and loneliness, but also may jointly affect life satisfaction through the chain mediating effects of school bullying and loneliness, which also proves the value and significance of the two mediating variables for improving and increasing the degree of life satisfaction of rural left-behind children. The main path and internal mechanism is: based on positive psychology and Maslow's needs theory to exercise the sociological, psychological and physiological functions of persistence, that is: personal life satisfaction comes from positive emotional experience, and positive social relationships.

Exercise adherence can shape the external appearance of rural children left behind. Previous studies have found that physical thinness and appearance are also one of the most important factors that lead to individuals being bullied in schools.Exercise adherence promotes physical coordination and improves the physical quality of adolescents, which reduces the probability of being bullied in schools. In addition, exercise adherence promotes the production and release of beta-endorphin, reduces adrenaline and cortisol activities, relieves the internal environment, and makes individuals emotionally stable and less likely to engage in aggressive behaviors, which reduces the probability of bullying in schools. In addition, exercising perseverance can shape the social-emotional ability of rural left-behind children and establish a wider social network, thus reducing the probability of bullying in schools.

The harm caused by bullying in schools is not simply skin-deep, but also has a more lasting and deeper impact on the mind[59]. As rural left-behind children are separated from their parents for a long period of time, they tend to feel more loneliness and anxiety, and on the one hand, they are more vulnerable to bullying in schools than non-left-behind children; on the other hand, their loneliness after being bullied in schools may have a "superimposed" effect, with a more far-reaching impact on their satisfaction with their lives.

Personal life satisfaction comes from positive emotional experiences, social relationships, etc., i.e.: personal life satisfaction is often related to the degree of fulfillment of these needs. Therefore, only by satisfying the needs of rural left-behind children at different levels, such as emotional experience, social relationships, social interaction, personal respect, etc., can their life satisfaction be improved and enhanced, and exercise persistence reduces the probability of school bullying, thus reducing the loneliness of students who suffer from school bullying, enhancing their life satisfaction, and verifying the hypotheses.

Research Shortcomings and Future Prospects

Firstly, this study is a cross-sectional study, exploring predictive outcomes only on the basis of previous relevant studies. Although the relationships between variables explored provide a certain degree of support for empirical research, there is still a need to use longitudinal follow-up experimental interventions to study the causal relationships between variables in depth. Secondly, the measurements in this study were relatively homogeneous, and subsequent research could be supplemented by scientific monitoring of the different physical activity programmes engaged in, the frequency, duration and intensity of exercise, as a complement to exercise adherence. Finally, this study only considered the mediating effects of school bullying and loneliness in the relationship between exercise adherence and life satisfaction among rural left-behind children, but in reality, there may also be mediating variables such as peer relationships, mental toughness, self-efficacy, self-awareness, and physical health, which need to be studied in depth.

Recommendations

(1) At the government level, the group of rural left-behind children has emerged along with China's urbanization process, and is a "product" of the stage of social development. The government should pay great attention to the protection of this "vulnerable" group, and introduce corresponding laws and regulations to protect rural left-behind children from bullying in schools and improve their psychological health and life satisfaction. The government should pay great attention to the protection of this "vulnerable" group, introduce appropriate laws and regulations to protect rural left-behind children from bullying in schools, and improve their psychological health and life satisfaction.

(2) At the school level, schools are the main places where rural left-behind children live and where bullying occurs in schools. School teachers should strengthen students' ideological and moral education and mental health education, identify, guide and care for "problem" students in a timely manner, and strengthen supervision and management of campuses, so as to achieve the two-pronged approach of prevention and management and to protect students' physical and mental health and growth. Growth. In addition, school sports is the students exercise strong body, exercise adherence to form, lifelong sports awareness of the key "position", the school should be sufficient to open a good physical education classes, fully equipped with sports venues, equipment and facilities, and implement a good "church", "Hard practice", "often race", so that students have fitness venues, training guidance, competition with peers, to improve personal physical fitness, quality of will, and at the same time build a social network, reduce students' sense of isolation, enhance self-efficacy, and improve life satisfaction.

(3) At the family level, parents (guardians) should accompany and care for the left-behind children, actively participate in and support the children's physical exercise, encourage the children to engage in extracurricular and social activities, pay attention to communication and exchange with the children, listen to the children's voices, and reduce the sense of loneliness of the left-behind children, as well as pay attention to the observation of the children's emotions and behavioral changes, and maintain communication and exchange with the school teachers, so that the children's learning and life trends can be understood in a timely manner. At the same time, we pay attention to observing children's emotional and behavioral changes, keep communicating and exchanging with school teachers to understand children's learning and life trends in time, create a healthy and supportive environment for children to grow up, and improve children's life satisfaction.

In short, the integration of home, school and society, the participation of many parties, the sharing of resources and the sharing of responsibilities will help rural left-behind children to be free from bullying in schools, reduce their sense of loneliness, develop in an all-round way both physically and mentally, and effectively enhance their life satisfaction.

(1)There is a strong relationship between exercise adherence, school bullying, loneliness, and life satisfaction of children left behind in rural areas.
(2)Exercise adherence is an important influence on life satisfaction of rural left-behind children, and can also have an indirect effect on life satisfaction through the path of school bullying and loneliness.

Acknowledgments

We are grateful to the participants for the cooperation and participation in this study.

Funding

The authors declare that no funds, grands or other support were received during the preparation of this manuscript.

Author contributions

Conceptualization, Data curation, Funding acquisition, Investigation, Methodology, Writing original draft, P.JIA;T.Zhang; Formal analysis, Supervision, X.Q.HE.All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.

Data Availability

The raw data supporting the conclusions of this article can be made available by the authors Peng JIA([email protected]), without undue reservation.

Ethics approval and consent to participate

All methods were performed in accordance with the relevant guidelines and regulations. The study protocol was approved by the ethics committee of Jiang Xi Normal University (IRB-JXNU-PEC-2022001). Before formal investigation and testing, the researchers received the informed consent of the subjects involved in this study.

Consent for publication

Not applicable.

Author details

College physical Education , Jiang xi Normal University Nanchang 330022 , Jiang xi China

Peng Jia , Xinqi He &Ting Zhang

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The effect of exercise adherence on life satisfaction of rural left-behind children：the chain mediation of school bullying and loneliness

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Background

Research Objects and Methods

Results and analyses

Discussion

Relationship between exercise adherence and life satisfaction

The mediating role of school bullying

The mediating role of loneliness

Chain-mediated effects of bullying and loneliness in schools

Research Shortcomings and Future Prospects

Recommendations

Conclusions

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References

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