How Physical Exercise Reduces Problematic Mobile Phone Use in Adolescents: The Roles of Expression Suppression, Depression, Anxiety, and Resilience

Background: Problematic mobile phone use has become a pressing concern among adolescents due to its widespread prevalence and associated health risks. Physical exercise has been suggested as a potential intervention, but the psychological mechanisms underlying its effects remain unclear. This study explores how physical exercise impacts problematic mobile phone use through expression suppression, emotional problems (depression and anxiety), and resilience, offering actionable insights for intervention strategies.

Methods: The study involved 2,032 Chinese adolescents who completed standardized self-report questionnaires assessing physical exercise, expression suppression, emotional problems, resilience, and problematic mobile phone use. Statistical analyses were conducted using a moderated serial mediation model.

Results: Among the participants, 25.5% reported problematic mobile phone use, while 37.5% experienced both depression and anxiety. Physical exercise was negatively associated with problematic mobile phone use (β = -0.195, p < 0.001) through its effects on expressive suppression, depression, and anxiety. Indirect effects mediated by expressive suppression and depression/anxiety accounted for 52.0% and 44.4% of the total effect, respectively. Additionally, resilience moderated the pathway linking expressive suppression to depression and anxiety (interaction effect for depression: β = -0.080, 95% CI: -0.111 to -0.048; for anxiety: β = -0.065, 95% CI: -0.097 to -0.033), with low resilience amplifying the negative emotional impacts of expressive suppression.

Conclusion: Physical exercise can directly reduce problematic mobile phone use and indirectly alleviate its associated risks by improving emotion regulation and reducing emotional problems. Expressive suppression and depression/anxiety play significant mediating roles, while resilience moderates these pathways, highlighting its protective effect. By targeting both behavioral and psychological factors, interventions that combine physical activity promotion with resilience training show promise in addressing problematic mobile phone use and associated emotional issues in adolescents.