Physical Exercise Predicts Social Competence and General Well-Being in Chinese Children 10 to 15 Years Old: a Preliminary Study

Abstract

Studies have confirmed a variety of physical and psychological benefits of physical exercise in children, but it remains unclear if there is a relation between physical exercise and children’s social competence. Considering that social interactions are often involved when children do physical exercise, we speculated that physical exercise might predict children’s social competence, as well as general well-being. In the current study, we aimed to examine this possibility with the statistics of a nationally representative sample of China (n = 3459, age range = 10–15 yrs). Data on children’s self-reported physical exercise frequency, social competence and general well-being were collected. The results showed that: (a) physical exercise positively predicted the number of good friends, friendship intimacy and social skills in children; (b) the relation between physical exercise and the number of good friends was moderated by age, such that physical exercise played a less important role as age increased; (c) physical exercise was positively related to children’s general well-being and the relation was mediated by children’s social competence. We concluded that physical exercise might relate to improved social competence and general well-being of 10–15 years old Chinese children.