This study explores the mechanism underlying the relationship between physical exercise and prosocial behavior in junior high school students, with a specific focus on the separate and chain mediating roles of collectivist values and autonomous altruistic motivation. A convenience sample of 348 junior high school students (57.2% male; aged 12-15 years old) from 6 public middle schools in the main urban area of Wenzhou, China, completed a battery of questionnaires, including the Physical Activity Rating Scale (PARS-3), Prosocial Tendency Scale (revised), Autonomous Altruistic Motivation Scale, and Collectivist Values Scale. Data were analyzed using SPSS 26.0 for descriptive statistics and correlation analysis, PROCESS Macro 4.0 (Model 6) for chain mediation testing (5,000 Bootstrap samples), and AMOS 24.0 for structural equation modeling (SEM) fit validation. Results show that: (1) Physical exercise significantly and positively predicted prosocial behavior in junior high school students (β=0.32, t=4.57, p<0.001). (2) Collectivist values positively predicted prosocial behavior (β=0.35, t=5.00, p<0.001) and partially mediated the relationship between physical exercise and prosocial behavior (β=0.18, 95% CI [0.09, 0.27], p<0.001). (3) Autonomous altruistic motivation positively predicted prosocial behavior (β=0.31, t=5.17, p<0.001) and also served as a partial mediator between physical exercise and prosocial behavior (β=0.15, 95% CI [0.08, 0.22], p<0.001). (4) Collectivist values and autonomous altruistic motivation formed a significant chain mediating path in the relationship between physical exercise and prosocial behavior (β=0.11, 95% CI [0.05, 0.17], p<0.001), accounting for 14.5% of the total effect. Conclusions: Physical exercise enhances junior high school students’ prosocial behavior through three pathways: a direct effect, an indirect effect via collectivist values, and an indirect effect via the chain of “collectivist values→autonomous altruistic motivation”. These findings provide theoretical and practical insights for promoting prosocial behavior in adolescents through school physical education.
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Guo, W., Wang, M., Dong, X., Li, Y., Guo, Y., Wang, J., Ning, L., Zhou, J. (2025) Physical Exercise and Prosocial Behavior in Junior High School Students: The Chain Mediating Role of Collectivist Values and Autonomous Altruistic Motivation. Global Education Bulletin, 2(3), 52-60. https://doi.org/10.71052/grb2025/LJKE8041