Physical activity and short-form video addiction among adolescents: the chain mediating role of cognitive flexibility and anxiety.

BACKGROUND

Short-form video platforms have become a common source of entertainment and social interaction among adolescents. Excessive or poorly controlled use may be associated with adverse psychological and behavioral outcomes. This study examined the association between physical activity and short-form video addiction and tested whether cognitive flexibility and anxiety statistically mediated this association.

METHODS

A cross-sectional study was conducted during the autumn term of 2023 via a convenience sampling method from three secondary institutions located in Hunan Province, China. The resultant sample comprised 492 adolescents (236 male, 256 female), with an average age of 15.36 years (SD = 0.54). Self-reported measures of physical activity, cognitive flexibility, anxiety, and short-form video addiction were collected and analyzed using a mediation model.

RESULTS

Physical activity was negatively correlated with short-form video addiction (r = -0.274, p < 0.001). Chain mediation analysis showed a significant serial indirect association linking physical activity with short-form video addiction through cognitive flexibility and anxiety (effect size = -0.029, SE = 0.009, 95% CI [-0.050, -0.013]), accounting for 13.94% of the total association. Cognitive flexibility (effect size = -0.049, 95% CI [-0.088, -0.019]) and anxiety (effect size = -0.041, 95% CI [-0.079, -0.010]) also showed significant single-mediator indirect associations. The total indirect association accounted for 57.69% of the overall association.

CONCLUSIONS

Higher physical activity was associated with lower short-form video addiction among the adolescents studied, and this association was partly explained by cognitive flexibility and anxiety. Because the study was cross-sectional, the findings should be interpreted as correlational evidence rather than proof of temporal or causal mechanisms.