Investigation of the relationships between physical activity, emotion regulation skills, and psychological resilience in adolescents

Aims: Adolescence is one of the most vulnerable stages for mental health, and its influences may continue throughout the lifespan. Given the prevalence of mental health problems among adolescents, identifying factors that affect mental health is crucial for prevention and intervention efforts. Therefore, this study aims to examine the relationships between psychological resilience, emotion regulation skills, and physical activity among adolescents. Methods: The participants in this quantitative study, using a correlational survey design, were 731 high school students aged 15-18 in Kayseri province. The psychological resilience of adolescents was assessed using the Psychological Resilience Scale (PRS), their emotion regulation skills using the Emotion Regulation Scale (ERS), and their physical activity levels using the International Physical Activity Questionnaire-Short Form (IPAQ-sf). Descriptive statistics, comparison tests, and correlation analysis were used to analyze the data.Results: The mean age of the participants was 15.92±1.03 years, the mean body-mass index was 21.90±7.00 kg/m2, and the mean IPAQ-sf score was 3395.60±4751.28 MET-min/week. 36.7% of participants were very active, 46.2% were minimally active, and 17.0% were inactive. Total physical activity was positively correlated with ERS (r=0.146, p=0.002) and PRS (r=0.118, p=0.023). ERS was correlated with PRS (r=0.176, p=0.000).Conclusion: The findings indicate small but statistically significant associations between physical activity, emotion regulation, and psychological resilience. Although these relationships were weak in magnitude, they suggest that physical activity may be related to emotional and resilience-related outcomes in adolescents. However, these results should be interpreted cautiously, and further longitudinal research using objective activity measures is needed to clarify the strength and direction of these associations.