2026-09-21 · Systematic Review
Solvita Pleinica, Sanita Šuriņa, Guna Semjonova, Gints Peleckis, Jason Tang, Agris Liepa
IntroductionSelective and sustained attention are key cognitive functions associated with athletic performance and represent trainable abilities during adolescence. Although various intervention approaches have been investigated to enhance attention in young athletes, the available evidence has not been comprehensively mapped. Therefore, the aim of this scoping review was to identify and map the available interventions designed to develop selective and sustained attention among adolescent athletes and to summarize their characteristics, assessment methods, and reported outcomes.MethodsThe review followed the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses Extension for Scoping Reviews (PRISMA-ScR) guidelines. The research question was developed using the Population–Concept–Context (PCC) framework. A systematic search of six electronic databases (ScienceDirect, ProQuest, PubMed, Scopus, Cochrane Library, and EBSCOhost) was conducted in December 2025. Data were extracted using Microsoft Excel and synthesized narratively.ResultsSix studies met the inclusion criteria, comprising 393 participants. Among the 367 participants for whom sex/gender was reported, 170 (46.3%) were female. The included studies primarily focused on adolescent athletes aged 11–20 years; one study included a broader age range, although its intervention group corresponded to the target adolescent population. The identified interventions included cognitive training, cognitive-motor dual-task training, mindfulness-based interventions, perceptual-cognitive training, and sport-specific approaches targeting selective and/or sustained attention. A variety of assessment instruments and measurement methods were used to evaluate attention-related and other cognitive outcomes. Most studies reported improvements in selective and/or sustained attention following the interventions; however, substantial heterogeneity in intervention characteristics, outcome measures, and study designs limited direct comparisons across studies.DiscussionThe available evidence indicates that several intervention approaches have been explored for developing selective and sustained attention in adolescent athletes. However, the small number of studies and considerable methodological heterogeneity preclude firm conclusions regarding intervention effectiveness. Future research should prioritize well-designed intervention studies with larger samples, standardized intervention protocols, and more consistent attention assessment methods.
DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2026.18168872026-09-21 · Original Research
Xiaoyi Wang, Zijiao Zhao, Jianglin Fu, Bangman Cai, Weijie Meng
IntroductionResearch on self-stigma among justice-involved adolescents is limited by a lack of dedicated instruments and an overreliance on explicit self-reports susceptible to social desirability bias.MethodsTwo studies were conducted. Study 1 developed and validated the Self-Stigma Scale for Adolescents in Conflict with the Law (SSS-ACL), confirming a two-factor structure comprising perceived and internalized stigma with sound psychometric properties. Study 2 employed two IRAP protocols based on the DAARRE model to capture spontaneous relational responding for each dimension.ResultsThis showed that 81.08% of participants displayed positive implicit perceived stigma (automatic group-negative associations), whereas only 25.68% displayed positive implicit internalized stigma (automatic negative self-linkages); he two implicit indices were uncorrelated. Explicit-implicit correlations were conditional: explicit internalized stigma was unrelated to both IRAP indices, explicit perceived stigma was only marginally associated with its implicit counterpart, and explicit perceived stigma showed a small positive correlation with implicit internalized stigma.DiscussionThese findings suggest that perceived and internalized stigma are functionally distinct at both reflective and spontaneous levels, and that robust implicit perceived stigma does not automatically translate into internalized self-stigma, consistent with a possible self-protective function. Practically, combining explicit and implicit measures may improve stigma assessment, and interventions should prioritize blocking internalization over merely reducing awareness of public stigma.
DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2026.17679412026-09-21 · Hypothesis and Theory
Chun Lee
This paper develops a multilevel framework to explain how audience presence shapes music performance anxiety (MPA). It distinguishes between external audience conditions, including Physical Attendance (PA) and Alternative Attendance (AA), and internally generated audience representations, termed Imaginative Attendance (IA). The framework also differentiates audience-related inputs in terms of Externally Assigned Identity (EAI) and Perceived Evaluative Identity (PEI), which are integrated through Perceived Social Evaluation (PSE), a contextual appraisal process. PSE shapes cognitive, emotional, and physiological responses, while metacognitive regulation influences whether these responses contribute to threat-focused processing and social inhibition or task-focused processing and social facilitation.
DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2026.18516262026-09-21 · Original Research
Wen Liu
While a considerable body of research has focused on examining the efficacy of peer feedback or AI-generated feedback in L2 writing, limited research has investigated the effect of the combination of AI and peer feedback on students’ engagement and their writing performance. To address this gap, the present study adopted a mixed-methods design. A 10-week feedback intervention was implemented with 122 Chinese EFL students over a 12-week study period: the experimental group (n = 61) received AI-peer integrated feedback, whereas the control group (n = 61) engaged in conventional peer feedback. To assess their engagement and writing performance, all participants completed pre- and post-tests, five writing assignments, and engagement questionnaires. Additionally, 16 students from each group participated in semi-structured interviews and kept reflective journals, providing rich qualitative data on their engagement patterns. The results indicated that the experimental group exhibited significantly higher levels of behavioral, affective, and cognitive engagement than the control group. Moreover, they demonstrated greater improvements across four writing subscales, namely task achievement, coherence and cohesion, grammatical range and accuracy, and lexical resource, albeit with varying magnitudes of gain across these dimensions. These findings suggest that AI-peer integrated feedback represents a promising pedagogical approach for fostering L2 writing development, shedding light on the potential for human-AI collaboration in language education.
DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2026.18719512026-09-21 · Original Research
Yufei Xue, Fangting Wang, Chunyan Yang, Runzhi Zhang, Huiyu Zou, Yiyun Zhang, Steven Laureys, Haibo Di
IntroductionNear-death experiences (NDEs) are subjective experiences reported during actual or perceived life-threatening situations, whereas near-death-like experiences may occur in non-life-threatening altered states. Empirical data from Chinese populations remain limited, particularly regarding culturally specific narrative content.MethodsThis exploratory mixed-methods study examined self-reported NDEs and NDE-like experiences in a Chinese online convenience sample. Participants recruited through Chinese social media completed an online survey comprising sociodemographic questions, the Chinese Near-Death Experience Content (NDE-C) scale, and an open-ended narrative question. Quantitative analysis included 63 participants: 23 NDE cases, 25 NDE-like cases, and 15 below-threshold comparison cases. All classifications were based on self-report. Qualitative thematic analysis was conducted on 48 valid narratives.ResultsSelf-reported NDE and NDE-like narratives shared recurrent features, including out-of-body experiences, bright light, bodily sensations, emotional changes, and altered perceptual content. Compared with NDE-like narratives, NDE narratives showed descriptively higher frequencies of peaceful emotions, encounters with entities, deceased loved ones or spiritual entities, personal insights, panoramic life review, and culturally specific Chinese imagery. Chinese cultural motifs were infrequent overall, occurring in four of 23 NDE narratives and one of 25 NDE-like narratives. These motifs included Guimen Pass, Black and White Impermanence, Lord Chenghuang, reincarnation, karmic judgment, and underworld-related imagery.DiscussionBecause this study relied on retrospective self-report, an online convenience sample, and unverified medical contexts, the findings should be considered preliminary and hypothesis-generating. The findings provide localized exploratory evidence that Chinese self-reported NDE narratives may combine recurrent NDE-related features with culturally specific symbolic content.
DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2026.19352462026-09-21 · Original Research
Bing Wen, Ya Tuo, Yi Li
ObjectiveTo describe reflective practice and compassion fatigue among hemodialysis specialist nurses in Inner Mongolia and examine their association.MethodsWe conducted a cross-sectional online survey from August to October 2025 using convenience sampling. Participants completed a demographic questionnaire, the Chinese Reflective Practice Questionnaire, and the 36-item Compassion Fatigue Scale for Healthcare Workers. Descriptive statistics, Mann–Whitney U tests, Kruskal–Wallis tests, Spearman correlations, and exploratory multiple linear regression were used.ResultsAmong 249 participants, the mean reflective practice score was 148.29 ± 27.81 and the mean compassion fatigue score was 72.39 ± 22.29 (mean item score, 2.01 ± 0.62). Reflective practice was inversely correlated with compassion fatigue (r = −0.436, p < 0.01). In the regression model, associate chief nurses had lower reflective practice scores than nurses (B = −24.405, 95% CI − 42.105 to −6.706, p = 0.007), and higher compassion fatigue scores were associated with lower reflective practice scores (B = −0.586, 95% CI − 0.727 to −0.444, p < 0.001). The overall model fit was R2 = 0.237, adjusted R2 = 0.200, F(11, 237) = 6.692, p < 0.001.ConclusionReflective practice and compassion fatigue were inversely associated in this sample. Longitudinal and intervention studies are needed before temporal, causal, or intervention effects can be inferred.
DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2026.19190322026-09-21 · Original Research
Renlong Jiang, Xinglan Zhang, Zhenzhen Li, Yandi Fu, Juan Xu, Jin Chen, Qian Ran, Xiaoxia Zhang, Tengfei Niu
BackgroundAcademic involution may be experienced both as students' own excessive competitive behavior and as their perception that peers engage in such behavior. This study examined how academic involution behavior and perceived academic involution climate were concurrently associated with English learning intention, and whether psychological distress formed a negative statistical indirect association within the proposed model.MethodsA cross-sectional online survey was completed by 1,683 students from nine universities in Chongqing, China. Academic involution behavior, perceived academic involution climate, psychological distress, and English learning intention were assessed using four self-report instruments; the English learning intention instrument was a researcher-developed contextual brief measure. A four-factor structural equation model was estimated using diagonally weighted least squares, with age, gender, and education level included as covariates. Five direct-association hypotheses and two negative statistical indirect-association hypotheses were evaluated.ResultsAcademic involution behavior was positively associated with psychological distress (β = 0.207) and English learning intention (β = 0.284), and perceived academic involution climate was positively associated with psychological distress (β = 0.162) and English learning intention (β = 0.137). Psychological distress was negatively associated with English learning intention (β = −0.356; all focal paths p < 0.001). The standardized statistical indirect associations through psychological distress were −0.074 for academic involution behavior and −0.058 for perceived academic involution climate. The model accounted for 10.8% of the variance in psychological distress and 21.2% of the variance in English learning intention.ConclusionThe findings show contemporaneous positive direct associations alongside smaller negative statistical indirect associations, a pattern consistent with the proposed inconsistent mediation model. Because the data were cross-sectional and self-reported, the results do not establish temporal ordering, causal mediation, or intervention effects.
DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2026.19439502026-09-21 · Perspective
Yunus Emre Büyükbasmacı, Ünsal Tazegül
The aim of this perspective paper is to propose a theory-based holistic assessment model that structures the psychological state assessment process conducted by sport psychologists. It is observed that existing assessment approaches in the field of sports psychology largely focus on individual psychological variables, and measurement tools are mostly used independently of one another. This situation makes it difficult to comprehensively assess the multidimensional structure of the athlete's psychological profile and leads to a lack of standardization in application processes. The model was developed through a theory-driven process involving literature synthesis, conceptual framework development, expert review, and iterative refinement. The proposed model consists of a total of 16 psychological domains and 48 items, including motivation, concentration, anger, stress, anxiety, prosocial and antisocial behaviors, burnout, communication, mental resilience, perfectionism, sociotropy, autonomy, self-esteem, narcissism, self-confidence, and emotional intelligence. Each psychological domain is represented by three structured assessment items designed for practical use by sport psychologists. The conceptual framework and assessment items were reviewed by experts in sport psychology to enhance theoretical coherence and content relevance. It is expected that the model will enhance consistency in practice by systematizing the assessment processes of sport psychologists, provide opportunities for multidimensional analysis, support intervention planning, and contribute to filling the conceptual gap in the field.
DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2026.19198032026-09-21 · Original Research
Bingwen Lou, Xingyue Yang
ObjectivesStudents’ well-being is a critical indicator of their academic performance, pro-social behavior, and future development. Students’ perceived relationships with parents, teachers, and peers, along with their sense of school belonging, are significantly associated with their well-being. This study aimed to examine whether students’ sense of school belonging mediates the relationship between perceived parent–teacher–student relationship and well-being. The study also explored whether there were differences between primary and secondary school students on the main dimensions.MethodsData were obtained from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development Survey on Social and Emotional Skills, which included responses from 6,742 students in Suzhou, China (3,508 Grade 4 and 3,234 Grade 10 students). A t-test was used to determine whether any differences existed in the five dimensions between students in Grades 4 and 10. Correlation and regression analyses were used to analyze the relationship between different variables. Structural equation modeling with a bootstrap resampling procedure was employed to test the mediation model.ResultsThe findings showed that primary school students reported positive relationships with parents and peers, greater overall well-being, and a stronger sense of school belonging than secondary school students. However, they reported less positive relationships with their teachers. After controlling for other variables, the findings indicated that students’ perceived parent–teacher–student relationships and sense of school belonging were positively and significantly related with students’ well-being. These four dimensions collectively explain 44.8% of the variation in the differences in students’ sense of well-being. The results of the bootstrap mediation analysis showed that students’ sense of school belonging significantly partially mediated the relationship between perceived parent-teacher-student relationships and well-being.ConclusionWell-being serves as an important indicator that is positively associated with students’ current learning and development and may be relevant to their future success. This study provides empirical evidence that a sense of school belonging serves as a key mediating mechanism through which perceived parent-teacher-student relationships translate into students’ well-being, extending the application of belongingness theory and self-determination theory within the Chinese educational context. It is imperative for school authorities, teachers, and parents to create a learning environment that promotes students’ aspirations, well-being, and academic development.
DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2026.19063172026-09-21 · Original Research
TaiXu Jiang, HongShi Shi, YueNan Zheng, Pai Liu, MoFei Wang
BackgroundDespite excellent prognosis, cognitive and emotional disturbances have been reported in survivors of differentiated thyroid cancer (DTC). However, few studies in China have described baseline cognitive and emotional status in patients with newly diagnosed DTC prior to treatment.ObjectiveTo investigate possible cognitive impairment as well as anxiety and depression levels in patients newly diagnosed with DTC before treatment, and to explore their associated factors, so as to provide baseline data regarding cognitive and emotional disturbances among Chinese patients with DTC.MethodsThis cross-sectional study enrolled patients with DTC treated at a tertiary referral hospital between July and September 2023. Participants completed the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA), Self-Rating Anxiety Scale (SAS), Self-Rating Depression Scale (SDS). Chi-square tests were used for intergroup comparisons, while univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were performed to explore factors associated with possible cognitive impairment, anxiety, and depression.ResultsA total of 708 preoperative patients with newly diagnosed DTC were enrolled. Among them, 7.2% presented anxiety symptoms, 20.3% presented depression symptoms, and 62.7% exhibited possible cognitive impairment. Among female participants, postmenopausal status was associated with possible cognitive impairment. Multivariate logistic regression showed that age (p = 0.003) and educational levels (p < 0.05) were independent correlates of possible cognitive impairment among women, while age (p < 0.001), work status (p < 0.05) and residence (p = 0.007) were independently correlated with possible cognitive impairment in the overall cohort. Elevated TSH was a correlate of anxiety (p = 0.014). Income status was independently associated with depressive symptoms (p < 0.05).ConclusionPsychological and cognitive disturbances are common among preoperative with DTC. Age, postmenopausal status, educational levels, work status, and residence are related to possible cognitive impairment. TSH levels are relevant correlates of anxiety, and income status is correlated with depression. Routine psychological and cognitive screening should be considered for preoperative DTC patients.
DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2026.19082122026-09-21 · Original Research
Christine Groß, Markus Christiner
IntroductionSubjective self-evaluation is frequently used to assess perceived musical and linguistic competence, but the extent to which such ratings correspond to objectively measured performance, particularly across domains, remains unclear.MethodsA total of 104 participants completed objective music tasks assessing singing, melodic discrimination, mistuning perception, and beat perception; language tasks assessing expressive reading, speech imitation, and auditory phonological pattern recognition; and multi-item self-evaluation scales for both domains. Associations were examined using correlation analyses, hierarchical regression models, and Bland-Altman analyses.ResultsSubjective self-evaluation and objective performance were moderately associated within both domains but were not interchangeable. Objective music and language performance predicted one another more strongly than cross-domain self-evaluations. Within-domain self-evaluation contributed additional variance to the corresponding performance models. Bland-Altman analyses indicated negligible mean bias at the group level but substantial individual disagreement.DiscussionSubjective self-evaluation and objective performance capture complementary but theoretically distinct aspects of musical and linguistic ability. Objective assessment therefore remains necessary when performance itself is the target, whereas self-evaluation provides additional information about perceived competence. Comparable cross-domain association patterns are consistent with partly shared mechanisms across music and language.
DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2026.18994882026-09-21 · Systematic Review
Yibei Zhang, Kang Zhu, Gulandanmu Ma
BackgroundChronic diseases have a significant influence on patients’ mental health. DanceSport, as a form of exercise that combines physical activity, musical expression, and social interaction, may serve as an effective means of improving the physical and mental health of patients with chronic diseases; however, the current evidence regarding the influence of DanceSport on the mental health of these patients remains unclear. Clarifying this relationship will provide guidance for promoting mental health and designing exercise intervention programs for individuals with chronic diseases. Therefore, this study aims to investigate the effect of DanceSport on the mental health of patients with chronic diseases.MethodsA systematic search was conducted in the PubMed, EBSCO, and Web of Science databases for English-language literature published from the inception of each database through 7 April 2026. The literature screening process consisted of three stages: removal of duplicates, title and abstract screening, and full-text review. The entire study strictly followed the PRISMA guidelines, and the methodological quality of the included studies was assessed using the Cochrane Risk of Bias Assessment Tool.ResultsThis study ultimately included 21 studies involving a total of 1,087 patients with chronic diseases. The results showed that DanceSport interventions had a certain impact on mental health-related indicators in patients with chronic diseases, including depression, anxiety, wellbeing, cognitive function, emotional state, self-confidence, self-efficacy, apathy, fear, loneliness, stress, feelings of shame, and frustration. Tango and Argentine tango interventions were most widely used among patients with Parkinson’s disease; relevant studies primarily reported positive changes in outcomes such as depression, wellbeing, certain cognitive functions, emotional state, and confidence in balance. In addition, ballroom dancing, samba, waltz, and comprehensive dance interventions have also improved the mental health of patients with cancer, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), chronic heart failure, chronic stroke, and mild cognitive impairment to varying degrees.ConclusionDanceSport interventions may help improve the mental health of patients with chronic diseases, but their effects may vary depending on the type of disease, the style of dance, and the specific mental health outcome measures. Future research could further compare the effectiveness of different dance forms and optimize DanceSport intervention programs to enhance their value in promoting mental health among patients with chronic diseases.Systematic review registrationhttps://www.crd.york.ac.uk/prospero/, identifier CRD420261363754.
DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2026.19371572026-09-21 · Original Research
Zeynep Seda Albayrak, Herdem Aslan Genç, Ezgi Eymen Ekici, Tunahan Tayyip Görgülü, Dilara Demirpençe Seçinti, Gülçin Kahraman, Şafak Eray Çamlı, Hale Yapıcı Eser
Self-report scales dominate adolescent mental-health assessment but depend on symptom recognition and disclosure. Participant-generated language offers a complementary window on affective processes, yet most evidence comes from adult, English-language, community, or social-media data, leaving clinically referred adolescents and structurally different languages such as Turkish understudied. Sentence-completion tasks are clinically familiar but interpreted qualitatively, yielding no quantitative index. In this multicenter cross-sectional study, 445 clinically referred adolescents (aged 10–18 years; 55.1% girls) from three Turkish child and adolescent psychiatry outpatient clinics completed a 24-item sentence-completion task, the Children’s Depression Inventory (CDI), and the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ). Completions were analyzed with a Turkish Linguistic Inquiry and Word Count (LIWC) dictionary at whole-response and thematic levels. Because anger and sadness words are nested within the broader negative-emotion category, negative-emotion language was separated into anger, sadness, and other negative emotion, so that each coefficient referred lexical items. Partial correlations and hierarchical regressions related these components, positive-emotion language, and first-person singular reference to symptom severity, controlling for age, sex, word count, and study site, with false-discovery-rate correction. Negative-emotion language was positively associated with depressive symptoms, total difficulties, emotional symptoms, and conduct problems (r = 0.25 to 0.35), whereas positive-emotion language showed inverse associations. After decomposition, the affective-language block explained 8.1–13.3% of incremental variance, and anger and sadness each contributed beyond general negative tone. The anger coefficient exceeded the sadness coefficient in the conduct-problems model but not in the depressive or emotional-symptoms models. First-person singular reference, which included Turkish verbal morphology and tracked referential context, was unrelated to symptom severity, and no cognitive-process, third-person, or social-content category yielded a detectable association in exploratory screening. The negative-emotion–depression association was of comparable magnitude at all three sites, and the findings persisted after diagnostic adjustment and without the minimum word-count criterion. Affective language in brief Turkish sentence-completion responses therefore tracked dimensional symptom burden, while the absence of a first-person effect under a morphology-informed operationalization underscores the need for cross-linguistically valid measures of self-reference. Automated analysis offers a way of rendering a clinically familiar task quantifiable, as a complementary research measure rather than a standalone diagnostic tool.
DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2026.19586502026-09-21 · Systematic Review
Yasir Alsamiri
Twice-exceptional (2e) students are intellectually or creatively gifted and also have one or more disabilities, and they require provision that develops talent and addresses disability at the same time. Artificial intelligence (AI) is increasingly promoted as a route to personalized instruction, and its adaptive character appears conceptually well suited to the heterogeneous profiles of 2e learners. Whether that promise has been examined empirically with this population has not been established. This scoping review asked whether and how AI technologies have been reported in educational research involving 2e learners between 2020 and the search date in 2026. Following PRISMA-ScR, a population-anchored search was conducted in ERIC in August 2026 and supplemented by hand searching of a themed journal issue and by reference checking, returning 65 records of which five were assessed at full text. Two studies met the eligibility criteria, both published in 2025 and both in the same themed journal issue: the evidence base is emerging rather than absent, but it is very small and has begun through editorial intervention rather than sustained accumulation. A further group of records sat close to the eligibility boundary and is reported in full so that the limits of the evidence are visible. Across the included studies, sample sizes are small, outcome measurement is uneven, and no study examines whether AI systems that adapt to observed performance interact with the masking that defines twice-exceptionality. An affordance–risk framework is proposed, with each proposition explicitly labeled as hypothesized rather than demonstrated, together with a research agenda for a field that is beginning rather than absent.
DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2026.19270032026-09-21 · Original Research
Aglaia Katsiroumpa, Antigoni Kolisiati, Ioannis Moisoglou, Maria Nystazaki, Petros Galanis
IntroductionThe rapid spread of online health misinformation has emerged as a significant public health concern, particularly among young adults who rely heavily on digital sources for health information. Understanding how susceptibility to online health misinformation is associated with health risk behaviors and vaccine hesitancy is especially critical among nursing students, who will play a key role as future healthcare professionals. The aim of this study was to examine whether susceptibility to online health misinformation was associated with health behaviors and vaccine hesitancy among nursing students.MethodsA cross-sectional survey was conducted in Greece during September 2025 and 414 nursing students were included in the study. Susceptibility to online health misinformation was measured with the Health-Related Online Misinformation Susceptibility Scale. Health behaviors were assessed using the Health Behavior Inventory – Short Form and vaccine hesitancy was measured with the Vaccine Hesitancy Scale. Multivariable linear regression models were applied to determine the independent association between susceptibility to online health misinformation and health behaviors/vaccine hesitancy, following adjustment for several sociodemographic and behavioral confounders.ResultsMultivariable analysis showed that higher levels of susceptibility to online health misinformation were significantly associated with worse diet behaviors (p < 0.001), worse anger and stress management (p < 0.001), and higher levels of substance use (p < 0.001). Also, higher susceptibility to online health misinformation was independently associated with greater vaccine hesitancy, reflected in lower confidence in vaccines and higher perceived vaccination risk (p < 0.001).ConclusionThese results suggest that susceptibility to online health misinformation is associated with less healthy behaviors and greater vaccine hesitancy among nursing students.
DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2026.19357322026-09-21 · Original Research
Jin Jiang, Hao Wang, Zhihan Chen, Xiaoyao Zhang, Chengqi Ye
ObjectivesTo explore how Internet addiction is associated with college students’ academic stress and how self-control and social anxiety play a mediating role in this relationship.MethodsUsing stratified sampling, 230 college students aged 18–22 years old from multiple universities in Hefei, Anhui Province, were recruited. All participants completed four standardized questionnaires. Serial mediation analysis based on SPSS PROCESS Model 6 with bias-corrected percentile Bootstrap (5,000 resamples) was adopted to test the hypothesized mediating effects.ResultsThe findings of this research indicate that Internet addiction is correlated with multiple indicators of college students’ academic stress. (1) Self-control and social anxiety each statistically mediate the association between Internet addiction and academic stress. (2) Social anxiety and self-control form a sequential pathway that statistically mediates the association linking Internet addiction and academic stress.ConclusionThese correlational results suggest that greater offline social engagement and stronger self-control may be related to lower levels of academic stress and less Internet addiction among university students.
DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2026.17377112026-09-21 · Original Research
Lingyun Gao, Feng Zhang
Social media platforms increasingly support course communication, peer collaboration, and academic information exchange within university learning. In China, these activities are frequently embedded in WeChat-centered communication streams characterized by persistent connectivity, fragmented information sharing, and overlap between academic and personal communication. Drawing on cognitive load theory, control-value theory, and social cognitive theory, this study examined how platform-based academic interaction was associated with self-regulated learning through information overload, perceived control, and information anxiety. Survey data were collected from 846 Chinese university students, of whom 98.5% reported using WeChat for academic purposes and 91.7% identified WeChat as their primary academic communication platform. Structural equation modeling indicated a positive direct association between platform-based academic interaction and self-regulated learning, while the estimated indirect associations involving information overload, perceived control, and information anxiety were negative and larger in absolute magnitude, yielding a negative estimated total association. Higher perceived information literacy was associated with a weaker positive relationship between information overload and information anxiety, whereas higher learning self-efficacy was associated with a weaker negative relationship between information anxiety and self-regulated learning. The information overload to information anxiety association differed across academic stages and was strongest among master’s students. These findings identify information-processing demand, regulatory appraisal, and information-related anxiety as distinct processes associated with self-regulated learning in a WeChat-centered social media environment. The cross-sectional self-report design limits temporal and causal inference.
DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2026.18934722026-09-21 · Original Research
Weibin Hu, Xueru Zhang, Ling Ding
Reading comprehension in morphosyllabic Chinese draws on coordinated phonological, orthographic, morphological, and broader language knowledge, but the unique associations of morphological and phonological awareness remain uncertain once proximal reading and language skills are considered. This cross-sectional study examined 361 Mandarin-speaking children in Grades 3–5. Hierarchical regressions predicted sample-standardized reading-comprehension scores after adjustment for grade, sex, school, non-verbal reasoning, decoding, listening comprehension, vocabulary, character dictation, and syntactic awareness. Inference used HC3 robust standard errors, case-bootstrap confidence intervals based on 5,000 resamples, and sensitivity analyses. After all covariates were entered, morphological and phonological awareness jointly accounted for an additional 2.9% of variance, ΔF(2, 346) = 17.65, p < 0.001. Morphological awareness showed a unique association with comprehension (β = 0.215, p < 0.001), whereas the phonological-awareness coefficient was smaller and non-significant (β = 0.057, p = 0.192). The direct coefficient contrast favored morphological awareness (βMA−βPA = 0.158, HC3 p = 0.009; bootstrap 95% CI [0.043, 0.275]). Morphological awareness remained significant across all sensitivity specifications. After influential-case exclusion, phonological awareness also became significant, and the coefficient difference remained significant. The findings identify a larger and more stable unique morphological association with reading comprehension in Chinese children in Grades 3–5, while the smaller phonological association was substantially shared with character-level literacy.
DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2026.19469452026-09-21 · Original Research
Bandar Salah Almailabi
IntroductionAcademic help-seeking is a self-regulatory academic behavior that may be shaped by students’ evaluative experiences and beliefs about their academic capability. This study examined whether academic anxiety statistically mediates the association between academic social comparison orientation and adaptive academic help-seeking, and whether academic self-efficacy moderates the association between academic anxiety and adaptive academic help-seeking among university students.MethodsA cross-sectional online survey was conducted with 218 undergraduate students from two Saudi universities. The main model was analyzed using partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) with 5,000 bootstrap resamples.ResultsAcademic social comparison orientation was positively associated with academic anxiety (β = 0.374, p < 0.001), and academic anxiety was negatively associated with adaptive academic help-seeking (β = −0.234, p = 0.001). Academic social comparison orientation also showed a negative direct association with adaptive academic help-seeking (β = −0.192, p = 0.004). The indirect effect through academic anxiety was negative and statistically significant (β = −0.087, p = 0.005), consistent with partial statistical mediation. Academic self-efficacy moderated the anxiety–help-seeking association (β = 0.153, p = 0.010), with the positive interaction indicating that the negative association between academic anxiety and adaptive academic help-seeking became weaker as academic self-efficacy increased.ConclusionThe findings suggest that academic anxiety partially statistically mediated the association between stronger academic social comparison orientation and lower adaptive academic help-seeking, whereas academic self-efficacy statistically moderated the negative association between academic anxiety and adaptive academic help-seeking, such that this association was weaker at higher levels of academic self-efficacy. Given the cross-sectional design, the findings should be interpreted as statistical associations consistent with the proposed theoretical model rather than as evidence of causal effects.
DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2026.18724362026-09-21 · Original Research
Jing Sun
BackgroundTeacher burnout is an increasing psychological challenge in educational settings, affecting teachers’ emotional wellbeing and students’ learning experiences.AimThis study examined the psychological mechanisms through which teacher burnout influences learner engagement in English language classrooms, with particular attention to the role of emotional regulation.FrameworkDrawing on emotion regulation theory and educational psychology perspectives, this study explored whether teachers’ ability to manage emotional demands can reduce the negative impact of burnout on students’ classroom involvement.MethodData were collected in 2025 from 428 English language teachers and 1,284 students from secondary and higher education institutions. Teacher burnout was assessed through emotional exhaustion, depersonalisation, and reduced professional efficacy; emotional regulation was measured through cognitive reappraisal and emotional control strategies; learner engagement was evaluated through behavioral participation, emotional involvement, and cognitive engagement indicators. Structural equation modelling was used to test direct and indirect relationships while controlling for relevant contextual factors.FindingsTeacher burnout significantly predicted lower learner engagement (β = −0.36, p < 0.001), whereas emotion regulation showed a positive association with student engagement (β = 0.42, p < 0.001). Mediation analysis indicated that emotion regulation partially mediated the adverse effects of burnout, highlighting its role in classroom interactions.ImplicationsImproving teachers’ emotional regulation skills and reducing occupational stress should be important priorities in educational policy. Integrating psychological support, emotional skills training, and burnout prevention initiatives may enhance teachers’ wellbeing and promote more engaging English language learning environments.
DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2026.19520242026-07-27
Kadir Tiryaki
IntroductionThis study aimed to examine the associations between anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction (ACL-R) status, activity level, kinesiophobia, and sports injury-related anxiety in professional athletes.MethodsThis cross-sectional observational study included 115 athletes post-ACL-R and 153 age- and sex-matched healthy athletes. All participants completed the Tegner Activity Scale, Sports Injury Anxiety Scale, and Tampa Scale of Kinesiophobia–Short Version.ResultsAthletes in the ACL-R group demonstrated significantly lower activity levels compared with controls (6.50 ± 2.63 vs. 8.12 ± 2.30, p < 0.001). No significant between-group differences were observed in sports injury-related anxiety (53.94 ± 13.08 vs. 52.77 ± 12.67, p = 0.643) or kinesiophobia (18.13 ± 3.01 vs. 18.05 ± 2.82, p = 0.990). Kinesiophobia and sports injury-related anxiety were significantly positively correlated in both the ACL-R group (r = 0.285, p = 0.002) and the control group (r = 0.365, p < 0.001). Tegner activity level was not significantly correlated with psychological variables in either group. In the ACL-R group, age, surgery year, and return-to-sport time were significant predictors of activity level, whereas sex, injury year, and psychological variables were not significant predictors.ConclusionProfessional athletes following ACL-R demonstrated lower activity levels than healthy controls, while kinesiophobia and sports injury-related anxiety were comparable between groups. Psychological variables were not independently associated with activity level after adjustment for demographic and injury-related factors.
DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2026.18302472026-07-27
Haoming Wang
The integration of artificial intelligence (AI) and brain-computer interfaces (BCIs) technologies shows great potential in assisting patients with speech impairments and improving cognitive-linguistic decline. Electroencephalogram (EEG) based BCIs, characterized by non-invasiveness, low cost, and high temporal resolution, hold significant application value in speech decoding and cognitive rehabilitation. Currently, most mainstream public EEG datasets rely on Western languages. As a tonal language, Chinese Mandarin differs significantly from Western languages in speech production mechanisms, making existing data insufficient to support future BCI research for Mandarin-speaking patients. To address this gap, we establish a systematic Mandarin EEG dataset and conduct effective speech decoding and related analyses. We design four distinct experimental conditions, namely overt, overt-noisy, intend, and imagine, to simulate different types of speech disorders in clinical scenarios. Using typical Mandarin tonal-vowels and common vocabularies as stimuli, we construct an EEG dataset collected from a healthy adult. We evaluate the speech decoding performance using short-time Fourier transform combined with support vector machine (STFT-SVM) and EEG-Conformer models. Furthermore, we design a multi-task architecture based on the EEG-Conformer to perform a unified decoding task for the two stimulus types and a classification task across the four dataset conditions. To interpret the model, we combine Shapley value computation and decision trees to calculate the importance of different electrodes during classification. Experimental results show that the models achieve effective decoding on our dataset. The EEG-Conformer model performs significantly above chance level across all data, reaching an accuracy of 69.83% in normal speaking conditions and up to 61.46% in conditions simulating speech disorders. In the multi-task setting, the classification accuracy across different conditions exceeds 97%. By utilizing the important electrodes identified through interpretability methods as new feature inputs, the classification performance further improves even with a reduction of over 50% in the channels. These results demonstrate the potential of neural signal decoding technologies in communication assistance, reveal the decodability of Chinese Mandarin EEG datasets, and provide feasible recommendations for the future design of Chinese BCI applications.
DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2026.18334482026-07-27
Noa Gay Rúa
Breast cancer remains one of the most prevalent oncological diseases among women, with its treatment exerting a substantial impact not only on physical health but also on psychological and social well-being. The present systematic review aims to identify the psychological and social factors that influence the quality of life (QoL) of women undergoing active breast cancer treatment. Additionally, it evaluates a range of psychological interventions designed to improve emotional well-being and compares their effectiveness in addressing specific psychosocial needs. This systematic review was conducted in accordance with the PRISMA 2020 guidelines. A comprehensive literature search was carried out across multiple databases—including Web of Science, Scopus, Dialnet, and ProQuest—between March 1 and March 27, 2025. The final sample comprised 15 studies published between 2014 and 2025, encompassing a total of 1,375 participants. The findings indicate that psychological interventions such as cognitive-behavioural therapy (CBT), mindfulness-based interventions, acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT), and behavioural activation contribute to significant improvements in emotional well-being and, in many cases, overall quality of life. However, several methodological limitations were identified across the reviewed studies, most notably the absence of long-term follow-up assessments and substantial heterogeneity in the measurement instruments employed. These limitations restrict the comparability of findings and underscore the need for more rigorous and standardized research designs. In conclusion, psychological interventions constitute a key component in the comprehensive management of breast cancer. Their systematic integration into healthcare protocols has the potential to markedly enhance patients’ quality of life, supporting a more holistic and person-centered approach to oncological care.
DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2026.18438052026-07-27
Ruihong Li
Misinformation poses a challenge not only because false claims circulate widely, but also because readers must make judgments about whether such claims are credible and whether they should be shared. While hedging is frequently observed in misinformation, its effects on audience evaluation remain insufficiently differentiated, particularly outside Western linguistic settings. This study examines whether two ambiguity-based hedging cues, source ambiguity and numerical ambiguity, shape readers' responses to Chinese misinformation in distinct ways. A total of 182 participants evaluated a set of Chinese misinformation claims that had previously been debunked by authoritative fact-checking sources. The statements were presented in one of four versions generated through the presence or absence of source ambiguity and numerical ambiguity. Participants' rejection of debunked misinformation claims, sharing intentions, and reaction times were analyzed using mixed-effects models. The results showed that both source ambiguity and numerical ambiguity were associated with greater rejection of debunked misinformation claims. Neither cue directly predicted sharing intention; however, greater rejection of debunked misinformation claims was associated with lower willingness to share it. Numerical ambiguity, but not source ambiguity, was additionally associated with shorter reaction times. These findings suggest that ambiguity-based hedging cues may function as cues of unreliability rather than persuasive devices, highlighting the importance of source traceability and numerical specificity in misinformation literacy interventions.
DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2026.18800602026-07-27
Saide Umut Zeybek Çakti
Widespread social media use may be one of the most important factors influencing individuals' romantic relationships. In particular, excessive, uncontrolled, and problematic social media use may negatively affect both individuals' psychological processes and their relational functioning in interpersonal interactions. The aim of the present study is to examine the serial predicting roles of psychological inflexibility and insomnia in the relationship between social media addiction and romantic relationship quality. The sample consisted of 466 adults from different regions of Türkiye. Of the participants, 368 were female (79%) and 98 were male (21%). The mean age of the participants, whose ages ranged from 18 to 72, was 34.32 years (SD = 10.93). In line with the aim of the study, the relationships among variables were examined using correlation analysis, and structural equation modeling was employed to test the mediation model. The findings indicated that social media addiction was positively associated with psychological inflexibility and insomnia and negatively associated with romantic relationship quality. According to the structural equation modeling results, the model fit indices suggested that the proposed model demonstrated a good fit to the data. The analysis further revealed that psychological inflexibility and insomnia played serial predicting roles in the relationship between social media addiction and romantic relationship quality. These findings suggest that social media addiction may increase levels of psychological inflexibility, which in turn may contribute to sleep-related problems, and that these processes may be reflected in lower perceived romantic relationship quality. Accordingly, interventions aimed at enhancing psychological flexibility and improving sleep patterns may be useful in understanding the relational consequences of social media addiction.
DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2026.18477222026-07-27
Zhiyue Zhu
IntroductionThe psychological restorative potential of ordinary green spaces is well documented, yet the mechanisms linking extraordinary natural landscapes to restoration remain underexplored. This study conceptualizes landscape extraordinariness as a continuous subjective perceptual construct and proposes a chain mediation model, grounded in the Cognitive-Affective Personality System framework, to examine the roles of awe, construal level, and connectedness to nature in visitors' psychological restorative benefits in national park settings.MethodsStructured questionnaires were administered to 457 visitors at Sanjiangyuan National Park and Qinghai Lake National Park (candidate area), China. Confirmatory factor analysis assessed measurement quality, and structural equation modeling with bootstrap resampling using 5,000 samples and 95% bias-corrected confidence intervals tested the hypothesized relationships.ResultsLandscape extraordinariness was positively associated with awe, connectedness to nature, and psychological restorative benefits, but was not directly associated with construal level. Awe was positively associated with higher construal level and stronger connectedness to nature, while connectedness to nature was positively associated with psychological restorative benefits. Bootstrap analyses supported the proposed chain mediation model, with significant indirect associations involving awe and connectedness to nature and an additional contribution of construal level within the longer sequential process. Overall, the findings supported partial mediation.DiscussionThese findings clarify the affective-cognitive mechanisms associated with psychological restoration in extraordinary landscapes and underscore the role of awe in linking extraordinary landscape perception with higher-level construal. The results extend extraordinary nature research to authentic national park contexts and provide practical implications for visitor experience design and nature-based wellbeing interventions.
DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2026.18870972026-07-24
Wang Cheng
IntroductionIn the rapidly evolving landscape of higher education, the demand for personalized and data driven career guidance has become increasingly critical. Traditional career counseling methods often rely on standardized assessments and static recommendations, which fail to capture the diversity of student characteristics, learning preferences, and evolving aspirations.MethodsTo address this challenge, this paper proposes the Psychological Profiling Driven Career Guidance Model, abbreviated as PPDCGM, for precision career guidance in higher education. The framework integrates psychologically informed profiling with machine learning techniques to generate personalized career recommendations. The Adaptive Career Pathway Strategy, abbreviated as ACPS, dynamically refines recommendations according to changes in learner states, skill development, and external career conditions. For reproducible evaluation, the framework is implemented on public career trajectory benchmarks and assessed through next career prediction as a practical proxy for precision career guidance.Results and discussionExperimental results show consistent improvements over competitive baselines. On KARRIEREWEGE, the proposed method achieves an MRR of 0.398 and a Recall@10 of 0.667, surpassing the strongest baseline MiniLM by 0.024 in MRR and 0.029 in Recall@10. On DECORTE, it achieves an MRR of 0.371 and a Recall@10 of 0.641, with gains of 0.024 and 0.027 over MiniLM, respectively. These findings demonstrate the effectiveness, robustness, and practical value of the proposed framework for intelligent educational recommendation.
DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2026.17438962026-07-24
Marilyn Joe
IntroductionQuiet quitting, whereby employees limit their effort to the minimum requirements of their job descriptions, represents an emerging form of voluntary disengagement that is particularly prevalent amongst Gen Z and Millennial employees. Despite growing global attention to this phenomenon, limited research addresses its contributing factors within the South African workplace context.MethodThis study employed an interpretivist qualitative approach using purposive and snowball sampling to conduct semi-structured interviews with 12 South African Gen Z and Millennial employees across various professional sectors. Data were analysed using Braun and Clarke’s reflexive thematic analysis framework.ResultsThree key themes emerged: (1) quiet-quitting behaviours and attitudes, encompassing withdrawal, minimal effort performance, career transition preparation, generational work attitudes, and digital distraction; (2) workplace value misalignment, encompassing inadequate compensation and recognition, limited growth opportunities, changing generational priorities, and toxic work environments; and (3) organisational strategies to mitigate quiet quitting, encompassing workplace culture and voice, detection and intervention, growth and development opportunities, well-being and work-life balance, and recognition and reward systems.DiscussionThe study contributes to theory by proposing a generational refinement of job embeddedness theory and introducing a motivational typology distinguishing protective and assertive orientations to quiet quitting. The findings suggest that, within this sample, quiet quitting amongst younger employees appears to be driven primarily by a perceived misalignment between employee values and organisational culture and practices, though the transferability of these patterns to other contexts requires further investigation. To address this, organisations could consider implementing strategies that foster inclusive cultures, provide development opportunities, and improve recognition systems. HR professionals and leaders may use these findings to implement targeted interventions to reduce disengagement and turnover risk amongst Gen Z and Millennial employees in South African workplaces.
DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2026.18391192026-07-24
Zhongya Ji
BackgroundDigital tools are increasingly integrated into parenting, but their psychological costs remain unclear. This study investigates whether digitally-mediated parenting intensity predicts emotional exhaustion among Chinese dual-earner parents, and whether time pressure and parenting guilt mediate this relationship.MethodsA cross-sectional survey was conducted with 713 dual-earner parents from 45 communities across 13 cities in Jiangsu Province, China. Participants completed measures of digital parenting intensity, time pressure, parenting guilt, and emotional exhaustion. We tested the measurement model and the hypothesized mediation paths with item-level latent-variable structural equation modeling (SEM), using maximum likelihood estimation and 5,000 bootstrap samples.ResultsThe four-factor measurement model fitted the data well, χ2(59) = 92.13, p = 0.004, CFI = 0.990, TLI = 0.987, RMSEA = 0.028, SRMR = 0.026, and fitted substantially better than a single-factor model. In the structural model, digital parenting intensity predicted emotional exhaustion directly [β = 0.294, 95% CI (0.184, 0.422)] and indirectly through time pressure [β = 0.099, 95% CI (0.016, 0.184)] and parenting guilt [β = 0.157, 95% CI (0.090, 0.228)]. The total indirect effect was also significant [β = 0.256, 95% CI (0.180, 0.340)].ConclusionDigitally mediated parenting was associated with emotional exhaustion through time pressure and parenting guilt. In this study, the “digital leash” was reflected in school communication, online check-ins, parenting information seeking, and public sharing, which kept dual-earner parents connected to childcare demands even outside the family setting.
DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2026.17740162026-07-24
Yang Chen
Male university students commonly experience gender role stress derived from traditional masculine norms, yet there is a lack of targeted and acceptable psychological interventions for this population. High-intensity interval training, given its time efficiency and alignment with masculine values, may represent a potential strategy to improve resilience and alleviate gender role stress. This study aimed to examine the effects of an 8-week maximal power cycling intervention on resilience and gender role stress in male university students. Using a single-group pre-post design, 54 male university students were enrolled and underwent 8 weeks of Wingate sprint interval training (4 × 30-s all-out sprints, 4-min rest intervals, 2–3 sessions per week). Resilience (CD-RISC-10), masculine gender role stress (abbreviated MGRS), and rating of fatigue (ROF) were measured before and after the intervention. Paired t-tests, correlation analyses, and exploratory mediation analyses were conducted. Results showed that peak cycling power (p = 0.0007) and duration (p = 0.0018) significantly increased, resilience significantly improved (p = 0.0039), and gender role stress (p = 0.0150) and rating of fatigue (p < 0.001) significantly decreased. Exploratory mediation analysis revealed no significant indirect effect of resilience on the relationship between power improvement and gender role stress reduction (95% CI included 0). Of note, because all variables entered the model as change scores (Δ) in this single-group pre-post design, the temporal precedence requirement for formal mediation analysis could not be met; thus, these findings are exploratory and should not be interpreted as causal. Under this single-group pre-post design, significant improvements in resilience and reductions in gender role stress were observed after the 8-week intervention, but these changes warrant cautious interpretation. Due to the lack of a control group, the results should be considered preliminary and exploratory, and causality cannot be established. Moreover, the mechanism does not appear to operate through a mediating pathway of resilience, it may involve more complex psychological processes such as behavioral activation and cognitive restructuring of fatigue.
DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2026.1876857