Enablers of students’ health-promoting lifestyle: evidence from PLS-SEM and fsQCA

Adolescent health-promoting lifestyles, which are of global concern, significantly influence personal well-being. Previous research has highlighted the close connection between emotional competence and adolescent health behaviors and lifestyles. However, there is limited understanding of the underlying mechanisms between specific dimensions of emotional competence and adolescent health-promoting lifestyles. The study included 1,163 adolescents (female = 52.5%, age mean = 13.29, SD = 0.8) structural equation model (SEM) and fuzzy set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA) were used to investigate the interrelationships among adolescents' emotional competence, body image, social media use, and the promotion of a healthy lifestyle. According to the SEM results, emotional regulation, self-control, and empathy can all account for body image and subsequently affect adolescent health-promoting lifestyles. The results of fsQCA indicate that there are multiple configurations among emotional regulation, empathy, self-control, body appreciation, and social media use that lead to a high level of health-promoting lifestyle for adolescents. Furthermore, social media use was found to positively moderate the relationship between body appreciation and a health-promoting lifestyle. These findings can assist families and schools in formulating corresponding strategies during adolescent growth, help adolescents enhance their emotional competence, and establish a positive body image to promote the formation of a health-promoting lifestyle.