A bidirectional association between school environmental factors and physical activity habit formation among Chinese urban adolescents: a cross-lagged panel model

Background School environment is considered one of the important external factors that affect the formation of physical activity habits among teenagers, and its mechanism of action and time effect still require verification through longitudinal evidence. Methods In this survey, junior and senior high school students in Shanghai were selected as samples. A three-time point tracking design was adopted to obtain valid questionnaires totaling 1,235. Descriptive statistics, correlation analysis, and cross-lag model analysis were conducted through SPSS 24.0 and Mplus 8.3, respectively, to explore the dynamic influence of school environmental factors on physical activity habits. Results The results indicated that the attraction of facilities and environment, the norms of teachers' capabilities, and the guarantee of curriculum design could all be crucial positive predictors for the formation of physical activity habits at subsequent time points ( P < 0.001), while existing activity habits of adolescents did not have a significant reverse impact on the above school factors. The model fits well: RMSEA = 0.042, CFI = 0.929, TLI = 0.868. Conclusion School environmental factors, especially the guarantee mechanisms at the levels of teaching and curriculum, play a continuous promoting role in the formation of physical activity habits of teenagers. The study recommends that in reforming school physical education, more emphasis should be laid on integrating the curriculum to allow teacher support and the opening of sports venues in order to promote long-term consolidation and continuation of the activity habits.