Physical education examination cognition and exercise behavior in Chinese adolescents: the mediating role of exercise attitude

To examine the relationships among physical education (PE) examination cognition, exercise attitude, and physical exercise behavior among junior high school students, and to test the mediating role of exercise attitude in the association between PE examination cognition and physical exercise behavior. The study aimed to provide empirical evidence for understanding students’ physical exercise participation in the context of the PE examination. A multistage regional stratified cluster sampling method was used to survey 905 students from nine junior high schools in Tianjin, China. Data were collected using the PE Examination Cognition Scale, the Exercise Attitude Scale, and the Physical Activity Rating Scale-3 (PARS-3). Descriptive statistics, correlation analysis, structural equation modeling, and Bootstrap mediation analysis were performed to examine the relationships among the variables. PE examination cognition, exercise attitude, and physical exercise behavior were significantly and positively correlated with one another. The structural equation model showed good fit, and significant positive paths were observed between PE examination cognition and exercise attitude, between PE examination cognition and physical exercise behavior, and between exercise attitude and physical exercise behavior. After controlling for sex and grade and including exercise attitude in the model, the direct association between PE examination cognition and physical exercise behavior remained significant. Bootstrap mediation analysis showed that exercise attitude had a significant mediating effect in the association between PE examination cognition and physical exercise behavior, with the indirect effect accounting for 27.47% of the total association. Sensitivity analyses showed that the indirect effect remained significant after deleting selected exercise attitude items or retaining only the cognitive evaluation item. PE examination cognition is an important cognitive basis for understanding physical exercise behavior among junior high school students, and exercise attitude is an important psychological link between PE examination cognition and physical exercise behavior. In school physical education practice, attention should be paid not only to explaining PE examination policies, scoring standards, and item-specific training requirements, but also to cultivating students’ recognition of the value of physical exercise, positive exercise experiences, and autonomous exercise awareness. Such efforts may help better connect PE examination evaluation with students’ daily physical activity participation and long-term exercise habit formation.