{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,15]],"date-time":"2026-07-15T05:08:02Z","timestamp":1784092082978,"version":"3.55.0"},"reference-count":32,"publisher":"Frontiers Media SA","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,15]],"date-time":"2026-07-15T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1784073600000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["frontiersin.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Front. Psychol."],"abstract":"<jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Background<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Emerging adulthood (18\u201325 years) is a critical developmental period characterized by identity exploration and psychological vulnerability. College students frequently experience stress, identity confusion, and mental health challenges. Martial arts training has been associated with psychological benefits; however, its role in identity development and the mechanisms underlying this relationship remain unclear. Grounded in an embodied psychological framework, this study examined whether an 8-week structured martial arts intervention enhances self-identity development among college students and whether embodied awareness mediates this effect.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Methods<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>\n                      An 8-week intervention study quasi-experimental pre-post design was employed with 58 undergraduate students (aged 18\u201325 years) recruited from Guangdong University of Petrochemical Technology, China. Participants were allocated to a Martial Arts Intervention Group (MAIG;\n                      <jats:italic>n<\/jats:italic>\n                      = 29) or a Waitlist Control Group (WCG;\n                      <jats:italic>n<\/jats:italic>\n                      = 29). The MAIG completed an 8-week instructor-led training program (3 sessions\/week), while the WCG maintained usual activities. Self-identity (EIPQ), embodied awareness (MAIA-2), self-esteem (Rosenberg Scale), and resilience (CD-RISC-10) were assessed at baseline and post-intervention. Mixed-design ANOVA and bootstrapped mediation analyses (PROCESS Model 4; 5,000 resamples) were conducted.\n                    <\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Results<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>\n                      Significant Time \u00d7 Group interaction effects were observed for identity commitment, embodied awareness, self-esteem, and resilience (all\n                      <jats:italic>p<\/jats:italic>\n                      &amp;lt; 0.001). The intervention group showed large improvements across all outcomes (partial \u03b7\n                      <jats:sup>2<\/jats:sup>\n                      = 0.618\u20130.781). Mediation analysis revealed that changes in embodied awareness significantly mediated the relationship between group assignment and changes in identity commitment (95% CI did not include zero), indicating partial mediation.\n                    <\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Discussion<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Findings support the embodied perspective, suggesting that structured martial arts training promotes identity consolidation through enhanced bodily awareness. Martial arts may serve as an effective, body-based intervention to foster psychological development and resilience among college students.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.3389\/fpsyg.2026.1811149","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,15]],"date-time":"2026-07-15T04:43:44Z","timestamp":1784090624000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Martial arts practice and self-identity development among college students: evidence from an embodied psychological perspective"],"prefix":"10.3389","volume":"17","author":[{"given":"Jiabing","family":"Zhou","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Guangdong University of Petrochemical Technology, Maoming","place":["Guangdong, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Cheng","family":"Zheng","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Nanjing Normal University, Nanjing","place":["Jiangsu, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Mengmeng","family":"Hu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Guangdong University of Petrochemical Technology, Maoming","place":["Guangdong, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Yali","family":"Liu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Guangdong University of Petrochemical Technology, Maoming","place":["Guangdong, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1965","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,15]]},"reference":[{"key":"B1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"469","DOI":"10.1037\/0003-066X.55.5.469","article-title":"Emerging adulthood: A theory of development from the late teens through the twenties.","volume":"55","author":"Arnett","year":"2000","journal-title":"Am. 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