{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,7]],"date-time":"2026-08-07T15:14:06Z","timestamp":1786115646675,"version":"build-2736575974"},"reference-count":46,"publisher":"Frontiers Media SA","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,6]],"date-time":"2026-08-06T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1785974400000},"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>Purpose<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>This study aimed to examine the effects of different physical exercise programs on psychological stress and group cohesion in children aged 10\u201311 years and to test the mediating role of group cohesion in the relationship between physical exercise and psychological stress.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Methods<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>\n                      A total of 144 fifth-grade students aged 10\u201311 years were recruited from four administrative classes at a primary school in Suzhou using cluster sampling. The four classes were randomly allocated to Interactive Programs (\n                      <jats:italic>n<\/jats:italic>\n                      = 73) and Coactive Programs (\n                      <jats:italic>n<\/jats:italic>\n                      = 71). The participants\u2019 psychological stress and group cohesion levels were measured before and after the 16-week physical exercise intervention. Data analysis employed repeated measures ANOVA, correlation analysis, and mediation effect testing.\n                    <\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Results<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>\n                      (1) Both types of physical exercise significantly reduced psychological stress levels and enhanced group cohesion among children aged 10\u201311 years (\n                      <jats:italic>P<\/jats:italic>\n                      &amp;lt; 0.01). (2) Compared with the coactive program group, the interactive program group showed significantly greater improvements in both psychological stress reduction and group cohesion (\n                      <jats:italic>P<\/jats:italic>\n                      &amp;lt; 0.01). (3) Participation in interactive physical activities is a significant negatively predictive factor for psychological stress and a significant positively predictive factor for group cohesion. Group cohesion is significantly negatively correlated with psychological stress. (4) The mediating role of group cohesion in the relationship between interactive exercise programs based on interaction and psychological stress did not reach statistical significance.\n                    <\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Conclusion<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Physical exercise can effectively alleviate psychological stress and improve group cohesion in children aged 10\u201311 years. Notably, interactive programs are more effective than coactive programs in promoting both outcomes. The impact of interactive programs on psychological stress is primarily achieved through a direct pathway, with group cohesion not playing a significant mediating role.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.3389\/fpsyg.2026.1837922","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,6]],"date-time":"2026-08-06T04:24:22Z","timestamp":1785990262000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Effects of different physical exercise programs on psychological stress and group cohesion in children"],"prefix":"10.3389","volume":"17","author":[{"given":"Kaixin","family":"Niu","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Physical Education and Sports School, Soochow University","place":["Suzhou, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Gang","family":"Chen","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Physical Education and Sports School, Soochow University","place":["Suzhou, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Guiming","family":"Zhu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Physical Education and Sports School, Soochow University","place":["Suzhou, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Miyu","family":"Wang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Physical Education and Sports School, Soochow University","place":["Suzhou, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Pengfei","family":"Li","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Physical Education and Sports School, Soochow University","place":["Suzhou, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Sheng","family":"Zhou","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Basic Course, Suzhou City University","place":["Suzhou, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Rongbin","family":"Yin","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Physical Education and Sports School, Soochow University","place":["Suzhou, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1965","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,6]]},"reference":[{"key":"B1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"886","DOI":"10.1136\/bjsports-2011-090185","article-title":"Physical activity and mental health in children and adolescents: A review of reviews.","volume":"45","author":"Biddle","year":"2011","journal-title":"Br. 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