{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,31]],"date-time":"2026-07-31T19:09:22Z","timestamp":1785524962782,"version":"3.56.0"},"reference-count":39,"publisher":"Frontiers Media SA","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,31]],"date-time":"2026-07-31T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1785456000000},"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:p>\n                    Against the backdrop of intensifying socio-structural pressures and the pervasive \u201cFo-xi\u201d (Buddha-like) subculture in contemporary China, this study conceptualizes a novel psychological mechanism termed \u201cEgo-Tucking.\u201d Operationalized as a strategic and adaptive defense mechanism, Ego-Tucking denotes an intentional modulation of the self where individuals \u201ctuck away\u201d excessive emotional investment in macro-social competition to preserve psychological equilibrium. Utilizing a multi-dimensional empirical approach with a cohort of university students (\n                    <jats:italic>N<\/jats:italic>\n                    = 678), the research identifies a phenomenon of \u201cFunctional Bifurcation\u201d: while individuals tactically retreat from high-stakes social hierarchies characterized by \u201cEvaluative Singularity,\u201d they simultaneously maintain high agentic vitality within individualized micro-domains. Path analysis reveals that Internal Psychological Retrenchment (IPR) blue serves as a pivotal mediating bridge, linking external stressors with a state of \u201cTactical Readiness.\u201d Furthermore, the study highlights how the \u201cSocio-familial Cushion\u201d\u2014rooted in traditional Chinese parental support\u2014provides the material prerequisite for this strategic withdrawal. Ultimately, the findings suggest that Ego-Tucking appears conceptually distinct from learned helplessness or systemic collapse, functioning instead as a form of \u201cPsychological Hibernation\u201d that ensures existential security and psychological resilience in an era of diminishing marginal returns on effort.\n                  <\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3389\/fpsyg.2026.1876249","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,31]],"date-time":"2026-07-31T17:42:20Z","timestamp":1785519740000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Ego-Tucking: a novel psychological mechanism of strategic retrenchment and resilience among Chinese youth"],"prefix":"10.3389","volume":"17","author":[{"given":"Linjun","family":"Liu","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Physical and Aesthetic Education, Wuhan Technical University","place":["Wuhan, China"]},{"name":"College of Sports Medicine, Wuhan Sports University","place":["Wuhan, China"]},{"name":"Faculty of Pharmacy, Lincoln University College","place":["Selangor, Malaysia"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Yantong","family":"Sun","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute of Sports Technologies and Physical Education, Moscow State University of Sport and Tourism","place":["Moscow, Russia"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Zongdi","family":"Zhao","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Pharmacy, Lincoln University College","place":["Selangor, Malaysia"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Luhao","family":"Chai","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Foreign Economics and Trade, Wuhan Textile University","place":["Wuhan, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Tianying","family":"Xue","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"International Cultural Education College, Northeast Agricultural University","place":["Harbin, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Sheng","family":"Yan","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Physical and Aesthetic Education, Wuhan Technical University","place":["Wuhan, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1965","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,31]]},"reference":[{"key":"B1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"676","DOI":"10.1017\/S0305741012000884","article-title":"Counting cadres: a comparative view of the size of China's public employment","volume":"211","author":"Ang","year":"2012","journal-title":"China Quart"},{"key":"B2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"978","DOI":"10.1038\/s41386-021-01263-4","article-title":"Measuring maladaptive avoidance: from animal models to clinical anxiety","volume":"47","author":"Ball","year":"2022","journal-title":"Neuropsychopharmacology"},{"key":"B3","first-page":"77","article-title":"\u201cPublic sector reform in China: who is losing out?,\u201d","author":"Br\u00f8dsgaard","year":"2014","journal-title":"Globalization And Public Sector Reform in China"},{"key":"B4","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"57","DOI":"10.1080\/02185379408434044","article-title":"Civil service reform in China","volume":"7","author":"Burns","year":"2007","journal-title":"OECD J. 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