{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,24]],"date-time":"2026-09-24T05:02:02Z","timestamp":1790226122012,"version":"4.1.0"},"reference-count":45,"publisher":"Frontiers Media SA","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,24]],"date-time":"2026-09-24T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1790208000000},"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>Objectives<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>To investigate the independent associations between the physical fitness index (PFI), as well as individual physical fitness metrics, and negative emotional symptoms (stress, anxiety, and depression) among college students; and to analyze gender-specific variations in these associations, thereby providing empirical, fitness-based evidence for mental health interventions in higher education institutions.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Methods<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Utilizing a cross-sectional design, this study selected 2,190 college students from 73 universities across Chongqing via stratified cluster sampling. A standardized physical fitness test battery\u2014comprising vital capacity, the 50-meter sprint, the 800\/1000-meter run, the sit-and-reach test, and pull-ups\/sit-ups\u2014was administered to calculate the comprehensive PFI. Negative emotional symptoms were assessed using the 21-item Depression Anxiety Stress Scales (DASS-21). Multivariable Logistic regression models were employed to evaluate the independent associations between physical fitness and negative emotional symptoms, after comprehensively adjusting for moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA), muscle-strengthening exercise (MSE), screen time, sedentary duration, and sociodemographic variables.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Results<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>\n                      The detection rates of stress, anxiety, and depression symptoms were 68.08%, 67.67%, and 12.37%, respectively. In conventional categorical models, moderate and high PFI were associated with lower odds of all three outcomes in the pooled sample, although several high-PFI estimates were extremely small. Firth sensitivity analyses supported inverse associations for high PFI across outcomes and sexes; however, moderate PFI was not statistically associated with stress in female students or anxiety in male students. Continuous PFI analyses showed lower odds of each outcome per 1-SD increase in the pooled and sex-stratified samples (all\n                      <jats:italic>P<\/jats:italic>\n                      &amp;lt; 0.001). These patterns were broadly consistent with the individual-component analyses, but the cross-sectional design precludes causal interpretation.\n                    <\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Conclusions<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Higher PFI was independently associated with lower odds of negative emotional symptoms among college students. The consistency of direction across categorical, Firth-penalized, and continuous-PFI models supports the robustness of the association, but the extreme categorical estimates, model-calibration findings, sample-relative cutoffs, and cross-sectional design require cautious interpretation. Longitudinal and intervention studies are needed before PFI is used as a clinical or campus screening threshold.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.3389\/fpsyg.2026.1927005","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,24]],"date-time":"2026-09-24T04:33:19Z","timestamp":1790224399000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Association between college students 'physical fitness index and negative emotional symptoms: an empirical study based on college students in Chongqing City, China"],"prefix":"10.3389","volume":"17","author":[{"given":"Shijun","family":"Tan","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"College of Physical Education and Health Management, Chongqing University of Education","place":["Chongqing, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Caifeng","family":"Li","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"College of Physical Education and Health Management, Chongqing University of Education","place":["Chongqing, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1965","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,24]]},"reference":[{"key":"B1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"e70054","DOI":"10.1111\/inm.70054","article-title":"The effects of aerobic and resistance exercise on depression and anxiety: systematic review with meta-analysis","volume":"34","author":"Banyard","year":"2025","journal-title":"Int. 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