The relationship between family function and career adaptability among telecommunications employees: the chain mediation effect of social support and general self-efficacy

IntroductionInterpersonal skills are an important component of college students’ social adaptation and directly are associated with the quality of their social interactions and mental health. Physical exercise is an important means of supporting physical and mental health and is positively associated with the development of college students’ interpersonal skills. This study explores the association between physical exercise and college students’ interpersonal skills and the chain mediation effect of social anxiety and peer relationships.MethodsA questionnaire survey was conducted on 813 college students using the Physical Exercise Level Scale, interpersonal skills Scale, Social Anxiety Scale, and Peer Relationship Scale. Using Models in PROCESS Macros 6 and Bootstrap methods were employed to test and analyze the mediating effects of social anxiety and peer relationships.Results① Physical exercise was significantly positively correlated with interpersonal skills, with a significant direct predictive effect; ② Physical exercise negatively predicted social anxiety, which in turn was negatively associated with peer relationships and interpersonal skills, while peer relationships positively predicted interpersonal skills; ③ Social anxiety and peer relationships played a statistically significant chain-mediated role between physical exercise and interpersonal skills, although the indirect effect sizes were relatively small. These formed three mediation pathways: Physical exercise → social anxiety → interpersonal skills (path 1), physical exercise → peer relationships → interpersonal skills (path 2), and physical exercise → social anxiety → peer relationships → interpersonal skills (path 3).ConclusionPhysical exercise is not only directly associated with better interpersonal skills among college students but also indirectly associated via sequential pathways involving reduced social anxiety and enhanced peer relationships.