[Factors associated with coronary artery disease in adults with metabolic syndrome: an analysis of data from the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey].

Currently, mental health issues such as depression and anxiety among Chinese college students have become increasingly prominent (). In January 2025, the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the State Council issued the “Outline of the Plan for Building a Strong Nation in Education (2024–2035),” which calls for enhancing students’ practical skills, ability to solve complex problems, and social adaptability, thereby promoting their healthy growth and all-round development (). Social adaptation, as a key element connecting the individual to the environment, has a decisive impact on both the current academic performance and future career development of college students (). However, with the deepening development of the digital age, an increasing number of students prefer to engage in online socializing from home, neglecting participation in offline outdoor activities. This shift in lifestyle and social interaction has led contemporary college students to encounter numerous challenges in their social adaptation process, specifically manifested in issues such as strained interpersonal relationships in dormitories and weak emotional regulation skills (). This directly results in a weakening of students’ social adaptation abilities, making it difficult for them to adapt to complex social environments and successfully transition into their social roles after graduation. Contemporary college students are currently in a critical transitional phase as they prepare to enter society, where they will soon face intense job competition and a fast-paced social environment; enhancing their social adaptability is now a matter of urgency. Physical exercise is widely recognized as a key component of personal health; it not only strengthens physical fitness and promotes cognitive, emotional, and social development, but also helps individuals form a correct sense of self, self-awareness, and self-discovery, thereby fostering personality development and facilitating socialization (). The Positive Emotion Expansion-Construction Theory posits that positive emotions can expand the scope of an individual’s cognitive and social behaviors (expansion effect) and build psychological and social capital (construction effect), thereby continuously enhancing an individual’s comprehensive ability to adapt to the environment, cope with stress, and integrate into society (). Physical exercise can evoke positive emotions such as joy, satisfaction, and pride, enabling students to participate in social activities with a positive attitude. These positive emotions strengthen peer relationships by fostering trust and mutual respect through interaction (), and healthy peer relationships can significantly enhance students’ interpersonal skills, promote the development of their empathy, and thereby strengthen their social adaptability (), fulfilling the expansion effect; at the same time, long-term, sustained positive emotions can offset the negative impact of negative emotions, helping to build enduring and stable psychological and social resources for the individual. This forms psychological protective capital, enhances an individual’s ability to cope with stress, and consequently improves psychological resilience (). University students with greater psychological resilience tend to view problems more positively, reducing the likelihood of negative outcomes (). This enables them to better regulate their emotions, utilize their social support systems more effectively, and adopt effective coping strategies to adapt to new environments (), thereby improving their social adaptability (), which fulfills the construction effect. Based on this, this study adopts the Positive Emotion Expansion-Construction Theory as its analytical framework. Against the backdrop of enhancing college students’ social adaptation abilities, it aims to thoroughly investigate the impact of physical exercise on these abilities, as well as the chained mediating roles of peer relationships and psychological resilience between the two, thereby providing a new theoretical basis for improving college students’ social adaptation abilities.