Effect of gender on students’ emotion with gender-related public self-consciousness as a moderator in mixed-gender physical education classes

Abstract

The present study investigates whether gender-related public self-consciousness moderates the relationship between students’ gender and emotions in mixed-gender physical education classes. The Positive and Negative Affect Scales and the Gender-related Public Self-Consciousness Scale were administered to 380 middle-school students in South Korea. The preliminary analysis included a t-test and ANOVA. Subsequently, a hierarchical regression analysis was performed. The results showed that girls’ gender-related public self-consciousness was significantly higher than that of boys. Further, gender-related public self-consciousness significantly moderated the relationship between gender and positive emotion, and while it moderated the relationship between gender and negative emotion, the effect was negligible. Gender-related public self-consciousness plays a role in mixed-gender physical education class. Thus, gender and gender-related public self-consciousness can help educators better understand students’ emotions. These findings can inform guidelines for planning mixed-gender physical education course curricula

Keywords

gender gender-related public self-consciousness mixed-gender physical education class negative emotion positive emotion

Adolescence is typically marked by emotional struggles (Achenbach, 1991) because children’s psychological and emotional development is slower than their seemingly sudden and rapid physiological changes (Steinberg, 2011). It is therefore critically important to address these emotional issues appropriately. Emotion refers to the conscious and subconscious reactions to environmental stimuli, followed by the cognitive evaluation of stimuli that, can be either positive or negative (Lazarus, 2000). When the evaluation is positive, it triggers pleasant behaviors; when negative, it triggers subjective pain and discomfort. The two kinds of emotion are not polar opposites of the same dimension, but rather, independent elements (Lazarus, 2000). During adolescence, positive emotions enhance cognitive and adaptive capacity, and promote active academic participation and healthy relationships with teachers and peers at school (Lyubomirsky, King, & Diener, 2005; Reschly, Huebner, Appleton, & Antaramian, 2008). In contrast, negative emotions can dampen students’ academic will (Turner, Thorpe, & Meyer, 1998). Adolescents coping with everyday demands who perceive their developmental changes as stressors are especially sensitive to negative emotion (Anderson & Doehrman, 1980).

Physical education and sports (PES) have been suggested in order to promote positive emotion and lower negative emotion among adolescents, as it pushes students’ physical limits through which positive and meaningful experiences are gained (Azzarito & Soloman, 2006). Physical education (PE) courses built into school curriculum typically encourage team sports and lifelong fitness, which are beneficial for health (Bailey, 2006; Dudley, Pearson, Okely, & Cotton, 2015). However, they also promote positive emotions such as pleasure and enjoyment (Dudley, Okely, Pearson, & Cotton, 2011; Dudley et al., 2015), and offer a release from negative emotion experienced in school and everyday life (Lewis, Marcus, Pate, & Dunn, 2002).

In the mid-1990s, mixed-gender classes were promoted as part of ‘gender equality in education’ in Korea (Kang, Lee, Kim, & Ko, 2003): New schools offered mixed-gender classes and existing schools with single-gender classes restructured their system to offer mixed-gender classes. According to the Statistical Yearbook of Education of Korean Educational Statistics Service (1993, 1998, 2003, 2008, 2013), the number of schools offering mixed-gender classes has increased in the last two decades from approximately 1400 schools to 2400 schools. On the other hand, single-gender classes decreased from 1100 schools to 700 schools across Korea. The change in education policy has resulted in improvements in gender equality; the rate of college admission among females has increased notably, and biases in textbooks have reduced (Kim & Wang, 1999). Mixed-gender PE classes are a part of this effort (You & Kim, 2002). However, meaningful application requires appropriate educational considerations (Chepyator-Thomson, You, & Hardin, 2000; O’Sullivan, Bush, & Gehring, 2002), especially since educators’ and students’ preconceived notions can dilute its intent and reinforce gender biases.

The power structure in PE classes needs to be addressed. In playgrounds, boys tend to have greater social power than girls do. The way girls are perceived by boys has been labelled a source of oppression (Azzarito & Solmon, 2006). The discursive structure of gender can marginalize students with less social power (Wright, 1995). Hegemonic gender ideologies can also marginalize boys with poorer physical skills (Wright, 2002). For instance, athletically inclined boys are admired by peers of both genders and are more likely to take on leadership roles in PE classes. Less athletic boys tend to be ignored, are presented with limited opportunities in PE class, and are excluded. For girls, the degree of alienation in PE classes is more significant (Ennis, 2000; Griffin, 1984). Even athletically gifted girls are vulnerable to boys’ taunting, or the disapproval or teasing of other girls who consider them ‘tomboys’. Consequently, their participation is likely to be discouraged, regardless of their interest. Most Korean teenagers enjoy PE classes. However, perhaps due to alienation, 69.9% of girls and 25.5% of boys have indifferent or negative views of PE classes (Kim, 1999). The fear of being labelled as incapable in PE classes leads to negative emotions regarding participation (Carroll & Loumidis, 2001).

This inequality in social power is related to perception. This self-consciousness constitutes public self-consciousness, which is associated with a greater concern for outward appearances, since behavior is the object of evaluation (Fenigstein, 1979). Adolescents’ public self-consciousness in mixed-gender PE classes is gendered because of sustained differences in the types of opportunity provided to male and female students (Treanor, Graber, Housner, & Wiegand, 1998). Further, we defined gender-related public self-consciousness (GPSC) as the degree of awareness pertaining to the opposite sex’s perceptions of oneself (e.g., a girl’s perception of how boys perceive her, and vice versa) and proposed that it varies by gender.

Public self-consciousness is closely associated with interpersonal relationships and social behaviors (Monfries & Kafer, 1994). Individuals with high public self-consciousness value others’ opinions and are more likely to agree with others (Froming & Caver, 1981). These individuals also pay more attention to their gestures, manners, height, weight, and outward appearance (Turner, Gilliland, & Klein, 1981). Such characteristics of public self-consciousness can be extended to emotion. Although studies have not been conducted on GPSC and emotion, existing studies on public self-consciousness allow us to predict its association with emotion.

Only a few Korean studies on gender and emotion in PE classes have been completed; they have mainly investigated a one-dimensional relationship between gender and emotion. Higher levels of positive emotions were found among boys (Hong, Cha, & Lee, 2010; Jang & Kim, 2008) and the difference in negative emotion between boys and girls was not significant (Hong et al., 2010). However, since interpreting such findings only in terms of gender is limiting, we included GPSC, as it may be contextually critical to the discussion of gender and emotion in mixed-gender PE classes. Additionally, the practical implications of these findings may help educators and school psychologists develop strategies to indirectly foster positive emotion and dissipate negative emotion in adolescents by addressing gender issues observed in mixed-gender PE classes.

The research questions are: Is there a gender difference in GPSC among Korean secondary-school students? What is the effect of gender on positive and negative emotion with GPSC as moderator in a mixed-gender PE class among Korean secondary-school students?

Method

Participants

Data were collected from 400 secondary-school adolescents from the mid-sized urban city of Hanam, Korea; the six participating schools were selected randomly from the 14 secondary schools. Students were asked to complete questionnaires about gender, GPSC, and emotion in PE class. Twenty participants’ responses were eliminated due to missing data and insincere responses, resulting in a final sample size of 380 children (197 boys and 183 girls), aged 13- to 15-years-old (in grades 7–9; Mean age = 14.00 years, SD = 0.83). This age group was deemed suitable, since emotion is influenced by gender during the secondary school-going years in Korea, as suggested by prior research (Hong et al., 2010; Jang & Kim, 2008).

Procedure

Written informed consent was obtained from all students. They were informed that participation was voluntary, that they were not obliged to answer questions, and that their responses would be confidential. In addition, since participants were minors, parental consent was sought. Self-reports were used to obtain information regarding students’ perceptions of GPSC and emotion in PE class. Data were collected by researchers at first hand during PE class on three consecutive days in autumn 2014.

Measures

Gender-related public self-consciousness scale (GPSCS)

We modified Scheier and Carver’s (1985) self-consciousness scale to better accommodate three elements: private self-consciousness, public self-consciousness, and social-anxiety. For the GPSCS in the current study, the seven items assessing public self-consciousness were tailored to fit our study goal. The GPSCS was translated by two bilingual experts; back-translated items that did not match the original were reviewed and edited by native English speakers. A panel comprising a sports psychology professor, two doctorate-level researchers, and a middle-school PE teacher assessed the final questionnaire items. The item ‘I’m concerned about the way I do activities when boys (girls) are in PE class’ is representative of this scale (see Table 1, Supplemental Online Materials). An additional response option was provided by replacing the four-point scale with a five-point scale, ranging 1 (‘did not do this at all’) to 5 (‘did this a lot’), in order to improve its discriminatory power.

In order to verify the GPSCS’ construct validity, a primary confirmatory factor analysis was performed on the seven questions using the maximum likelihood method (MLM). A secondary analysis was conducted after removing three items (4, 5 and 6) that did not reach the 0.50 criterion for standardized regression weights in the primary analysis. As a result, the fitness indices (χ²= 5.356 (df = 2, p > 0.05); CFI = 0.996; TLI = 0.988; RMSEA = 0.067) were within acceptable limits (Hu & Bentler, 1999). Therefore, the final questionnaire for GPSCS comprised four items. Cronbach’s α was 0.88 in this study.

Positive and negative affect schedule (PANAS)

The PANAS comprises two ten-item self-report scales for positive and negative affect. The questionnaire in this study—used to assess general emotions experienced during PE class—contained the 20 items of the general dimension scales (ten positive and ten negative affect) of the expanded 60-item PANAS-X questionnaire (Watson & Clark, 1999). The same translation procedure was followed for the PANAS as the GPSCS. The instructions printed above the questionnaire stated, ‘choose the response that most closely describes the emotion you feel during PE classes’. Items were statements with adjectives that represent emotions for which responses are scored on a five-point Likert scale. Adjectives such as ‘excited’ and ‘active’ were used to assess positive emotions, and ‘irritable’ and ‘nervous’ were used to assess negative emotions. Construct validity of the PANAS was established through primary confirmatory factor analysis of the 20 items using the MLM. Secondary analysis was conducted by excluding the one item that did not meet the 0.50 criterion for standardized regression weights in the primary analysis. Fit indices, such as the covariance between error terms among items 1 and 2 and between 11 and 12, were established (Jὅreskog & Sὅrbom, 2012). Fit indices (χ²= 458.352 (df = 149, p < 0.05); CFI = 0.937; TLI = 0.928; RMSEA =0.074) were within acceptable limits (Hu & Bentler, 1999). Therefore, the final PANAS comprised 19 questions with two factors: Ten items for positive affect and nine for negative affect. Cronbach’s α for the subscales were 0.91 (positive affect) and 0.94 (negative affect) in this study.

Data analysis

Confirmatory factor analysis was used to assess construct validity of the scales, while Cronbach’s α was calculated to assess reliability. AMOS 18.0 was used to perform confirmatory factor analyses. In addition, the t-tests and a hierarchical regression analysis, using SPSS 19.0, were performed to examine the relationships between variables. Significance was set at 0.05.

The four assumptions of multiple regressions—normality of the error, linearity of the error, independence of the residuals, and homoscedasticity—were met.

Results

Preliminary analyses

Participants’ gender and age were correlated with several variables (see Table 2, Supplemental Online Materials). Significant gender differences in GPSC and positive emotion were found, but no significant difference was observed for negative emotion. Regarding the association between gender and major variables, girls’ GPSCS scores were higher than the boys’ scores (t (378) = −3.458, p < 0.01). Boys reported higher levels of positive emotion compared to girls (t (378) =6.077, p < 0.001). The Bonferroni test revealed a significant age difference for positive emotion: positive emotion was higher among seventh grades than ninth grades (F (2, 377) = 11.118, p < 0.001). No significant differences were found in the remaining groups.

Main analyses

Hierarchical regression analysis was used to examine the effect of gender on positive and negative emotion, with GPSC as a moderator. The criterion (gender; boy ‘0’, girl ‘1’) and moderator variables were entered in the first step. In the second step, a two-way interaction variable (gender × GPSC) was entered, which minimizes the risk of type I error associated with multiple statistical comparisons (Cohen, Cohen, West, & Aiken, 2003). The interaction variable was created by multiplying the centered means of the respective predictors. A moderator effect is indicated by the change in R² (ΔR²) in the second step. Moreover, in the social sciences, ΔR² values exceeding 0.01 (1%) are considered indicative of a moderator effect. The effect was also considered to be present if the R² values in second step and the slope of the interaction variables were statistically significant. We used interaction graphs to test whether the relationship between the predictors and dependent variables were statistically significant (Cohen et al., 2003).

Effect of gender on positive emotion with GPSC as moderator

The results of the hierarchical regression analyses are presented in Table 3 (See Supplemental Online Materials). Regarding positive emotion, the overall model was significant (F (2, 377) = 21.59, p < 0.001). Gender and GPSC were negatively related to positive emotion. A significant two-way interaction between gender and GPSC was found in step 2 (F (3, 376) = 16.94, p < 0.001). In the second step, R² was 0.119 (p < 0.001) and ΔR² was 0.016 (p < 0.01). In addition, the slope (gender × GPSC) was statistically significant (β = 0.39; p < 0.01), demonstrating the presence of a two-way interaction effect.

Effect of gender on negative emotion with GPSC as moderator

Regarding negative emotion, the overall model was significant (F (2, 377) = 23.59, p < 0.001). GPSC was positively related to negative emotion, whereas no significant relationship was found for gender. A significant two-way interaction between gender and GPSC was found in step 2 (F (3, 376) = 17.215, p < 0.001) and R² and ΔR² were 0.121 (p < 0.001) and 0.01 (p < 0.05), respectively. In addition, slope was statistically significant (β = −0.30; p < 0.05), demonstrating the existence of a two-way interaction effect. In the second step, the main effect between GPSC and negative emotion was significant (β = 0.45; p < 0.001), while the main effect between gender and negative emotion was not significant (β = 0.22; p > 0.05).

Interpreting the two-way interaction effect with interaction graphs

The two-step hierarchical regression analysis found evidence for a two-way interaction effect for both positive and negative emotion (see Table 3; see Supplemental Online Materials). A graph was created to interpret the correlations between the interactions of gender and GPSC, and positive and negative emotion. Because GPSCS data comprise continuous variables, those with SD < −1were coded as ‘1’ (low-GPSC group), and those with SD ≥ 1 were coded as ‘2’ (high-GPSC group) (Cohen et al., 2003). Gender was also dummy coded (0 = boys, 1 = girls).

Figure 1 in Supplemental Online Materials shows the graphical representation of the relationships between gender, GPSC, and positive emotion. The boys’ slope showed a sharp downward slant compared to the girls’ slope, indicating that boys with high GPSC had a lower level of positive emotion than those with low GPSC. The level of positive emotion for girls did not vary significantly by GPSC. Further, the gender difference in positive emotion was greater in the low-, rather than high-GPSC group. Although the graph shows that the slopes (group differences) varied, it did not confirm their significance. Thus, a simple effect comparison was conducted. For boys, a significant negative correlation was observed between GPSC and positive emotion (F (1, 95) = 8.848, p < 0.01), but for girls, no significant correlation was observed (F (1, 83) = 0.114, p > 0.05). As for gender and positive emotion, a negative correlation was found for the low-GPSC group (F (1, 97) =14.111, p < 0.001), while no significant gender difference was found for the high-GPSC group (F (1, 81) = 1.410, p > 0.05).

The relationship between gender, GPSC, and negative emotion was examined graphically (Figure 2, Supplemental Online Materials). The slopes representing boys and girls are both positive, suggesting that negative emotion is greater for both genders in the high GPSC group, although it was more pronounced for boys. However, the gender difference in negative emotion was not significant for both GPSC groups. The simple effect comparison indicated that a significant positive correlation was observed between GPSC and negative emotion for both boys (F (1, 95) = 22.523, p < 0.001) and girls (F (1, 83) = 16.409, p < 0.001). As for gender and negative emotion, no significance correlation was found in either the low- (F (1, 97) = 0.005, p > 0.05) or high-GPSC group (F(1, 81) = 0.634, p > 0.05).

Discussion

The current study investigated the relationship between gender, GPSC, and emotions among 13- to 15-year-old middle school students in mixed-gender PE classes in Korea. Girls’ GPSC scores were significantly higher than that of their male counterparts. These findings are consistent with Kim’s (2008) study involving Korean adolescents in everyday contexts, and another involving college students in Korea (Kim, 2003), where girls had a higher level of public self-consciousness than did boys. Studies on public self-consciousness address interpersonal relationships and social behaviors (Cheek & Buss, 1981; Froming & Carver, 1981). Similarly, in PE classes, students’ performance is viewed immediately and publicly. In this context, public self-consciousness is pronounced as the awareness of others’ view of the self is heightened and involves constant self-monitoring. Girls are likely to feel that they are less capable than boys are (Carney & Merrell, 2011).

In Korean culture, women are often evaluated with more stringent standards of appearance and behavior (Jo & Son, 2010). More girls than boys suffer from distorted body image, implying that differential standards exist (Kim, Jang, & An, 2011). Based on prior studies on public self-consciousness, we can expect that girls’ GPSC will be higher than boys’ GPSC.

In the current study, the association between gender and positive emotion varied by GPSC level. Further boys’ positive emotion was negatively correlated with GPSC level, whereas no significant difference was found in girls’ positive emotion. If the relationship between GPSC and positive emotion was examined without controlling for gender, we would have concluded that a significant negative correlation between the two existed. However, gender differences exist. Despite the significantly higher GPSC among girls, this negative correlation for boys can be attributed to the larger impact of GPSC on boys’ positive emotion. This may be related to perceived competence or physical self-perception. During PE class, boys tend to have higher levels of perceived competence (Choi & Chun, 2013) and physical self-perception (Hayes, Crocker & Kowalski, 1999), which are positively correlated with positive emotions (Ebbeck & Weiss, 1998). Boys with low GPSC are likely to have high perceived competence and physical self-perception as well as to have higher social power in PE classes, while the opposite is true for those with high GPSC. This implies that behaving in a highly self-conscious manner heightens GPSC, which is avoidable. For girls, perceived competence or physical self-perception do not contribute significantly to social power in a mixed-gender PE class, which may explain the non-significant difference in positive emotion by GPSC level. Follow-up studies should examine whether perceived competence and physical self-perception served as mediating variables in the current study and ascertain whether GPSC mediates these variables.

Regardless of GPSC, positive emotion was higher among boys than girls, which is consistent with prior research. Spray, Biddle, and Fox’s study (1999) on teenagers aged 16-years-old and older found that boys’ enjoyment of PE class was significantly higher than that of girls. According to Yoo, Lee, and Jeong (2004), boys were more interested in PE classes that girls were. Further, Vallerand and Roussau (2001) found that individuals with more self-determination tended to experience a more positive state of mind when defining their course of action. In a mixed-gender PE class, girls tend to have less power than boys do, leaving them with limited behavior choices (Azzarito & Solomon, 2006). This may contribute to gender differences in self-determination, which in turn leads to gender differences in positive emotion. Furthermore, students who actively participate in class tend to experience more positive emotion than their less active counterparts do (Parfitt, Markland, & Holmes, 1994), and the more a student prefers physical activity, the greater their interest in PE class (Kim & Yoo, 2008). Since boys typically participate more actively in PE class (Dudley et al, 2015; Eom, Han, Lee, & Cha, 2015) and because girls are progressively disillusioned with certain aspects of PE classes (Bailey, 2006), boys are more likely to experience positive emotion than are girls.

This present study differentiates these positive emotions from those in everyday school situations. Studies have found no significant gender differences in positive emotion experienced at school (Reschly et al., 2008), or those that found girls to experience more enjoyment in regular classrooms and academic settings (Pekrun, Goetz, Frenzel, Barchfeld, & Perry, 2011). According to Reschly et al. (2008), positive emotion is related to classroom participation. Thus, while boys’ participation is higher than girls in PE classes, it is reversed in regular classroom settings. The relationship between gender and negative emotion was also significantly influenced by GPSC level. Both boys’ and girls’ negative emotion were positively correlated with GPSC level, and boys’ negative emotion varied significantly according to GPSC level. However, as demonstrated in Figure 2 (Supplemental Online Materials), the slope that represents the correlation between GPSC level and emotion did not differ significantly between genders. Additionally, the simple effect comparison found that the gender difference in negative emotion was not significant in both the low- and high-GPSC groups. That is, GPSC was positively correlated with negative emotion in both genders to a similar degree. Although GPSC is a statistically significant moderating variable that influences the relationship between gender and negative emotion, the graphical pattern showed only a subtle difference in directionality. This suggests that even though the change in R² and slope of the interaction variables were adequate, if a more stringent adequacy level of 0.01 is selected—as suggested by Cohen et al. (2003) —it may not show in the graph. This could be explained by information loss that occurred while categorizing the continuous variable (GPSC), or by a type I error from selecting a lower significance level (α = 0.05; p = 0.044 in the present study). Since we cannot confirm whether the error is due to sampling error differences, a follow-up study is needed.

The main effect of gender on negative emotion was not significant, which is consistent with Kim’s study (2014) on the relationship between gender and negative emotion in high-school mixed-gender PE classes. Kim, Lee, and Hwang (2008) reported similar results in their study on adolescents’ extracurricular sports activity. In another study involving adolescents aged 16-years-old and older, boredom was significantly higher in girls than in boys (Spray et al., 1999). According to Jeon and Moon (2014), students do not experience much stress during PE in Korea and it therefore provides a break from school or everyday stressors. Further, considering that stress and negative emotions are positively correlated (McLaren & Crowe 2002), they may explain the non-significant results for negative emotions: The low stress levels in PE class may have led to fewer negative experiences, such that only those with high GPSC experienced negative emotions, regardless of gender.

In the current study, GPSC was positively associated with negative emotion. The influence of personality and motivational variables such as self-determination and perceived competence may explain this correlation. Public self-consciousness is positively correlated with neuroticism (Scandell & Scandell, 1998); individuals with a high level of public self-consciousness focus on the self, suggesting that their personality structure is closely tied to negative emotion (Scandell & Scandell, 1998). Likewise, GPSC is associated with negative emotion through a similar pathway in a mixed-gender PE class.

Limitations

There are several limitations in interpreting the results of the current study. Since it was based on correlational data, causal relationships could not be determined. Follow-up longitudinal and experimental studies are needed in order to understand the relationships between gender, GPSC, and emotion. Second, the current study assumed that public self-consciousness varies by gender in a mixed-gender PE class, and proceeded by replacing public self-consciousness with GPSC. However, the study could not confirm whether gender differences are in response to the two concepts. Third, the sample’s puberty status was not evaluated. Considering that puberty begins earlier for girls than for boys, its role in the relationship between gender, GPSC, and emotion is not clear and could confound the results. Some studies have reported that post-pubescent adolescents’ emotional responses differ from those of pre-pubescent adolescents and those experiencing puberty. Finally, the current study relied on subjective self-reports, leaving room for biased responses, especially for GPSC or negative emotion. Future studies should reduce potential statistical bias by using a social desirability scale.

Implications for school psychologists

Physical education is effective in promoting health and additionally provides opportunities to experience positive emotions such as joy and happiness, and reduce negative emotions resulting from school or everyday stressors. However, this study suggests that these effects are not uniform across students because emotions are mediated by GPSC during co-educational PE classes. This implies that students may engage in fewer physical activities and prevents them from benefitting from physical activities. Students may gradually feel disillusioned by PE because of increasing GPSC with age, which eventually becomes a secondary adjustment issue (Bailey, 2006). The school psychologist plays a central role in enhancing students’ potential as well as promoting their physical and mental health. Thus, school psychologists, in collaboration with PE teachers, can develop frameworks for physical activities by identifying both gendered aspects of PES, especially those that heighten GPSC. School psychologists could encourage PE teachers to support the decisions that girls make and help both boys and girls actively participate in PE classes.

Furthermore, teachers’ acceptance of mixed-gender PE goes beyond changes in education policy; it involves actively ensuring gender equality. This study’s findings can help school psychologists provide support for PE teachers when developing gender-sensitized PE programs that sufficiently address perceptions of the other gender and emotions. In mixed-gender classes, for instance, our results can be used to encourage educators to promote sports activities that encourage girls’ participation, especially since they tend to have lower levels of positive emotions compared to boys. Furthermore, educators should consider that even within the same gender, students’ emotions could differ according to GPSC. According to Dudley et al. (2015), differences in students’ participation in PE is influenced by their culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds. In particular, students in grades 6–12 with Asian cultural backgrounds tended to participate less in physical activities compared to their English counterparts, who had a more individualistic outlook. This research suggests that GPSC may be a bigger concern for students with Asian cultural backgrounds. Thus, the present findings and their implications not only apply to Asian countries but in other areas with Asian students. However, the relationship between GPSC and gender differences needs to be explored further in order to develop and support gender-sensitized PE programs. Such system-wide changes can ultimately foster students’ participation and emotional development.

Footnotes

Declaration of Conflicting Interests

The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Funding

The author(s) received no financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Author biographies

Minkwon Moon is a graduate student in Department of Physical Education, Seoul National University. He is a teacher of Sinjang Middle School. His research interest is mental health for adolescents in physical education classes.

Hyunsoo Jeon is part time instructor in Department of Physical Education, Seoul National University. He got his PhD from the Seoul National University. His research focuses on the mental health for exercise participants and athletes.

Sungho Kwon is an Associate Pprofessor at the Department of Physical Education, Seoul National University. He got his PhD from the Seoul National University. After the PhD, he studied from the University of Kansas (USA). His research included athlete's flow, peak performance and mental toughness.

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