The mediating and moderating role of social skills in the relationship between frustration tolerance and group cohesion in Physical Education

This study examined whether social skills mediate and moderate the relationship between frustration tolerance and group cohesion in Physical Education. A total of 1092 Spanish students (32.5% primary; 67.5% secondary; M_age = 13.2) participated. Validated instruments assessed frustration tolerance, communication, assertiveness, conflict resolution, and group cohesion. Statistical analyses included group comparisons, correlations, and mediation and moderation models. Primary students scored higher than secondary students across most variables. Social skills moderated the association between frustration tolerance and group cohesion, showing a positive relationship when skills were high and a negative one when skills were low. Mediation analyses indicated that communication skills fully mediated the relationship (82.4%), while conflict resolution showed partial mediation (57.3%). Communication skills were negatively correlated with cohesion, suggesting that unregulated or low-quality communicative behaviors may hinder group functioning in Physical Education contexts. Overall, effect sizes ranged from small to moderate. These findings highlight the need to strengthen emotion-regulation and interpersonal skills within Physical Education. Practical implications include integrating structured cooperative tasks, explicit communication training, and motivational strategies tailored to students' developmental stages. Future research should adopt longitudinal and observational designs to clarify causal pathways and refine intervention approaches.