Document is current

Article History

Received: 25 September 2024

Accepted: 8 April 2026

First Online: 16 April 2026

Competing interests

: The authors declare no competing interests.

: Data collection for this study was conducted in October 2023. Prior to data collection, the research team obtained ethical approval from the Ethics Committee of the first author’s institution on September 20, 2023. Additionally, verbal approval was obtained from the Ethics Committee of the School of Culture and Education, Shaanxi University of Science and Technology (the corresponding author’s institution) in September 2023. Written ethical approval from the corresponding author’s institution was subsequently obtained retrospectively on September 24, 2024 (approval number: SUSTWJ.20240924), following the institution’s administrative procedures that require documentation of informed consent from participants before formal written approval can be issued. During data collection, the research team fully explained the research purpose, anonymous nature, and voluntary participation principles to students and their guardians, obtaining verbal informed consent. Questionnaire completion was entirely voluntary and anonymous, with no collection of personal identification information. The surveyed school subsequently provided documentation certifying that informed consent procedures were followed, which enabled the corresponding author’s institution to complete the formal written ethical approval process. This study involved anonymous questionnaire surveys only, constituting minimal risk research with standardized instruments, no experimental intervention, and no sensitive topics. Given the anonymous and voluntary nature of participation, and the fact that informed consent was obtained from all participants (and their guardians where applicable) prior to data collection, the delay in obtaining formal written approval from the corresponding author’s institution did not compromise the ethical conduct of the research or the protection of participants’ rights.

: For the conduct of the research, permission (consent) was sought from high school principals, as well as teachers of the selected classes and the students themselves. Participation in the study was voluntary in nature. The data was collected, stored, and analyzed anonymously.

: All authors have read and approved the final version of the manuscript.