The Impact of Sport and Physical Activity on the Mental Health of Adolescents and Children

A special issue of Behavioral Sciences (ISSN 2076-328X). This special issue belongs to the section "Health Psychology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 5 September 2024 | Viewed by 4447

Special Issue Editors


E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Faculty of Education and Sports (HealthPASS) University of Deusto, San Sebastian, 48007 Bilbao, Spain
Interests: physical activity; psychological variables

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Health, Physical Activity and Sports Science Laboratory, Department of Physical Activity and Sports, Faculty of Education and Sport, University of Deusto, 48007 Bilbao, Spain
Interests: physical activity; inclusive education; child development

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Physical Activity and Sports, Faculty of Education and Sport, University of Deusto, 48007 Bilbao, Spain
Interests: physical activity and health
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Didactics and School Organization, University of the Basque Country, 48013 Bilbao, Spain
Interests: education; statistics; children and adolescent development

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Mental health can be considered a current worldwide pandemic, and It could be said that It has become a major public health concern, especially in a social context where people relationships tend to be more virtual and less personal. Moreover, this disease has increased dramatically in recent years, in a post-Covid-19 era, in a social context in which numerous effects of the pandemic remain, like e.g. reduced physical activity and social relations, factors that paradoxically have been shown to be beneficial in stress and anxiety management. Physical activity and sports play a key role in promoting mental health, and these activities not only improve physical fitness, but also have significant impacts on the social, emotional, and psychological well-being. However, even the shown beneficial effects of physical activity on mental health, children and adolescent related investigations are less documented, and hence the importance of research in this field, especially since the future of the youth will depend heavily on their emotional and cognitive development and management, which will benefit from different sports practices and physical activity.

Dr. Patxi León-Guereño
Dr. Jurgi Olasagasti-Ibargoien
Dr. Arkaitz Castañeda-Babarro
Dr. Héctor Galindo-Domínguez
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Behavioral Sciences is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2200 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • mental health
  • stress
  • anxiety
  • well-being
  • physical activity
  • sports
  • adolescents
  • children

Published Papers (3 papers)

Order results
Result details
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:

Research

15 pages, 450 KiB  
Article
How Does Physical Activity Enhance the Subjective Well-Being of University Students? A Chain Mediation of Cognitive Reappraisal and Resilience
by Mengmeng Yang, Ji Wu, Yigang Wu and Xinxing Li
Behav. Sci. 2024, 14(3), 164; https://doi.org/10.3390/bs14030164 - 22 Feb 2024
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1188
Abstract
Background: Regular physical activity is an effective means to enhance university students’ subjective well-being. However, current research needs to understand how physical activity enhances the subjective well-being of Chinese university students. Therefore, the study investigated the mechanism of physical activity’s impact on university [...] Read more.
Background: Regular physical activity is an effective means to enhance university students’ subjective well-being. However, current research needs to understand how physical activity enhances the subjective well-being of Chinese university students. Therefore, the study investigated the mechanism of physical activity’s impact on university students’ subjective well-being and the mediating roles of cognitive reappraisal and resilience in this mechanism. Methods: The physical activity scale, subjective well-being scale, cognitive reappraisal scale and resilience scale were used to investigate 1350 university students, and the relationship between physical activity, cognitive reappraisal, resilience and university students’ subjective well-being was verified through correlation analysis, regression analysis and a Bootstrap method. Results: (1) There is a significant positive correlation between physical activity, cognitive reappraisal, resilience and university students’ subjective well-being (p < 0.01); (2) physical activity, cognitive reappraisal and resilience all have a significant positive effects on university students’ subjective well-being (p < 0.01); (3) cognitive reappraisal and resilience have significant mediating roles in the process of physical activity affecting university students’ well-being, with mediating-effect values of 0.052 and 0.285; (4) the chain-mediating role of cognitive reappraisal and resilience in the process of physical activity affecting university students’ well-being is significant, with the chain-mediating effect value of 0.062. Conclusion: Promoting university students’ participation in physical activity not only directly enhances university students’ subjective well-being but also indirectly improves university students’ subjective well-being through cognitive reappraisal and resilience. Full article
Show Figures

Figure 1

18 pages, 270 KiB  
Article
Associations between Physical Activity, Mental Health, and Suicidal Behavior in Korean Adolescents: Based on Data from 18th Korea Youth Risk Behavior Web-Based Survey (2022)
by Suyeon Roh, Woolim Mun and Geunkook Kim
Behav. Sci. 2024, 14(3), 160; https://doi.org/10.3390/bs14030160 - 22 Feb 2024
Viewed by 828
Abstract
This study aims to identify the current status and relationship between physical activity (PA), mental health, and suicidal behavior among Korean adolescents and recommend appropriate PA types and levels to lower the risk of mental health problems and suicidal behavior among adolescents. This [...] Read more.
This study aims to identify the current status and relationship between physical activity (PA), mental health, and suicidal behavior among Korean adolescents and recommend appropriate PA types and levels to lower the risk of mental health problems and suicidal behavior among adolescents. This study used the frequency of participation, three mental health factors, and four suicidal behavior factors, according to the seven types of PA, Vigorous PA (VPA), Strength training, Walks, PA on the move, and Physical education questions that 51,636 Korean adolescents responded to in the data of the 18th Korean Youth Health Behavior Survey in 2022. The results showed that physical activity levels and the mental health of female adolescents were the lowest, and the experience rate of suicidal behavior was the highest. Physical activity level and mental health were negative in the upper grades, and the experience rate of suicidal behavior was higher in the lower grades. Thus, the study proposes the following: To lower the overall risk of mental health and suicidal behavior experienced by adolescents, it is effective to encourage them to participate in physical activities which have higher exercise intensities than the Low-level Physical Activity (LPA) type of Walks and PA on the move. Full article
13 pages, 716 KiB  
Article
The Relationship between Physical Activity and Life Satisfaction among University Students in China: The Mediating Role of Self-Efficacy and Resilience
by Jiaxin Deng, Yongfeng Liu, Rui Chen and Yu Wang
Behav. Sci. 2023, 13(11), 889; https://doi.org/10.3390/bs13110889 - 27 Oct 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1995
Abstract
(1) Background: Universities play a crucial role in nurturing healthy habits, and physical activity has emerged as a valuable tool for enhancing the life satisfaction, self-efficacy, and resilience of college students. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to investigate the mediating role [...] Read more.
(1) Background: Universities play a crucial role in nurturing healthy habits, and physical activity has emerged as a valuable tool for enhancing the life satisfaction, self-efficacy, and resilience of college students. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to investigate the mediating role of physical activity in the relationship between life satisfaction and self-efficacy as well as resilience among Chinese university students. (2) Method: This study used the Physical Activity Rating Scale (PARS-3), the Self-Efficacy Scale (CGES), the Mental Toughness Scale (CD-RISC), and the Life Satisfaction Scale (CSLSS) to administer questionnaires to 353 university students from two universities in Chengdu, Sichuan Province. Using a random simple sampling method, the data were processed and analyzed using SPSS 22.0 and Excel software. (3) Results: (1) Physical activity exhibited a significant positive correlation with self-efficacy, resilience, and life satisfaction; self-efficacy was significantly and positively related to resilience and life satisfaction; and resilience was significantly and positively related to life satisfaction. (2) Physical activity had a positive predictive effect on life satisfaction (β = 0.2771; 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.1905, 0.3637, 55.51%). (3) Self-efficacy (β = 0.0368; 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.0087, 0.0692, 7.37%) and resilience (β = 0.137; 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.0919, 0.1894, 27.44%) mediated the relationship between physical activity and life satisfaction. Also, the chain-mediating effect of self-efficacy and resilience between physical activity and life satisfaction reached significant levels (β = 0.0483; 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.0279, 0.0745, 9.68%). (4) Conclusion: Active participation in physical activity not only enhanced the life satisfaction of college students but also indirectly impacted their life satisfaction by improving their self-efficacy and resilience. Consequently, this led to an overall improvement in the life satisfaction of college students. Full article
Show Figures

Figure 1

Back to TopTop