How to reduce anxiety symptoms through individual sport in youth: A longitudinal study over 8-month observation

Author:

Wang Lin12ORCID,Zhang Tianle3,Huang Weihao1,Gou Leyuan1,Zhong Ming2,Liu Qiaohan4,Liu Yihao4

Affiliation:

1. Sports Department, Guilin University of Electronic Science and Technology, Guilin, China

2. Sport and Health Science, Faculty of Life & Environmental, University of Exeter, Exeter, UK

3. Department of Computer Science, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, UK

4. School of Psychology, Faculty of Life & Environmental Sciences University of Exeter, Exeter, UK

Abstract

Background: Anxiety symptoms are widely observed among the youth, and engagement in sports has been demonstrated to mitigate these symptoms. Nonetheless, the effectiveness of specific sports and the potential moderating role of psychological factors, such as self-esteem and self-efficacy, on the influence of sports on anxiety, remains to be elucidated. This study was designed to longitudinally assess the impact of sports participation on anxiety symptoms among young individuals. Methods: The study encompassed 163 university students, with a male predominance of 81.6%, and explored the influence of sport-related factors (such as mastery of table tennis skills, level and engagement) and psychological aspects (including self-efficacy, self-esteem and resilience) on anxiety symptoms, employing an 8-month longitudinal approach. Physical activity, sedentary and sleep behaviour, along with age, body mass index (BMI), and sex, were accounted for as confounding variables. Results: The study found that high table tennis performance score was found to buffer the development of anxiety symptoms in students with decreased self-esteem in an exploratory moderation model. Self-esteem and self-efficacy were negatively associated with the development of anxiety symptoms, whereas physical activity factors did not have a direct effect. Conclusion: This study highlights the potential of table tennis as a form of sport to alleviate anxiety symptoms in university students, particularly among those with decreased self-esteem. Future research should address the study’s limitations and explore the potential moderating effects of other psychological factors. Overall, these findings suggest a potential new approach to treating anxiety symptoms among university students.

Funder

China Scholarship Council (CSC) funding

Publisher

SAGE Publications

Reference68 articles.

1. WHO. Child and adolescent mental health, https://www.who.int/teams/mental-health-and-substance-use/child-and-adolescent-mental-health (2021).

2. National Institute of Mental Health. Any anxiety disorder, https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/statistics/any-anxiety-disorder.shtml (2022).

3. Prevalence of anxiety and associated factors for Chinese adolescents during the COVID ‐19 outbreak

4. Mental Health Difficulties in Early Adolescence: A Comparison of Two Cross-Sectional Studies in England From 2009 to 2014

5. Mood disorders in children and adolescents: an epidemiologic perspective

同舟云学术

1.学者识别学者识别

2.学术分析学术分析

3.人才评估人才评估

"同舟云学术"是以全球学者为主线,采集、加工和组织学术论文而形成的新型学术文献查询和分析系统,可以对全球学者进行文献检索和人才价值评估。用户可以通过关注某些学科领域的顶尖人物而持续追踪该领域的学科进展和研究前沿。经过近期的数据扩容,当前同舟云学术共收录了国内外主流学术期刊6万余种,收集的期刊论文及会议论文总量共计约1.5亿篇,并以每天添加12000余篇中外论文的速度递增。我们也可以为用户提供个性化、定制化的学者数据。欢迎来电咨询!咨询电话:010-8811{复制后删除}0370

www.globalauthorid.com

TOP

Copyright © 2019-2024 北京同舟云网络信息技术有限公司
京公网安备11010802033243号  京ICP备18003416号-3