Abstract
ObjectiveTo perform a systematic review and meta-analysis for the effects of physical activity intervention on self-esteem and self-concept in children and adolescents, and to identify moderator variables by meta-regression.DesignA meta-analysis and meta-regression.MethodRelevant studies were identified through a comprehensive search of electronic databases. Study inclusion criteria were: (1) intervention should be supervised physical activity, (2) reported sufficient data to estimate pooled effect sizes of physical activity intervention on self-esteem or self-concept, (3) participants’ ages ranged from 3 to 20 years, and (4) a control or comparison group was included. For each study, study design, intervention design and participant characteristics were extracted. R software (version 3.1.3) and Stata (version 12.0) were used to synthesize effect sizes and perform moderation analyses for determining moderators.ResultsTwenty-five randomized controlled trial (RCT) studies and 13 non-randomized controlled trial (non-RCT) studies including a total of 2991 cases were identified. Significant positive effects were found in RCTs for intervention of physical activity alone on general self outcomes (Hedges’ g = 0.29, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.14 to 0.45; p = 0.001), self-concept (Hedges’ g = 0.49, 95%CI: 0.10 to 0.88, p = 0.014) and self-worth (Hedges’ g = 0.31, 95%CI: 0.13 to 0.49, p = 0.005). There was no significant effect of intervention of physical activity alone on any outcomes in non-RCTs, as well as in studies with intervention of physical activity combined with other strategies. Meta-regression analysis revealed that higher treatment effects were associated with setting of intervention in RCTs (β = 0.31, 95%CI: 0.07 to 0.55, p = 0.013).ConclusionIntervention of physical activity alone is associated with increased self-concept and self-worth in children and adolescents. And there is a stronger association with school-based and gymnasium-based intervention compared with other settings.
Highlights
Mental health problems cause huge public health burden in juveniles globally, as evidenced by a 20% prevalence [1, 2]
Significant positive effects were found in randomized controlled trails (RCTs) for intervention of physical activity alone on general self outcomes (Hedges’ g = 0.29, 95% confidence interval [confidence intervals (CIs)]: 0.14 to 0.45; p = 0.001), self-concept (Hedges’ g = 0.49, 95%CI: 0.10 to 0.88, p = 0.014) and self-worth
There was no significant effect of intervention of physical activity alone on any outcomes in non-RCTs, as well as in studies with intervention of physical activity combined with other strategies
Summary
Mental health problems cause huge public health burden in juveniles globally, as evidenced by a 20% prevalence [1, 2]. Besides the beneficial effects of PA on cardiovascular disease, diabetes, hypertension, cancer, osteoporosis and obesity[6,7,8], a growing literature suggests that PA can improve mental health[8, 9], including depression, anxiety, self-esteem (SE), self-concept(SC), anger, stress, executive function and so on[10,11,12,13]. SC is a person’s perceptions of himself or herself, namely, what a person thinks about himself [15, 16] They both have pervasive impact on human mental status and behavior[17, 18]. It is suggested that low SE predicts adolescents’ report of mental status and health compromising behaviors, such as depression, anxiety, problem in eating and suicidal ideation [21,22,23]. It is important to determine effective interventions for improving SE and SC for juveniles
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