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BRIEF RESEARCH REPORT article

Front. Child Adolesc. Psychiatry
Sec. Interventions for Adolescent Mental Health
Volume 3 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/frcha.2024.1503920
This article is part of the Research Topic Understanding risk, resilience, and empowerment: How do we promote the mental health and well-being of young people during times of global crises? View all articles

Physical activity and its benefits on adolescents' mental health through self-esteem

Provisionally accepted
Catherine Laurier Catherine Laurier *Katherine Pascuzzo Katherine Pascuzzo Vicky Jubinville Vicky Jubinville Annie Lemieux Annie Lemieux
  • Université de Sherbrooke, Sherbrooke, Canada

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Background : Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the scientific community has been concerned about the high rates of psychological distress among adolescents. The pandemic not only tested adolescents' adaptation, but also disrupted key areas of their development. This demonstrates the need to study their psychological adjustment over time during this critical period to better guide services.Objective : This study sought to explore the extent to which physical activity and its association with self-esteem in the first months of the pandemic impacted adolescents' psychological distress, six months later. Methods : Two hundred and ninety-four adolescents (73% girls) between the ages of 12 and 17 participated in a longitudinal study launched at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. The number of hours spent engaging in physical activity (HPA) in the past week and self-esteem were measured at Time 1 (T1; summer 2020). Psychological distress was measured at T1 and Time 2 (T2; winter 2021).Results : More HPA in the past week were related to greater self-esteem at T1. Greater self-esteem at T1 was related to lower psychological distress, six months later (T2). Lastly, HPA in the past week was not directly linked to psychological distress at T2, which confirms a fully indirect model.: Results suggest that physical activity is a key factor in promoting better mental health adjustment through its benefits in terms of self-esteem, even during times of turmoil. Findings reinforce the recommendation of promoting the practice of sports and athletic activity in difficult times.

    Keywords: physical activity, Mental Health, self-esteem, Adolescent, psychological distress

    Received: 30 Sep 2024; Accepted: 03 Dec 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Laurier, Pascuzzo, Jubinville and Lemieux. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Catherine Laurier, Université de Sherbrooke, Sherbrooke, Canada

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.