About this Research Topic

Background

Sport and different forms of systematic exercise activities have become an important part of life in most countries and cultures, and substantial financial and organizational efforts have been invested in this trend, especially as increasingly large parts of the global population have become active in leisure sports as a means of improving both their physical health and mental health.

Different fields of research, including public health and lifestyle psychiatry, have become aware of this phenomenon: the positive impact on physical and mental health has been an important argument in this development. Sport and exercise programs have been used not only in prevention, but also in the treatment and rehabilitation of mental health problems. On the other hand, numerous problems at the level of both physical and mental health have been identified as risks, especially, but not only, in high-performance sports. These problems include:
· doping
· substance abuse
· brain trauma
· depression
· post-traumatic stress
· eating disorders
· increased risk of suicide in some groups.

Young children in particular are frequently enrolled in intense, performance-oriented environments that put them at high risk for abuse and exploitation, with severe long-term sequelae in addition to the above psychiatric disorders.

The new field of sport and exercise psychiatry aims to address the risks that are a major challenge to the future of sports and to athletes’ mental health, and also to public health. It aims at developing and evaluating strategies to use sports and exercise in ways improving, not endangering, mental health in this context and to utilize their potential as adjuncts to psychiatric treatment for mental health, and in lifestyle psychiatry and prevention. The subject is therefore of relevance to all psychiatrists and mental health care service providers.

This Research Topic will explore the broad range of important aspects of a new but already rapidly developing and well-established field, in collaboration with the World Psychiatric Association Scientific Section on Sport and Exercise Psychiatry, following an interdisciplinary approach. The goal is to demonstrate the wide range of aspects of the issue, create awareness of its relevance and present data and models generated in different countries and cultures in this context.

The focus is an interdisciplinary approach covering all areas, from leisure sports, to performance sports, treatment, and public mental health, including:
• lifestyle psychiatry
• brain trauma in leisure and performance sport - recognition, prevention, and intervention
• depression and suicidal behaviors
• sexual abuse, violence, and its mental health sequelae
• eating disorders in sports
• sports and exercise in mental health promotion and as an adjunct in the treatment of mental health problems
• human rights violations and the related psychological and mental health impact
• doping and substance abuse impact and prevention
• psychological dependence, violence and other mental health problems, in spectators and passive users.

Keywords: sport, exercise, public health, physical health, mental health, lifestyle psychiatry

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