The Benefits of Team Sports on Mental Health
Are team sports better for mental health than individual sports?
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.58445/rars.2870Keywords:
sports, team sports, individual sports, mental health, social sciences, social, family structure, relationships, adverse childhood experiences, anxiety, depression, peer relationships, teammates, family, athletics, psychologyAbstract
Participation in sports is a common activity for children and adolescents, but its psychological outcomes are less well-known. This study explores the relationship between mental health and sports participation and determines if team sports provide greater benefits than individual sports. The influence of family structure, relationship, and sport culture was also considered. Overall, results indicated that physical activity is correlated with greater psychological well-being and lower mental health challenges, in part because physical activity activates the body’s natural opioid (pain relief) system. Team sports encourage better habits (i.e., decreased cigarette and tobacco use) and are associated with greater social well-being and behavioral health. In contrast, individual sports may lead to higher stress and more mental health conditions from the lack of social bonding. Socioeconomic factors and non-traditional family structures may prevent a child from participating in sports, although a high sports culture encourages participation. Limitations of the surveyed research include representation bias, as many studies disproportionately sample boys. Furthermore, athletes with fewer mental health problems are more likely to participate in team sports and thus are overrepresented in many studies. In addition, several studies rely on self-reported data, which may affect the reliability of the findings. In conclusion, team sports have a more positive effect on social, mental, and behavioral well-being than individual sports, and at-home circumstances may influence the relationship.
References
Akbar, B. M. B., Prawesti, D. R. D., & Perbani, W. S. A. (2024). Big picture mental health of Generation Z in the world. Jurnal Kesehatan Komunitas Indonesia, 4(1), 1-20.
Andersen, M. H., Ottesen, L., & Thing, L. F. (2019). The social and psychological health outcomes of team sport participation in adults: An integrative review of research. Scandinavian journal of public health, 47(8), 832-850.
Aunola, K., Sorkkila, M., Viljaranta, J., Tolvanen, A., & Ryba, T. V. (2018). The role of parental affection and psychological control in adolescent athletes’ symptoms of school and sport burnout during the transition to upper secondary school. Journal of Adolescence, 69, 140-149.
Bagley, S., Salmon, J. O., & Crawford, D. (2006). Family structure and children's television viewing and physical activity. Medicine and science in sports and exercise, 38(5), 910-918.
Beebe, K. E., Petrie, T. A., Kiefer, H. R., Slavin, L. E., & Arnold, M. L. (2023). Collegiate athletes’ perceptions of the connection between mental health and sport performance: A qualitative investigation. Journal of Clinical Sport Psychology, 18(3), 357-373.
Biddle, S. J., Gorely, T., & Stensel, D. J. (2004). Health-enhancing physical activity and sedentary behaviour in children and adolescents. Journal of sports sciences, 22(8), 679-701.
Boone, E. M., & Leadbeater, B. J. (2006). Game on: Diminishing risks for depressive symptoms in early adolescence through positive involvement in team sports. Journal of Research on Adolescence, 16(1), 79-90.
Botha, F., Morris, R. W., Butterworth, P., & Glozier, N. (2023). Generational differences in mental health trends in the twenty-first century. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 120(49), e2303781120.
Breivik, G. (2022). Sport as part of a meaningful life. Journal of the Philosophy of Sport, 49(1), 19-36.
Cockerham, D., Lin, L., Ndolo, S., & Schwartz, M. (2021). Voices of the students: Adolescent well-being and social interactions during the emergent shift to online learning environments. Education and Information Technologies, 26(6), 7523-7541.
Doré, I., O'loughlin, J. L., Schnitzer, M. E., Datta, G. D., & Fournier, L. (2018). The longitudinal association between the context of physical activity and mental health in early adulthood. Mental Health and Physical Activity, 14, 121-130.
Dimock, M. (2019). Defining generations: Where Millennials end and Generation Z begins. Pew research center, 17(1), 1-7.
Easterlin, M. C., Chung, P. J., Leng, M., & Dudovitz, R. (2019). Association of team sports participation with long-term mental health outcomes among individuals exposed to adverse childhood experiences. JAMA pediatrics, 173(7), 681-688.
Eather, N., Wade, L., Pankowiak, A., & Eime, R. (2023). The impact of sports participation on mental health and social outcomes in adults: a systematic review and the ‘Mental Health through Sport’conceptual model. Systematic reviews, 12(1), 102.
Eime, R., Harvey, J., & Payne, W. (2014). Dose-response of women’s health-related quality of life (HRQoL) and life satisfaction to physical activity. Journal of Physical Activity and Health, 11(2), 330–338.
Eime, R. M., Young, J. A., Harvey, J. T., Charity, M. J., & Payne, W. R. (2013). A systematic review of the psychological and social benefits of participation in sport for children and adolescents: informing development of a conceptual model of health through sport. International journal of behavioral nutrition and physical activity, 10, 1-21.
Finkelstein, D. M., Petersen, D. M., & Schottenfeld, L. S. (2017). Promoting children’s physical activity in low-income communities in Colorado: what are the barriers and opportunities?. Preventing chronic disease, 14, E134.
Gorham, L. S., Jernigan, T., Hudziak, J., & Barch, D. M. (2019). Involvement in sports, hippocampal volume, and depressive symptoms in children. Biological Psychiatry: Cognitive Neuroscience and Neuroimaging, 4(5), 484–492.
Goto, R., Okubo, Y., & Skokauskas, N. (2022). Reasons and trends in youth's suicide rates during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Lancet Regional Health–Western Pacific, 27.
Haidt, J. (2024). The anxious generation: How the great rewiring of childhood is causing an epidemic of mental illness. Penguin.
Harber, V. J., & Sutton, J. R. (1984). Endorphins and exercise. Sports Medicine, 1(2), 154–171.
Heradstveit, O., Hysing, M., Nilsen, S. A., & Bøe, T. (2020). Symptoms of disordered eating and participation in individual-and team sports: a population-based study of adolescents. Eating behaviors, 39, 101434.
Hoffmann, M. D., Barnes, J. D., Tremblay, M. S., & Guerrero, M. D. (2022). Associations between organized sport participation and mental health difficulties: Data from over 11,000 US children and adolescents. PLoS one, 17(6), e0268583.
Holt, N. L., Kingsley, B. C., Tink, L. N., & Scherer, J. (2011). Benefits and challenges associated with sport participation by children and parents from low-income families. Psychology of sport and exercise, 12(5), 490-499.
Konstantinou, G., & Attia, M. (2023). Perspective Chapter: From the Boom to Gen Z–Has Depression Changed across Generations?. In Depression-What Is New and What Is Old in Human Existence. IntechOpen.
Langøy A, Smith ORF, Wold B et al (2019) Associations between family structure and young people’s physical activity and screen time behaviors. BMC Public Health 19:433.
Li, J., & Shao, W. (2022). Influence of sports activities on prosocial behavior of children and adolescents: A systematic literature review. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 19(11), 6484.
Merikangas, K. R., He, J. P., Burstein, M., Swanson, S. A., Avenevoli, S., Cui, L., & Swendsen, J. (2010). Lifetime prevalence of mental disorders in U.S. adolescents: Results from the National Comorbidity Survey Replication-Adolescent Supplement (NCS-A). Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 49(10), 980–989.
Merrick, M. T., Ford, D. C., Ports, K. A., Guinn, A. S., Chen, J., Klevens, J., ... & Mercy, J. A. (2019). Vital signs: Estimated proportion of adult health problems attributable to adverse childhood experiences and implications for prevention—25 states, 2015–2017. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, 68(44), 999–1005.
Murray, R. M., Sabiston, C. M., Doré, I., Bélanger, M., & O’Loughlin, J. L. (2021). Association between pattern of team sport participation from adolescence to young adulthood and mental health. Scandinavian journal of medicine & science in sports, 31(7), 1481-1488.
Nixdorf, I., Frank, R., & Beckmann, J. (2016). Comparison of athletes’ proneness to depressive symptoms in individual and team sports: Research on psychological mediators in junior elite athletes. Frontiers in psychology, 7, 893.
Orri, M., Scardera, S., Perret, L. C., Bolanis, D., Temcheff, C., Séguin, J. R., ... & Geoffroy, M. C. (2020). Mental health problems and risk of suicidal ideation and attempts in adolescents. Pediatrics, 146(1).
Owens, M., Stevenson, J., Hadwin, J. A., & Norgate, R. (2012). Anxiety and depression in academic performance: An exploration of the mediating factors of worry and working memory. School psychology international, 33(4), 433-449.
Panza, M. J., Graupensperger, S., Agans, J. P., Doré, I., Vella, S. A., & Evans, M. B. (2020). Adolescent sport participation and symptoms of anxiety and depression: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Journal of sport and exercise psychology, 42(3), 201-218.
Pluhar, E., McCracken, C., Griffith, K. L., Christino, M. A., Sugimoto, D., & Meehan III, W. P. (2019). Team sport athletes may be less likely to suffer anxiety or depression than individual sport athletes. Journal of sports science & medicine, 18(3), 490.
Quarmby, T., Dagkas, S., & Bridge, M. (2011). Associations between children's physical activities, sedentary behaviours and family structure: a sequential mixed methods approach. Health education research, 26(1), 63-76.
Rodriguez-Ayllon, M., Cadenas-Sánchez, C., Estévez-López, F., Muñoz, N. E., Mora-Gonzalez, J., Migueles, J. H., ... & Esteban-Cornejo, I. (2019). Role of physical activity and sedentary behavior in the mental health of preschoolers, children and adolescents: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Sports medicine, 49(9), 1383-1410.
Sabiston, C. M., Jewett, R., Ashdown-Franks, G., Belanger, M., Brunet, J., O’Loughlin, E., & O’Loughlin, J. (2016). Number of years of team and individual sport participation during adolescence and depressive symptoms in early adulthood. Journal of sport and exercise psychology, 38(1), 105-110.
Sheffler, J. L., Stanley, I., & Sachs-Ericsson, N. (2020). ACEs and mental health outcomes. In Adverse childhood experiences (pp. 47-69). Academic Press.
Slater, A., & Tiggemann, M. (2011). Gender differences in adolescent sport participation, teasing, self-objectification, and body image concerns. Journal of Adolescence, 34(2), 455–463.
Sports, N. (2018). The rise of women‘s sports. Identifying and maximizing the opportunity. Recuperado de http://strivesponsorship.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/The-Rise-of-Womens-SportsIdentifying-and-Maximizing-the-Opportunity. Pdf.
Strandbu, Å., Bakken, A., & Stefansen, K. (2020). The continued importance of family sport culture for sport participation during the teenage years. Sport, Education and Society, 25(8), 931-945.
Super, S., Hermens, N., Verkooijen, K., & Koelen, M. (2018). Examining the relationship between sports participation and youth developmental outcomes for socially vulnerable youth. BMC public health, 18, 1-12.
Tahira, S. (2022). The Association Between Sports Participation and Mental Health Across the Lifespan. International Journal of Sport Studies for Health, 5(2).
Tandon, P. S., Kroshus, E., Olsen, K., Garrett, K., Qu, P., & McCleery, J. (2021). Socioeconomic inequities in youth participation in physical activity and sports. International journal of environmental research and public health, 18(13), 6946.
Thoren, P., Floras, J. S., Hoffmann, P., & Seals, D. R. (1990). Endorphins and exercise: Physiological mechanisms and clinical implications. Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise, 22(4), 417–428.
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. (2018). Physical activity guidelines for Americans (2nded.).
Vacchiano, M. (2023). How the first COVID-19 lockdown worsened younger generations’ mental health: Insights from network theory. Sociological Research Online, 28(3), 884-893.
Zheng, M., Guo, X., Chen, Z., Deng, J., & Hu, M. (2023). Association between interpersonal relations and anxiety, depression symptoms, and suicidal ideation among middle school students. Frontiers in public health, 11, 1053341.
Zuckerman, S. L., Tang, A. R., Richard, K. E., Grisham, C. J., Kuhn, A. W., Bonfield, C. M., & Yengo-Kahn, A. M. (2021). The behavioral, psychological, and social impacts of team sports: a systematic review and meta-analysis. The Physician and sportsmedicine, 49(3), 246-261.
Downloads
Posted
Categories
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Hope Bryant
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.