Stagnone Natalie, Alexander Katherine N, Adams Kat V, Dorsch Travis
Elson S Floyd College of Medicine, Washington State University, Spokane, WA 99202, USA.
Department of Human Development and Family Studies, Utah State University, Logan, UT 84322, USA.
Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2025 Jun 26;22(7):1012. doi: 10.3390/ijerph22071012.
Physical activity is well-established as beneficial for children's physical and mental health, yet limited research has explored how different activity types impact psychosocial outcomes. This is a cross-sectional study that examined associations between youth participation in organized sport, unstructured physical activity, and land-use recreation and their psychosocial health. Survey data were collected from 3246 caregivers of children in the Intermountain West region of the United States. Respondents reported on children's physical activity engagement and psychosocial outcomes, including mental health, emotional control, and social well-being. All three activity types were significantly associated with improved psychosocial health ( < 0.001). Compared to organized sport, unstructured physical activity and land-use recreation were associated with significantly higher levels of mental health and emotional control ( < 0.001), although with a small effect size ( < 0.006). No significant differences were observed in social well-being across activity types ( = 0.2928). When controlling for gender and community type, distinct psychosocial benefits emerged between activity types. These findings suggest that, while all forms of physical activity support psychosocial development, unstructured and nature-based activities may offer particular advantages. Findings highlight the importance of promoting diverse forms of physical activity and considering individual and contextual factors in maximizing their psychosocial benefits.
体育活动对儿童的身心健康有益已得到充分证实，但探索不同活动类型如何影响心理社会结果的研究有限。这是一项横断面研究，考察了青少年参与有组织的体育运动、无组织的体育活动以及土地利用休闲活动与他们心理社会健康之间的关联。调查数据收集自美国西部山间地区的3246名儿童看护人。受访者报告了儿童的体育活动参与情况和心理社会结果，包括心理健康、情绪控制和社会幸福感。所有这三种活动类型都与心理社会健康状况的改善显著相关（<0.001）。与有组织的体育运动相比，无组织的体育活动和土地利用休闲活动与更高水平的心理健康和情绪控制显著相关（<0.001），尽管效应量较小（<0.006）。在不同活动类型之间，社会幸福感方面未观察到显著差异（=0.2928）。在控制性别和社区类型后，不同活动类型之间出现了明显的心理社会效益。这些发现表明，虽然所有形式的体育活动都有助于心理社会发展，但无组织的和基于自然的活动可能具有特别的优势。研究结果强调了促进多种形式体育活动以及在最大化其心理社会效益时考虑个体和背景因素的重要性。
