Psychological benefits of exercise in children and adolescents

Abstract

The main research question for this paper was; does adolescent exercise predict happiness and positive moods in adult life? Data was collected through an online questionnaire (N = 438). The questionnaire included a measure of happiness (The Subjective Happiness Scale), moods (The Profile of Mood States) and questions on current and adolescent exercise. Adolescent exercise was a significant predictor for positive moods, even when controlling for current exercise. This is as far as we know the first study to find this connection. There is also a connection between adolescent exercise and happiness, although it appears to be that adolescent exercise predicts exercise in adult life, which in turn has a connection to happiness. Exercise was not a significant predictor of negative moods in adulthood.

This review examines the psychological benefits exercise lead to in healthy children and adolescents. Studies on the effect of exercise on cognition, self-esteem, emotions and mood, and academic performance were examined. Exercise seems to have a positive effect on several aspects of cognition and self-esteem in healthy children and adolescents. There is not sufficient evidence to conclude that there are benefits from exercise in emotions, mood and academic performance.