ArticleFrontiers in pediatrics2021
The Effect of Martial Arts Training on Cognitive and Psychological Functions in At-Risk Youths.
Article in Frontiers in pediatrics, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 22 papers, 4 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
22 citing papers in PubMed, 4 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Martial arts training and aggressive behavior in children and adolescents: a systematic review of longitudinal evidence and psychological processes.Frontiers in public health · 2026Pooled it
- Effects of different types of physical exercise interventions on aggressive behavior among children and adolescents: a network meta-analysis.Frontiers in psychology · 2026Pooled it
- Olympic combat sports and mental health in children and adolescents with disability: a systematic review of controlled trials.Frontiers in psychology · 2025Pooled it
- Pooled it
- The moderating effect of combat sports discipline on the relationship between emotion regulation and aggression among athletes practicing Brazilian jiu-jitsu, karate, wrestling, and mixed martial arts.BMC sports science, medicine & rehabilitation · 2026Article
- Antisocial, narcissistic personality traits and symptoms of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder in combat athletes.BMC psychology · 2026Article
- Effects of psychological skills training on self-control, perceived physical self-defense capacity, and mental toughness in elite female wrestlers: a randomized controlled trial.Frontiers in psychology · 2026Article
- Is martial arts participation associated with sleep quality among Chinese adolescents? A cross-sectional baseline survey.Frontiers in medicine · 2026Article
- The Relationship Between Alexithymia, Impulsivity, and Aggression in Mixed Martial Arts Athletes.European journal of sport science · 2026Article
- Effects of AI-assisted wushu training on mental health, cognitive performance, and cardiovascular function in university students: a quasi-experimental study.Frontiers in public health · 2026Article
- Neurophysiological mechanisms of embodied empathy in martial arts.Frontiers in psychology · 2026Article
- Adapted Judo as a Multidimensional Intervention: Effects on Physical Fitness and Psychosocial Well-Being in Adolescents with Down Syndrome.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- The effect of sports on mental performance according to skill types in youth athletes.BMC sports science, medicine & rehabilitation · 2025Article
- Rank-Based Psychological Characteristics in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Athletes: Mental Strength, Resilience, Grit, Self-Efficacy, Self-Control, Aggression, Life Satisfaction, and Mental Health.Journal of functional morphology and kinesiology · 2025Article
- Primary Care Considerations for Youth Martial Arts Athletes.Current reviews in musculoskeletal medicine · 2025Review
- Neural mechanisms and social support for mental health in old age by martial arts exercise.Frontiers in psychology · 2025Review
- Promoting holistic wellbeing during the polycrisis: An essay on inner development through the martial art of Wing Chun.PLOS mental health · 2025Article
- Navigating disruptive experiences in combat sports: perspectives of Brazilian, Portuguese, and Spanish masters on emotional control, resilience, and well-being.Frontiers in sports and active living · 2025Article
- Martial arts induce quasicritical brain states: a unified, multiscale, and mechanistic theory of brain health optimization.Frontiers in psychology · 2025Article
- Personality traits and levels of anxiety and depression among martial artists: a cross-sectional study.BMC psychology · 2024Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
5 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
The current study assessed whether an extended program of martial arts training was a viable intervention for at-risk youths in improving cognitive and psychological functions. Adolescent boys attending specialized education facilities for at-risk youths took part in regular sport lessons or martial arts practice twice a week for 6 months. Hormonal reactivity was assessed during initial training, and measures of psychological (aggression, self-esteem) and cognitive (inhibition, flexibility, speed of processing, and attention) functions were assessed before and immediately following the intervention. Participants in the martial arts training demonstrated significant improvement in the domains of inhibition and shifting and speed of processing. Additionally, initial hormonal reactivity (oxytocin and cortisol) to the intervention predicted significant post-intervention change on several measures of cognitive and psychological functioning. Specifically, oxytocin reactivity predicted improvement in processing speed, as well as reduction of aggression, whereas cortisol reactivity predicted increases in self-esteem. This pioneering, ecologically valid study demonstrates the initial efficacy of this enjoyable, readily available, group intervention for at-risk boys and suggests potential mechanisms that may mediate the process of change.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.