SynthesisFrontiers in psychology2025
Impact of sports interventions on aggressive behavior among adolescents: a systematic review and meta-analysis.
Synthesis in Frontiers in psychology, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers, 1 of them a synthesis 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
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Who cites it
2 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled 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
- The mediating role of psychological resilience and the moderating role of professionalism in the effect of mental wellbeing on anger and aggression in Olympic combat sports athletes.Frontiers in psychology · 2026Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
4 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Introduction: Aggression in adolescents adversely affects developmental and mental health outcomes. Sports participation has been proposed as a potential way to reduce aggression by improving self-control and social skills; however, the evidence remains inconsistent. Therefore, this study systematically evaluated the effects of sports interventions on aggression, hostility, and anger in adolescents. Methods: A systematic literature search was performed in PubMed, Embase, the Web of Science, the Cochrane Library, and EBSCOhost-SPORTDiscus up to 15 July 2025. Meta-analysis was conducted to calculate standardized mean differences (SMDs) for aggression outcomes using a random-effects model. Subgroup analyses and sensitivity tests were performed to explore the sources of heterogeneity. Results: A total of 11 studies with 1,811 participants were included. For aggression, no significant overall effect of sports interventions was found (I Conclusion: Sports interventions may reduce hostility but have no significant impact on aggression and anger in adolescents. Non-contact sports showed a significant effect in reducing anger. Meanwhile, no significant effects were found for aggression or anger in contact sports, suggesting that while sports interventions could help mitigate hostility, their effectiveness in addressing aggression and anger requires further investigation. Further longitudinal studies are needed to confirm long-term effects and clarify the psychological mechanisms, such as self-control and social skills, through which sports may influence aggression-related outcomes.
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Registered trials
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