Mental health outcomes for teenage boys and girls following a youth sports development program including a mental health program

Youth sports programs provide an opportunity to embed mental health and wellbeing programs to reach young people with mental health support. The aims of this study were to (a) examine mental health outcomes from a youth sports program including a mental health program (Life-Fit-Learning) in adolescent boys and girls, and (b) among the larger cohort of adolescent boys, to examine whether partial or full completion of Life-Fit-Learning yielded different outcomes for boys within healthy and high-risk ranges for anxiety, depression and behavioral concerns.

Citation:
Waters AM, Sluis RA, Usher W, ……… Modecki KL, Zimmer-Gembeck MJ, et al. Mental health outcomes for teenage boys and girls following a youth sports development program including a mental health program. Journal of Applied Sport Psychology. 2025:1-26.

Keywords:
Youth mental health; behavior concerns; sports programs; wellbeing; depression and anxiety

Abstract:
Youth sports programs provide an opportunity to embed mental health and wellbeing programs to reach young people with mental health support. The aims of this study were to (a) examine mental health outcomes from a youth sports program including a mental health program (Life-Fit-Learning) in adolescent boys and girls, and (b) among the larger cohort of adolescent boys, to examine whether partial or full completion of Life-Fit-Learning yielded different outcomes for boys within healthy and high-risk ranges for anxiety, depression and behavioral concerns.