Self-Esteem, Meaningful Experiences and the Rocky Road—Contexts of Physical Activity That Impact Mental Health in Adolescents

John Murphy (), Bronagh McGrane, Rhiannon Lee White and Mary Rose Sweeney
Additional contact information
John Murphy: School of Arts, Education and Movement, Dublin City University Institute of Education, D09 Y590 Dublin, Ireland
Bronagh McGrane: Student Services Department, Dundalk Institute of Technology, A91 K584 Dundalk, Ireland
Rhiannon Lee White: School of Health Science, Western Sydney University, Penrith, NSW 2751, Australia
Mary Rose Sweeney: School of Nursing, Psychotherapy and Community Health, Dublin City University, D09 NRT0 Dublin, Ireland

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 23, 1-16

Abstract: Abundant evidence shows that physical activity benefits adolescents’ mental health and wellbeing. Quantitative evidence has shown that adolescents engaging in leisure time physical activity, a number of sports, and team sport, display better mental health outcomes than their peers. The specific contextual factors that contribute to increased mental health and wellbeing through physical activity are, as yet, unconfirmed. The purpose of this study was to identify the contexts of physical activity and sport that positively impact mental health and wellbeing as perceived by adolescents. A sample of 58 adolescents participated in 13 focus groups discussing various factors related to physical activity, sport and mental health. Participants brought an object that represented physical activity and an image that represented wellbeing to each focus group to aid in the discussion and representation of both. An inductive thematic analysis was conducted on transcripts of the focus groups using a six-phase approach. Five key themes were identified: (1) achievements and improvements leading to increased self-esteem; (2) the importance of meaningful experiences, a sense of belonging and contributions to identity; (3) development of resilience and responding to setbacks; (4) social connectedness and relatedness, and (5) an opportunity to experience mindfulness, distraction and flow-states. In order to enhance and support wellbeing through physical activity, adolescents should be encouraged and provided with opportunities to engage in enjoyable activities with people with whom they experience a sense of belonging, where there is an opportunity to experience mastery and improvement and that includes an element of autonomy or choice.

Keywords: wellbeing; exercise; mechanisms; resilience; sport; qualitative; opportunity (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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