Physical activity and sports participation associated with violence in adolescents: a systematic review

Abstract

The present study conducted a review of the literature that aimed to investigate the relationship between the practice of physical activity (PA) and sports with violence and aggression among adolescents. A structured search was conducted on three databases (PubMed, Web of Science and Scielo) using three fields for the population (adolescents), PA/sports and violence/aggression. Of the 618 studies identified, 555 were screened by the title and abstract, 63 had the full text screened and 24 were selected for inclusion and analysis. Most studies were cross-sectional (53%), and sample size varied between 210 and 71854 adolescents. Metrics of violence and PA/sports were very diverse. Of the 24 analyzed studies, six studies found no association between PA/sports and violence, eight found that PA/sports were a protective factor, and 15 found a positive relationship between PA/sports and violence. The findings suggest that PA/sports are related to higher exposition to conflicts, and aggressive behavior, which may escalate to other relationships amongst adolescents outside of the context of PA/sports. The type of PA practiced may play an important role in promoting conflicts, with team-based sports with direct conflict being more likely to promote aggressiveness compared to individual sports without direct conflicts.