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 Adverse childhood experiences, commonly called ACEs, can include
witnessing parents fight or go through a divorce, having a parent
with a mental illness or substance abuse problem, or suffering from
sexual, physical or emotional abuse. ACEs have been linked to what's
known as toxic stress, or wear and tear on the body that leads to
physical and mental health problems that often continue from one
generation to the next.
The current study focused on whether team sports - which have been
linked to a variety of physical and psychological benefits - might
diminish the potential for lasting mental health problems among
adults with a history of ACEs. Researchers followed 4,888 teens
exposed to ACEs and 4,780 teens without this exposure for more than
a decade, starting when they were 15 years old on average.
Teens who played team sports had 24 percent lower odds of receiving
a depression diagnosis by young adulthood and 30 percent lower odds
of receiving an anxiety diagnosis, the study found.
"Our data indicate that team sports participation in adolescence may
be associated with better mental health outcomes in adulthood due to
increased self-esteem, increased feelings of social acceptance, and
feeling more connected to the school environment," said lead study
author Dr. Molly Easterlin of the University of California Los
Angeles and Cedars-Sinai Medical Center.
"It may change how kids navigate school or develop relationships,"
Easterlin said by email. "It may make them more resilient."
Among the teens in the study with ACE exposure, 21 percent reported
two or more ACEs, according to the study in JAMA Pediatrics.
The most common ACE was having a single parent, which impacted about
27 percent of all study participants, followed by parental
incarceration, which impacted 17 percent, and parental alcohol
misuse, reported by 14 percent.
Sexual abuse was the least commonly reported ACE, affecting about 5
percent of the teens, followed by physical abuse at 9 percent and
emotional neglect at 11 percent.
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Much of the connection between team sports and the reduced potential
for anxiety or depression appeared to be explained by social rather
than physical aspects of sports participation, researchers report in
JAMA Pediatrics.
Feeling more connected to the school community, feeling socially
accepted, and having a higher self-esteem together explained 16 to
36 percent of the reduced depression and anxiety risk associated
with team sports.
The study wasn't a controlled experiment designed to prove whether
or how team sports during adolescence might directly impact mental
health in adulthood. It's also possible that instead of team sports
causing better mental health, that the reverse was true and youth
with better mental health were more likely to choose to play team
sports.
Even so, the results offer fresh evidence of the potential for team
sports to help at-risk kids, said author of an accompanying
editorial Mercedes Carnethon of the Feinberg School of Medicine at
Northwestern University in Chicago.
"Team sports are particularly beneficial for youth because they
bring together a group who works together to achieve a shared goal,"
Carnethon said by email.
"The lessons learned about helping one another, compromise,
persisting through difficulties and dealing with inevitable losses
have parallels with life," Carnethon added. "These lessons can help
youth weather the challenges that they face in their personal lives
as a result of their adverse childhood experiences."
SOURCE: http://bit.ly/2EE6Arc JAMA Pediatrics, online May 28, 2019.
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