SYSTEMATIC REVIEW article
Front. Psychol.
Sec. Sport Psychology
Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1697324
This article is part of the Research TopicAggression in Sports and EducationView all articles
Impact of Sports Interventions on Aggressive Behavior among Adolescents: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis
Provisionally accepted
- 1Yancheng Teachers University, Yancheng, China
- 2Universiti Sains Malaysia - Kampus Kejuruteraan, Nibong Tebal, Malaysia
- 3Universite de Montpellier, Montpellier, France
- 4Hebei Sport University, Shijiazhuang, China
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Abstract Introduction: Adolescent aggression adversely affects developmental and mental health outcomes. Sports participation has been proposed as a potential approach to reduce aggression by improving self-control and social skills, but evidence remains inconsistent. 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, Web of Science, the Cochrane Library, and EBSCOhost-SportDiscus up to July 15, 2025. Meta-analysis was conducted to calculate standardized mean differences for aggression outcomes using a random-effects model. Subgroup analyses and sensitivity tests were performed to explore sources of heterogeneity. Results: A total of 11 studies with 1811 participants were included. For aggression, no significant overall effect of sports interventions was found (I² = 86%, Hedges' g = 0.46, 95% CI −0.24 to 1.16). Subgroup analysis by sport type also showed no significant effects. For hostility, a significant reduction was observed (I ² =0.0%, Hedges' g = 0.29, 95% CI 0.13 to 0.45). For anger, no significant effect was found overall (I² = 77.2%, Hedges' g = 0.32, 95% CI −0.19 to 0.84). Subgroup analysis showed a significant effect for non-contact sports (I² = 9.5%, Hedges' g = 0.52, 95% CI 0.18 to 0.86), but no significant effect for contact sports. 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.
Keywords: Adolescent, Aggression, Hostility, Anger, sports interventions
Received: 02 Sep 2025; Accepted: 20 Oct 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Wang, Chen, Gou and Han. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Xue Han, hanxuehebei636@163.com
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