Abstract
Martial arts are becoming a mainstream sport for energetic youth and their popularity extends globally. Following a comprehensive search of martial arts research, a critical review of the field and the psychological implications was conducted. The resulting meta-analysis examined the effect of martial arts on problematic externalizing behavior (aggression, anger, and violence). The final meta-analysis included twelve studies, with 507 participants (ages 6 to 18), where study type was a moderator. For nine intervention and longitudinal studies, there was a homogenous effect size of 0.65 (95% CI: 0.11, 1.03) indicating a medium effect, where martial arts improved aggression amongst the practicing youth. The other three one-time comparisons studies did not yield a homogenous effect size. Based on these analyses, it appears that martial arts has a potential to reduce externalizing behaviors in youth, although further research is needed to determine the mechanisms of change and specify the most relevant population groups for targeted interventions.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 96-101 |
| Number of pages | 6 |
| Journal | Aggression and Violent Behavior |
| Volume | 34 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - May 2017 |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information:This research was supported by the Ministry of Science, Technology & Space, Israel (Grant #3-13631). This study was carried in the course of the PhD research conducted by Anna Harwood at Bar Ilan University, Ramat Gan, Israel. No conflicts of interest exist for any of the authors nor was any specific funding supplied for this study. Anna Harwood is a recipient of the Presidential Scholarship Award from Bar-Ilan University.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2017 Elsevier Ltd
Keywords
- Adolescent
- Aggression
- Externalizing behavior
- Martial arts
- Meta-analysis