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The effect of martial arts training on mental health outcomes: A systematic review and meta-analysis
Brian Moore1, Dean Dudley2, Stuart Woodcock3
1School of Teacher Education, Charles Sturt University, Panorama Avenue, BATHURST, NSW, 2795, Australia.
Objective:
Mental health issues are of increasing public concern, however are often untreated for a variety of reasons. While limited, the research examining the relationship between mental health and martial arts training is generally positive. This systematic review and meta-analysis explored whether martial arts training may be an efficacious sports-based mental health intervention.
Design:
The meta-analysis used a random effects model and examined three mental health outcomes: wellbeing, internalising mental health, and aggression.
Data Sources:
During January to July 2018 the following electronic databases were searched: CENTRAL, EBSCO, Embase, ERIC, MEDLINE, PUBMED, and ScienceDirect.
Eligibility Criteria:
Eligibility criteria included: (1) martial arts was examined as an intervention or activity resulting in a psychological outcome, (2) the study reported descriptive quantitative results measured using standardised scales that compared results between groups and (3) studies were published as full-length articles in peer reviewed scientific or medical journals.
Results:
More than 500,000 citations were identified and screened to determine eligibility. Data was extracted from 14 eligible studies. Martial arts training had a significant but small positive effect on wellbeing (d = 0.346, 95% CI = 0.106 to 0.585, I2 = 59.51%) and a medium effect on internalising mental health (d = 0.620, 95% CI = 0.006 to 1.23, I2 = 84.84%). Martial arts training had a minimal non-significant positive effect in reducing aggression (d = 0.022, 95% CI = -0.191 to 0.236, I2 = 58.12%).
Summary/Conclusion:
Whilst there is considerable variance across the studies included in the meta-analyses, there is support for martial arts training as an efficacious sports-based mental health intervention for improving wellbeing and reducing symptoms associated with internalising mental health.
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