Influence of the type of sports practiced by Spanish adolescents on their self-concept, self-esteem, and physical fitness

Introduction: Adolescence is a critical period for mental health, and physical activity could help address this issue. Regular physical activity has been linked to improved mental health in young people. This may lead to better mental health outcomes by elevating physical self-concept and self-esteem. Objective: to analyze the influence of the type of sports practiced by Spanish adolescents on their self-concept, self-esteem, and physical fitness. Methodology: A total of 1180 adolescents aged 12 to 19 years from 4 high schools in Andalusia, Spain, participatedin the study. The EUROFIT battery, which is validated and widely used bat-tery for assessing physical fitness in adolescents, was administered during three different days, and the correlation between these variables was analyzed. Results: Specifically, it wasfound that adolescents who didnot practice sports present highervalues of body mass index, although their values were lower in Sit-and-reach tests, Horizontal jump, Course Navette, Handgrip, physical self-concept Strength, and physical self-concept At-tractive. Among those who did practice sports, individuals engaged in contact sports exhibited better physical abilities and higher levels of self-concept.Discussion:our findings regarding self-concept and self-esteem align with existing literature.Conclusion: those adolescents who participate in oppositional and contact sports present higher values of physical fitness and physical self-conceptcompared to those who participate in other type of sport or donot practice any sports. The specific interests of each adolescent must be addressed with the aim of improving adherence to extracurricular physical activity.