The impact of physical activities on positive emotions in children and adolescents: a meta-analysis

Background During growth and development, emotional experiences change dynamically. In adolescence, the stability of positive emotions may decline. Exploring whether physical activity can promote positive emotional and related psychological outcomes in children and adolescents has therefore become an important topic in public health and developmental research. Objective This review aimed to clarify the effects of physical activity interventions on positive emotional and related psychological outcomes among children and adolescents aged 7–25 years through a meta-analysis. Methods Relevant studies were systematically retrieved from PubMed, Web of Science, EBSCO, Embase, Cochrane Library, and PsycINFO up to December 12, 2025. The search strategy combined terms related to physical activity, positive emotional and related psychological outcomes, children and adolescents, and randomized controlled trials. Because the included studies used different outcome measures and scoring ranges, standardized mean differences (SMDs) with 95% confidence intervals were calculated using a random-effects model. Subgroup analyses were conducted according to outcome type, intervention duration, intervention type, control-group type, session length, and age group. Results 15 studies comprising 16 comparisons were included in the meta-analysis. The pooled analysis showed that physical activity interventions were associated with a significant improvement in positive emotional and related psychological outcomes among children and adolescents (SMD = 0.72, 95% CI 0.33 to 1.12, P = 0.0003). However, substantial heterogeneity was observed across studies ( I 2 = 95%). Subgroup analyses showed significant pooled effects for self-esteem, psychological wellbeing, aerobic exercise, no-treatment controls, interventions shorter than 12 weeks, and sessions lasting 30–60 min, whereas positive mood, mind-body exercise (yoga, Tai Chi, and Baduanjin), mixed exercise, and treatment-as-usual controls did not show significant pooled effects. Conclusion The available evidence suggests that physical activity interventions may improve positive emotional and related psychological outcomes in children and adolescents. However, given the substantial heterogeneity and conceptual differences among outcome measures, these findings should be interpreted cautiously. The subgroup findings were derived from separate analyses and should not be interpreted as defining a single optimal intervention package. Systematic Review Registration identifier: CRD420261279752.