Therapeutic sports games outperformed aerobic exercise for social anxiety among female students
A randomized trial found a gender-dependent result: female participants improved more with structured therapeutic games, while male participants showed no clear difference between programs.
Based on the published abstract. The full paper may contain additional methods, results and limitations.
The 30-second takeaway
Therapeutic group sports games produced greater improvements in social anxiety and fear of negative evaluation than aerobic exercise among female students. Among male students, scores improved within each program, but the comparison between programs was not statistically significant. That male result leaves uncertainty about a difference; it does not establish that the programs are equivalent.
The trial was registered retrospectively. The abstract reports outcomes immediately after the program, leaving longer-term effects and the reasons for the gender-dependent result unresolved.
What researchers found
Social anxiety and fear of negative evaluation
Interaction Anxiousness Scale and Brief Fear of Negative Evaluation Scale scores favored therapeutic games over aerobic exercise after 10 weeks.
What made the programs different
The sports games systematically incorporated group therapy principles into physical activities. The comparison group also exercised, which makes this a test of the combined therapeutic format against an active exercise program.
What the trial cannot explain
The abstract reports a statistical interaction involving gender, but does not isolate which social or psychological elements produced the result. Its conclusions about the underlying therapeutic mechanism go beyond what this comparison alone can identify.
The original publication
Group sports games for social anxiety in university students: a randomized controlled trial revealing gender-specific efficacy.
Fu JN, Gao YC, Zhan X et al.
BMC Psychol · 2025
- PubMed ID
- 41310861
- Record checked
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