Active Living, Active Minds: Promoting Mental Health through Physical Activity

Submission Deadline: 30 January 2025 View: 200 Submit to Special Issue

Guest Editors

Youngho Kim: Professor, Head at the Department of Health and Fitness, Seoul National University of Science and Technology
Youngho Kim, Head at the Department of Health and Fitness, Seoul National University of Science and Technology. Professor Kim is received his PhD from the University of Wollongong, Australia in 1998, in an area of health and exercise psychology. Dr. Kim has currently served for the President of the Asian-South Pacific Association of Sport Psychology (ASPASP), the Vice-President of the International Society of Sport Psychology (ISSP), a section editor (Exercise and Health: Social Aspects and Interventions) of International Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology (IJSEP), an associate editor (Exercise Psychology) of Asian Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology (AJSEP), His research interests include psychosocial correlates of physical activity in various settings, and he is currently focusing on physical activity and its related psychosocial constructs based on psychosocial theories.

Garry Kuan: Associate Professor in the Exercise and Sports Science Programme at the School of Health Sciences, Universiti Sains Malaysia  
Garry Kuan is an Associate Professor in the Exercise and Sports Science Programme at the School of Health Sciences, Universiti Sains Malaysia. He earned his PhD in Sport Psychology from Victoria University, Melbourne, Australia, in 2014, followed by postdoctoral studies in human psychology at Brunel University, London, UK. Currently, he serves as the Secretary-General of the Asian-South Pacific Association of Sport Psychology (ASPASP), an executive board member of the Asian Council of Sports Science (ACESS) and is a part of the scientific committee of the World Exercise Medicine (WCEM). With a wealth of academic contributions, Garry has authored over 300 scholarly publications, many of which have appeared in high-impact ISI journals. He also holds editorial roles in several international journals. In recognition of his exceptional achievements, he has received prestigious awards such as the Ten Outstanding Young Malaysian Award and the International Society of Sport Psychology (ISSP) Developing Scholar Award.

Summary

In this Special Issue, we would be interested in your research related to physical activity and mental health. Despite the often-negative connotations, mental health represents a continuum that ranges from mental illness (e.g., depression, anxiety, PTSD) to the promotion of psychological well-being (e.g, self-esteem, quality of life, positive affect, resilience). Physical activity is often associated with many positive changes in physical health and function, but the effects of physical activity on the prevention and treatment of issues related to mental health have often been overlooked. Recently, this topic has started to stimulate increasing interest in researchers and practitioners.

This Special Issue hopes to present innovative research and strategies that explore the relationship between physical activity and mental health. We use the term "physical activity" in the broadest sense to include sport, exercise, walking, yoga, and any other bodily movement. We encourage submissions that demonstrate interesting innovations that utilize physical activity to help vulnerable populations improve mental illness (e.g., PTSD, depression, substance abuse issues, mental issues in student-athletes) or to promote positive psychological well-being. We are equally interested in the impact of physical activity interventions and acute bouts of exercise on constructs related to mental health. 

This Special Issue is open to any subject area related to physical activity and mental health. The listed keywords suggest just a few of the many possibilities.

Keywords

Published Papers