A Tel Aviv University researcher has found that sports help to ease aggression in children, particularly in boys.
Keren Shahar, a Ph.D. student at Tel Aviv University's Bob Shapell School of Social Work, has statistical evidence that sports participation is beneficial to a child's cognitive, emotional and behavioural well-being.
Shahar conducted her study, which included 649 children from low socio-economic backgrounds, under the supervision of Prof. Tammie Ronen and Prof. Michael Rosenbaum.
She stated that over the course of her study, a continuous program of various sports helped improve self-control and discipline and lowered feelings of aggression in the children overall.
Shahar's research showed that boys benefited most from the sports programming than their female counterparts.
Shahar reasons that girls do not often suffer from the same aggression problems as boys, and are less likely to exhibit a passion for sport.
The study was recently presented at TAU's Renata Adler Memorial Research Center for Child Welfare and Protection Conference.
http://www.israelnews.net/story/808195/ht/Sports-help-ease-aggression-in-children
