mentalFIT: die Auswirkungen sportlicher Aktivität auf psychische Prozesse - eine Pilotstudie

01/08/2021 to 31/07/2022

The prevalence of depressive disorders and anxiety disorders in college students is elevated compared to the general population (Auerbach et al., 2018). At the same time, mental illnesses such as depressive disorders appear to be associated with cognitive deficits (Dotson et al., 2020; Rock, Roiser, Riedel, & Blackwell, 2014). A quarter of students report experiencing high levels of stress (Grützmacher, Gusy, Lesener, Sudheimer, & Willige, 2018). Repeated confrontation with stress increases the likelihood of occurrence of mental illness (Gobinath, Mahmoud, & Galea, 2014; Vinkers et al., 2014) and may lead to a persistent physiological stress response, such that individuals no longer respond adaptively to stressors and recover more slowly or deficiently from confrontation with a stressor (Teixeira et al., 2015; Zorn et al., 2017).
Recent meta-analyses of cohort and longitudinal studies report compelling reductions in the odds of occurrence of depressive disorders (Schuch et al., 2017) and anxiety disorders (Schuch et al., 2019) with exercise. At the same time, preliminary studies indicate positive effects of exercise on perceived and physiological stress experience (Baghurst & Kelley, 2014; Hamer, Taylor, & Steptoe, 2006; Nguyen-Michel, Unger, Hamilton, & Spruijt-Metz, 2006) and successful coping (Wilson-Salandy & Nies, 2012). Cognitive performance (especially inhibition, working memory, cognitive flexibility, and attention) also appears to benefit from regular exercise (de Greeff, Bosker, Oosterlaan, Visscher, & Hartman, 2018; Xue, Yang, & Huang, 2019). When only the outcomes of cognitively demanding exercise are included, the effects on
cognitive performance are in the medium range (de Greeff et al., 2018). Currently, there are no randomized controlled trials that directly assess the difference between cognitively demanding exercise and endurance-oriented repetitive exercise in adults. Therefore, the mentalFIT pilot study aims to investigate the efficacy of different types of exercise on executive functions, symptoms of depression, stress, anxiety, and quality of life in college students. A randomized, 3 x 3 mixed design is planned, with group assignment (ball sports; endurance sports; passive control group) as the between-subjects variable and measurement time point (pre-intervention, postintervention, three-month catamnesis) as the within-subjects variable. Thirty participants will be randomly assigned to either a ball sports or endurance sports intervention or a passive control group (1:1:1).
The primary outcome is a difference in executive functions (inhibition, working memory, set-shifting) at the time point post-intervention. Secondary outcomes are symptoms of depression, anxiety, and stress, and subjectively perceived quality of life at the time point post-intervention and catamnesis. A further secondary outcome is a difference in executive functions between groups at catamnesis. Control variables will be demographic variables and preferred intervention (at the time-point pre-intervention), self-reported exercise and physical fitness (at pre, post, catamnesis), and change in affect during the intervention (at three time-points: first session, seventh session, twelfth session). Attendance and average, minimum, and maximum heart rates during the intervention will be recorded at each intervention session.