Virtue development through team sports to address mild-to-moderate depression

Abstract

Depression is major health concern and standard treatment options are less effective than hoped. Mental health professionals underutilize or misuse exercise, an empirically supported natural method for mood elevation. Patients' virtue, relationships, mental health and quality of life have not improved as much as one would expect. Team sports may provide an avenue to improve these areas of a patient's life. Team sports embraces exercise and possibly targets depressive symptoms in a comprehensive manner, and could increase flourishing in a multi-faceted way with a particular attention to growth in virtue that is in accordance with the nature of the human person. Furthermore, the use of team sports could be a powerful intervention as a preventative measure for the general population, for those at-risk for depression and those suffering from depression. This theoretical use of team sports is framed within a multi-disciplinary perspective combining physical and psychological empirical literature on exercise, and the positive psychological literature on virtue and character strengths. This also uses the philosophical literature on the cardinal virtues and friendship along with extensive sports psychological literature on the essential elements needed optimally to foster a sports team conducive to virtue and character development. Convincing conceptual evidence emerged from this discussion in favor of the benefits of virtue and friendship and their role in happiness. Combined, the empirical and conceptual evidence suggests that virtue and friendship could mediate the relationship between depression and team sports. Future empirical research is encouraged to statistically analyze this theoretical proposal.