{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,28]],"date-time":"2026-10-28T18:10:59Z","timestamp":1793211059684,"version":"4.5.0"},"reference-count":37,"publisher":"Frontiers Media SA","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,5,9]],"date-time":"2025-05-09T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1746748800000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["frontiersin.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Front. Psychol."],"abstract":"Introduction<\/jats:title>Rising social pressures have exacerbated adolescent mental health challenges, evidenced by increasing prevalence of anxiety, depression, and related disorders. High-intensity interval training (HIIT), characterized by short bursts of intense exercise interspersed with recovery periods, has emerged as a time-efficient intervention for psychological well-being. This study quantitatively evaluated the efficacy of HIIT in improving adolescent mental health using the Multidimensional Scale of Adolescent Psychological State (MSAPS), which assesses seven domains: self-esteem, energy, tension, anger, depression, fatigue, and confusion.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec>Methods<\/jats:title>A randomized controlled trial was conducted with 60 adolescents (aged 14\u201318 years) from Handan City Sports School. Participants were equally divided into an experimental group (HIIT intervention) and a control group (moderate-intensity continuous training). The HIIT protocol involved heart rate zones of 172\u202f\u00b110\u202fbpm, while the control group trained at 132\u202f\u00b1\u202f10\u202fbpm. Both interventions lasted 8 weeks. Pre- and post-intervention psychological assessments were performed using MSAPS, with statistical analyses employing paired t-tests for within-group comparisons and ANCOVA for between-group effects.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec>Results<\/jats:title>The HIIT group demonstrated significant reductions in negative affect: tension (\u0394\u202f=\u202f2.1, p<\/jats:italic>\u202f=\u202f0.002), depression (\u0394\u202f=\u202f1.5, p<\/jats:italic>\u202f=\u202f0.008), and anger (\u0394\u202f=\u202f1.9, p<\/jats:italic>\u202f=\u202f0.001), alongside a substantial increase in self-esteem (\u0394\u202f=\u202f1.7, p<\/jats:italic>\u202f=\u202f0.004). The control group showed modest improvements in tension (\u0394\u202f=\u202f0.9, p<\/jats:italic>\u202f=\u202f0.03) and depression (\u0394\u202f=\u202f0.6, p<\/jats:italic>\u202f=\u202f0.04), but effects were weaker and non-significant for anger and self-esteem. Between-group analyses revealed HIIT\u2019s superiority in tension (\u0394\u202f=\u202f1.8, p<\/jats:italic>\u202f=\u202f0.00) and depression (\u0394\u202f=\u202f0.8, p<\/jats:italic>\u202f=\u202f0.017) compared to continuous training.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec>Discussion<\/jats:title>HIIT\u2019s dual mechanism\u2014stimulating endorphin\/dopamine release and enhancing physical efficacy\u2014likely underpins its psychological benefits. The findings support HIIT as a viable school-based intervention for mitigating anxiety\/depression and boosting self-esteem in adolescents. These results provide empirical groundwork for integrating HIIT into physical education curricula and mental health promotion strategies, offering a practical alternative to traditional exercise modalities.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.3389\/fpsyg.2025.1567003","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,5,9]],"date-time":"2025-05-09T10:54:02Z","timestamp":1746788042000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":11,"title":["Experimental research of impact on psychological state for adolescents with high-intensity interval training intervention"],"prefix":"10.3389","volume":"16","author":[{"given":"Yu-Tong","family":"Li","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Yang","family":"Zhou","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1965","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,5,9]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"e001021","DOI":"10.1136\/bmjsem-2020-001021","article-title":"Effectiveness of high-intensity interval training for weight loss in adults with obesity: a ran domised controlled non-inferiority trial","volume":"7","author":"Amuri","year":"2021","journal-title":"BMJ Open Sport Exerc. 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