{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,14]],"date-time":"2026-08-14T09:31:00Z","timestamp":1786699860557,"version":"build-2736575974"},"reference-count":47,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"8","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,14]],"date-time":"2026-08-14T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1786665600000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Children"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Background: Sports injuries in children and adolescents may affect physical health, emotional well-being, sleep, quality of life, confidence, sport participation, and readiness to return to sport. Objective: This systematic review synthesized evidence on the relationship between sports-related injuries and mental health in athletes aged 19 years or younger, considering both psychological factors associated with injury vulnerability and psychosocial outcomes following injury. Methods: The review was conducted in accordance with the PRISMA 2020 guidelines. PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus, and Google Scholar were searched from inception to 8 July 2026, with eligibility restricted to studies published between 2021 and 2026. Risk of bias was assessed using Joanna Briggs Institute critical appraisal tools, and findings were synthesized narratively. Results: Twenty-one studies were included. Lower well-being, anxiety, stress, fatigue, sleep disturbance, kinesiophobia, and reduced psychological readiness were associated with injury occurrence, symptom burden, recovery, or reinjury. Conversely, injuries were associated with anxiety, depressive symptoms, sleep problems, reduced health-related quality of life, lower confidence, disrupted athletic identity, and return-to-sport difficulties. Conclusions: The findings suggest a potentially bidirectional association between sports injury and mental health within a broader biopsychosocial context. However, heterogeneity and predominantly observational designs limit causal inference.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/children13081076","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,14]],"date-time":"2026-08-14T08:08:29Z","timestamp":1786694909000},"page":"1076","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Sports Injuries and Mental Health in Child and Adolescent Athletes: A Systematic Review"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"13","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-7097-4693","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Laura","family":"Gil-Caselles","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Research Group HUMSE, Faculty of Sports Sciences, University of Murcia, 30720 Murcia, Spain"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-2389-0515","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Aurelio","family":"Olmedilla-Zafra","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Personality, Psychological Assessment and Treatment, Faculty of Psychology, University of Murcia, 30100 Murcia, Spain"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,14]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"104","DOI":"10.1249\/JSR.0000000000000809","article-title":"Psychosocial Impacts of Sports-related Injuries in Adolescent Athletes","volume":"20","author":"Haraldsdottir","year":"2021","journal-title":"Curr. 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