Microsoft Word Training the body and mind Examining psychological correlates of Taekwondo docx

Implications for future research.
An unanticipated finding emerged from the data analysis and points to an intriguing 
avenue for future research. Specifically, self-esteem, overall mental health ratings, and the 
perceived influence of Taekwondo on mental and physical health increased with age. The 
finding that mental health ratings positively increased with age is consistent with longitudinal 
research showing that psychological health increases steadily from age 30-60 (Jones & 
Meredith, 2000). Similarly, previous studies have shown that self-esteem tends to increase 
gradually throughout adulthood before beginning to decline later in life (ages 60-80; Robins, 
Trzesniewski, Tracy, Gosling, & Potter, 2002). However, this study demonstrates that the 
relationship between Taekwondo training and increased self-esteem is independent from the 
one observed between age and self-esteem: even when accounting for age, years of Taekwondo 
experience remained positively associated with self-esteem ratings.
Moreover, the perceived influence of Taekwondo on mental and physical health 
increased with age. Years of Taekwondo experience were also associated with a greater 
perceived impact on physical health and this relationship appeared to function independently 
of age. On the other hand, the belief that Taekwondo influenced mental health was observed 
only in older practitioners and was not associated with years of experience. This suggests that 
there may be unique mental health benefits associated with Taekwondo practice in middle-age.
Indeed, this is consistent with previous work showing that years of martial arts training were 
associated negatively with depressive symptoms, and positively with life satisfaction in men 
aged 40-75 (Walther, Lacker, & Ehlert, 2018).
It would be valuable to explore whether these and other benefits extend to older adults. 
As Taekwondo experience was associated with increased self-esteem, it may serve as a 
protective factor against declining self-esteem (Robins et al., 2002) in older adulthood. For 
instance, Taekwondo competitions include age categories for adults upwards of 60 years-old 
at nationwide and international events (USA Taekwondo, 2016), providing potentially unique, 

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International Journal of Martial Arts 
meaningful, and rewarding experiences for older individuals that may lead to increases in self-
esteem. Moreover, previous research has demonstrated that Tai Chi interventions lead to 
increased self-esteem for elderly individuals (Lee et al., 2010; Li et al., 2002).
Future research should focus on middle-aged and older adults involved in Taekwondo, 
as this form of exercise may be especially beneficial for adults who fall into these age groups.
This may be an important area of future research and has not yet been thoroughly explored.
Qualitative studies may be especially valuable for gaining deeper insight into why the 
perceived influence of Taekwondo on mental and physical health increases with age.