Auteurs: M. Pérez-Peña, J. Notermans, B. Barbot and P. Philippot (Mindfulness, 2026, 17(1), 243-263.).  https://doi.org/10.1007/s12671-025-02739-w

Body awareness (BA) is a multifaceted construct defined as attending to and being aware of body sensations. It can be adaptive or maladaptive depending on one’s attitude. Adaptive BA, characterized by a mindful attitude, has been associated with greater well-being and reduced psychological symptom severity. Despite its importance in mental health and interventions, there are no questionnaires measuring adaptive BA specifically designed for adolescents and young adults (AYAs). This research therefore aimed to develop a brief BA questionnaire tailored to AYAs (ages 14–24 years).

Auteurs: M. Perez-Pena, J. Notermans, J. Petit, K. Van der Gucht en P. Philippot (Psychologica Belgica, 2024, 64(1), 108-128). DOI: 10.5334/pb.1295 (Engels artikel)

Abstract:  Paying attention to body sensations has been associated with many positive outcomes such as increased subjective well-being, enhanced emotion regulation, and reduced symptom reports. Furthermore, body awareness has an important therapeutic utility in the treatment of various psychological ailments. Despite its importance in mental health, there is very little research on body awareness during adolescence and young adulthood – important developmental periods characterized by bodily changes and the development of one’s relationship to one’s body. Therefore, the present qualitative study sought to explore how body awareness is understood, experienced, and described by adolescents and young adults. Four online focus groups were conducted with young people between the ages of 14 and 24 (N = 20). Thematic analyses revealed a multidimensional and highly contextualized understanding and experience of body awareness in this age group. In general, young people reported mainly attending to intense and unpleasant body sensations with a particular attitude (e.g., accepting or avoidant) depending on the type of sensation, leading to a variety of cognitive, emotional, and behavioral reactions to these sensations. These processes were embedded in an underlying schema of beliefs about body awareness and an overarching physical and socio-cultural context. Results further revealed a more nuanced experience and understanding of body awareness in women and in young adults. The present findings can be used as a foundation for the development of body awareness theoretical frameworks and self-report instruments for youth and can aid the generating of hypotheses for future research on body awareness in this age group.

Auteurs: Marbella Pérez-Peña, Hendrik-Jan De Vuyst en Katleen Van der Gucht (Tijdschrift voor Kinder- en Jeugdpsychotherapie, 2026, 53(1),  72-89.)

Abstract: Mindfulness interventies voor adolescenten winnen aan populariteit, maar kennen nog belangrijke beperkingen. Er is onvoldoende inzicht in werkzame mechanismen, optimale dosering en ontwikkelingsgevoelige vaardigheden. Onderzoek leunt sterk op zelfrapportage en vraagt om multimethodische benaderingen en longitudinale designs. Tegelijkertijd blijken betrokkenheid en therapietrouw laag, mede doordat veel interventies zijn afgeleid van modellen voor volwassenen en onvoldoende aansluiten bij de leefwereld van jongeren. Adolescenten hebben behoefte aan dynamische, interactieve en sociaal ingebedde programma’s die autonomie en identiteitsontwikkeling ondersteunen. Toekomstig onderzoek moet zich daarom richten op ontwikkelingsgerichte interventies en sterkere implementatiestrategieën. Cruciaal is co-creatie met jongeren, zodat interventies beter aansluiten bij hun behoeften en context. Dit kan de effectiviteit, acceptatie en duurzaamheid van mindfulness tijdens de adolescentie aanzienlijk verbeteren.  https://www.boomportaal.nl/tijdschrift/TKJP/TKJP_1384-1246_2026_053_001_008

Onderzoek uitgevoerd in co-creatie met jongeren door het team van prof. Arnaud Philippot, en gepubliceerd in Mental Health and Physical Activity. Zie  https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1755296626000086

Door Baud Vandenbemden. Tijdschrift voor Agogisch Werk, Balans (2009). Pp. 6-10. Weblink naar het artikel.

Dit artikel gaat over de manier waarop psychofysieke methoden kunnen bijdragen aan het begeleiden van zichzelf en van organisaties, groepen of teams. Aan de hand van een kort verslag van vier concrete voorbeelden van vormingen (twee met jongeren van 11 jaar en ouder, één rond sociale inclusie voor jeugdwerkers, en één voor beginnende leerkrachten in een secundaire school) wordt het leiderschapsmodel van de Thema-Gecentreerde Interactie (TGI) in verband gebracht met lichaamswerk en een groeiend lichaamsbewustzijn.

Auteur: Reinhard Haudenhuyse, 2012, Brussel : VUBPRESS, doctoraatsthesis.

Abstract:
Sports are often recognized as an opportunity to engage socially vulnerable youth in a leisure context and not just in terms of participation in sports activities, but across a range of issues, including education, employment and training, community leadership and healthy lifestyles However, how sports practices can effectively contribute in creating such broader outcomes stays unclear and has been dealt with much scepticism. The purpose of the dissertation was to gain a better insight in how sports practices working with socially vulnerable youth could effectively generate wider social outcomes. The dissertation is built around three main chapters.
Regarding working with socially vulnerable youths in a sports setting, it was described in the first chapter that the knowledge of the specific situation of youths, a good command of sports organizational and didactical skills and understanding of the wider processes of social vulnerability would assure some success in organizing sport-plus programs that could create an added value beyond mere participation. By positioning the framework of social vulnerability, we were able to identify specific coaching and organizational processes that could be researched in different sports settings.
Drawing on the findings from the field research conducted in a Flemish (northern region of Belgium) sports (boxing) project, the second chapter critically discusses coaching dimensions with regard to perceptivity towards youth’s well-being, motivational climate, authority relationships, socio-psychological competences, the sports model and working towards competence. Apart from these socio-pedagogical coaching dimensions, this chapter also describes how the cultural capital of coaches interacts within the context of the sport-plus initiative.
Whereas the second chapter has mainly focused on how sports are delivered, the third chapter looks at the experiences young people have had in the context of the selected sport-plus practice, with the purpose of better understanding the potential of sports for socially vulnerable youth. From the field research it was found that boxing, within the setting of the sport-plus practice, meant different things for different participants. Considering the unique personal and situational characteristics of young people that were involved in the study, it could be reasonable expected that participating in the boxing initiative, generated unique experiences, which had divergent outcomes. The dissertation concludes with implications for policy and practice and formulates future research pathways.