Skateboarding Improves Mental Health USC Study Says

The State of Skate Studysurveyed 5,000 participants, between 13 to 25 years old from all genders and it proves that skateboarding can have multiple side-benefits, ranging from mental health to education and careers. For those who are already in love with the skate life these results are no surprise, but let’s dive in a bit and see why this study it’s important these days.

The research was conducted by the Pullias Center for Higher Education at the University of South California’s Rossier School of Education and USC’s Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism and it was funded by Tony Hawk Foundation.

The data from the study shows that the main reasons why people skateboard are for fun, stress relief and meeting people. When relationships are formed and cultivated in safe places, such as the skate park and around other skaters, long-lasting friendships are formed. Also, skate shops, especially independent ones, seem to play critical roles in fostering community, even if they struggle to sustain their businesses given online shopping and the prevalence of megastores.

The research concludes that skateboarding plays a significant role in skaters developing more complex networks of friends and allies including intergenerational and cross-cultural relationships. This is important because young people may not have many places in which to develop camaraderie. 

Tony Hawk explained why he wanted for this study to be prioritized: 

 “Until now, little attention has been directed toward truly understanding who skateboarders are, what they think or why skateboarding becomes such an integral part of their identity. We at the Tony Hawk Foundation are proud to have sponsored this work in order to highlight these young people.”

All these being said when anyone says that you skateboard too much send them the study, it can be downloaded here, and go enjoy your time.