Karate interventions in children and adolescents: a scoping review of psychosocial and cognitive outcomes.

Karate is one of the most widely practiced forms of martial arts among children and adolescents worldwide. Although its potential psychological benefits are recognized, empirical evidence remains limited and heterogeneous. The present scoping review aimed to map the existing literature on karate interventions targeting psychosocial and cognitive outcomes in school-aged children and adolescents. Four electronic databases (ERIC, PubMed, Scopus, and APA PsycINFO) were searched between March and April 2025, and the search was updated in July 2026. Thirteen studies met the inclusion criteria. Included studies consisted of randomized controlled trials, two pre-post studies, and one single-subject study. Risk of bias was assessed using the Cochrane Risk of Bias tools (RoB 2.0, ROBINS-I) to provide contextual information on study quality. Findings were synthesized descriptively and organized according to population type and psychosocial and cognitive outcome domains. The included studies reported a range of outcomes, including resilience, stress, behavioral problems and executive functioning. However, the available evidence is heterogeneous and characterized by methodological limitations. In addition, a substantial proportion of studies focused on clinical or special populations, which should be considered when interpreting the findings. Although several studies reported improvements across psychosocial and cognitive outcomes, conclusions regarding the effectiveness of karate interventions cannot yet be drawn. The review protocol was registered in PROSPERO (CRD42025648442), and reporting followed PRISMA-ScR guidelines.