In recent years, there has been a trend that Norwegian youth, and especially girls, report more mental health problems now than before (Bakken, 2024; Eriksen & Bakken, 2018; Krokstad et al., 2022). The development aligns with findings from several Western countries (Biddle et al., 2019; Collishaw, 2015; Hagquist et al., 2019). Psychological stress during adolescence is associated with increased risk of school dropout, lower academic performance, reduced well-being, and a higher prevalence of mental health problems (van Loon et al., 2020). Several studies confirm that it is school-related performance pressure young people find most  stressful, followed by pressure related to body and appearance (Bakken, 2024; Eriksen & Bakken, 2018; Sletten & Bakken, 2016). 

Physical Education (PE) combine two areas of interest related to stress, pressure and mental health problems among adolescents: 1) school related stress, and 2) pressure related to body and appearance (Sletten & Bakken, 2016). PE can be understood as a fusion of these two areas. In PE there is assessment, testing and grading of physical skills and achievement, which can be experienced as a sensitive and problematic issue, simultaneously as students may experience expectations and pressure to perform and achieve good grades (Pedersen et al., 2021).   For some students PE can be experienced as an opportunity for movement and enjoyment together with peers – a kind of physical recreation and a break in the academic and monotonous day at school (Cothran, 2010; Lyngstad et al., 2020; Moen et al., 2018; Pedersen et al., 2021: Røset et al., 2020). Røset et al. (2020) argues that a break from “normal school” may have positive consequences for mental health because it is an alternative and a way of physical recreation in an academic milieu. 

The aim of the present PhD project is to investigate 1) who experience PE as a positive break in the academic school life, 2) how this break can have positive effects on mental health through theories of stress (Lazarus & Folkman, 1984) and self-determination theory (Ryan & Deci, 2023), and 3) how elements (e.g. assessment, environment, activities) in physical education can be carried out to enhance students mental health, in the light of the idea about physical education as an academic break. The project will be based on a mixed method approach and engage both students and PE teachers from lower and upper secondary schools as informants.