DISEASES AND PROBLEMS DISTINGUISHED BY WHO AND FAO / RESEARCH PAPER
WELL-BEING AS A STRENGTH OF SPORTS SCIENCE STUDENTS DURING THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC: A CROSS-SECTIONAL STUDY
1
Faculty of Sport and Physical Education, University of Novi Sad, Serbia
Submission date: 2023-06-03
Final revision date: 2023-07-14
Acceptance date: 2023-07-14
Publication date: 2023-08-21
Corresponding author
Radenko M. Matić
Radenko M. Matić, Faculty of Sport and Physical Education, University of Novi Sad, Lovćenska 16, 21101 Novi Sad, Serbia
Radenko M. Matić, Faculty of Sport and Physical Education, University of Novi Sad, Lovćenska 16, 21101 Novi Sad, Serbia
Health Prob Civil. 2023;17(3):197-206
KEYWORDS
TOPICS
ABSTRACT
Background:
The COVID-19 pandemic worldwide challenged people’s mental health. As a tool, physical activity can maintain resilience and well-being. Within this research, we aimed to examine students’ well-being in the summer of 2022 and compare them from the perspective of their study programs.
Material and methods:
This research was carried out in Slovenia and Serbia, with a sample of 700 students from two universities (Primorska and Novi Sad). To evaluate the students’ well-being, the PERMA-Profiler, a 15-item self-reported survey, was applied from May to July 2022. The SPSS was used for data analysis of the Mann-Whitney U test.
Results:
The results revealed normal functioning for the total sample (M=7.47, SD±1.37). In addition, when the researchers were making a comparison between the study programs (sports and other sciences), different responses were found with significantly higher scores attained by the sports science students (M=7.72, SD±1.38) compared to the others (M=7.23, SD±1.31).
Conclusions:
This research follows the previously published articles about understanding the social consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic. The sports science students were less sensitive to changes, and their mental strength demonstrates their successful coping mechanisms for these new circumstances over a more extended period.
The COVID-19 pandemic worldwide challenged people’s mental health. As a tool, physical activity can maintain resilience and well-being. Within this research, we aimed to examine students’ well-being in the summer of 2022 and compare them from the perspective of their study programs.
Material and methods:
This research was carried out in Slovenia and Serbia, with a sample of 700 students from two universities (Primorska and Novi Sad). To evaluate the students’ well-being, the PERMA-Profiler, a 15-item self-reported survey, was applied from May to July 2022. The SPSS was used for data analysis of the Mann-Whitney U test.
Results:
The results revealed normal functioning for the total sample (M=7.47, SD±1.37). In addition, when the researchers were making a comparison between the study programs (sports and other sciences), different responses were found with significantly higher scores attained by the sports science students (M=7.72, SD±1.38) compared to the others (M=7.23, SD±1.31).
Conclusions:
This research follows the previously published articles about understanding the social consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic. The sports science students were less sensitive to changes, and their mental strength demonstrates their successful coping mechanisms for these new circumstances over a more extended period.
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