Effect of Football Training on Pupils' Loneliness--the Mediating Role of Self-Esteem

Abstract

Introduction: The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of four weeks’ football training on loneliness, to explore the mechanism of football training directly affecting loneliness; and through exploring the mediating effect of self-esteem on football training and loneliness. The relationship among loneliness, self-esteem and football and the internal mechanism of action are clarified. Methods: Taking 60 students from the third grade of a primary school in Jinan City as the subjects, the students are in the age range of 8-10 years old. The students are randomly divided into two groups, 30 people in each group, one group is the experimental group and the other group is the control group. The “Children's Loneliness Scale” is used to measure the degree of loneliness of students, and the “Self-Esteem Scale” is used to measure the level of students' self-esteem. Use statistical software SPSS 26.0 to establish a database and perform statistical analysis. The test data adopts 2 (group: experimental group, control group) × 2 (test time: pre-test, post-test) repeated measurement analysis of variance. Use the structural equation model to test the mediating role of self-esteem in football training and loneliness. Results: After four weeks’ football training:1. the time of main effect of the loneliness score test is significant (F (1,42) =5.36, p 0.05, ŋp2=0.01); the interaction effect of the test time*group is significant (F (1,42) =21.01, p 0.05), there are significant differences in loneliness scores before and after the experimental group (F=10.24, p 0.05), the average loneliness score of the experimental group after exercise intervention is lower than before . 2. the main effect of self-esteem score test time is significant (F (1,42) =14.32, p 0.05, ŋp2=0.05); the interaction effect of the test time*group is significant (F (1,42) =4.60, p 0.05), and there is no significant difference in self-esteem scores before and after the control group (F=1.35,p>0.05), there are significant differences in self-esteem scores before and after the experimental group (F=17.58, p<0.05), the average self-esteem score of the experimental group after exercise intervention is higher than that before the intervention. 3. The correlation between self-esteem and loneliness is significant (r=-0.50, p<0.01). Football has a significant positive predictive effect on self-esteem (p<0.05); self-esteem has a significant negative predictive effect on loneliness (p<0.01); football has a significant negative predictive effect on loneliness (p<0.05). The direct effect of football on loneliness is not significant, but the total indirect effect of football on loneliness is significant, and the mediating effect of self-esteem is significant in football→ self-esteem→ loneliness. Conclusions: 4 weeks of football training can significantly reduce the loneliness of primary school students and can effectively promote the improvement of primary school students' self-esteem; self-esteem plays a completely mediating role in the impact of football training on loneliness.