The Impacts of Physical Exercise on Stress Coping and Well-Being in University Students in the Context of Leisure

Jong-Ho Kim,Larry A Mckenzie

doi:10.4236/health.2014.619296

Abstract

This study aims at investigating the in-depth information regarding impacts of physical exercise on psychological well-being in university students with an emphasis on coping with stress in the context of leisure. A qualitative research, based on interview to draw findings in an inductive way, was conducted. Nine university students (N = 9) in a large mid-west university took part in a face- to face, semi-structured interviews using ten open-ended questions with respect to benefits of leisure time physical exercise. The interview on the basis of phenomenological research examined what the participants experienced with leisure time physical exercise in conjunction with stress coping and mental health. Meaningful units of themes were induced with 24 initially drawn themes. These themes were reduced to 8 comprehensive constituent themes: self-efficacy, positive emotion, mind and body, health-behaviors, self-esteem, leisure, problem-focused coping, and positive expectancy. These reduced themes were finally boiled down to 6 integrated themes: positive emotion, unity of mind and body, heightened self-esteem, leisure, problem-focused coping, and self-regulation of health behavior. This research may shed a light in illuminating potential mechanism of how regular physical exercise is conducive to enhanced health behavior as well as effective stress coping in university students in the context of leisure. In particular, this research appears to be meaningful in suggesting that regular leisure-time physical exercise can lead to an effective problem-focused coping through elicitation of positive emotion.

Highlights

The mental health issue among university students has been growing public health implications with the high rates of depression, anxiety, and stress among university students
This phenomenological research aims at drawing findings based on personal experiences of university students with regard to the impacts of regular leisure time physical exercise on their stress coping and well-being
The overall 24 constituent themes include self-confidence, leisure, problem-focused coping, enhanced focus, challenge, health behavior regulation, positive body image, stress reduction, healthier feelings, a sense of accomplishment, enhanced self-esteem, higher productivity, positive emotion, stronger body, energetic mind, positive expectancy, mind and body, flow, a sense of control, health prevention, active, taking time off, new insight, and release. These overall themes were reduced to 8 themes; self-efficacy, positive emotion, mind and body, health behavior regulation, self-esteem, leisure, problem-focused coping, and positive expectancy

Summary

Introduction

The mental health issue among university students has been growing public health implications with the high rates of depression, anxiety, and stress among university students. These mental health problems interfere with educational attainment, health development, social relationships, and quality of lives in the young adults [1]. Alcohol use disorder substantially increases among college students as compared to non-college aged youth counterparts [2]. University students are vulnerable to suffering from mental health problems due to their concerns regarding studies and their transition toward independence in emerging adulthood [5]-[7]. There has been a lack of stress coping skills among university students and many students tend to use ineffective stress coping methods [2] [10]-[12]

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Conclusion