Abstract

DECREASING DEPRESSION BY IMPROVING THE LEVEL OF SELF-ESTEEM IN A TENNIS TRAINING PROGRAM FOR FEMALE UNIVERSITY STUDENTS

Author(s): Korkmaz Yi�?iter, James T Hardee

Objectives: In general, sports activities can improve the psychological, physical and cognitive conditions of people. Therefore, the aim of this study is to decrease depression by improving the level of self-esteem of female university students in a regular tennis training program. Methods: A total of 60 students participated in the study and were randomly assigned to an experimental and control group. Beck Depression Inventory and Rosenberg Self-esteem Scale were used to determine the participants’ scores of depression and self-esteem respectively. A two-way repeated measure analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used to compare the two groups. Results: Participants in the intervention group took part in the tennis training program improved in self-esteem and reported significantly less depression compared with the control group. Post-test results confirmed the effectiveness of a tennis training program in decreasing depression and improving self-esteem levels of the university students. Conclusions: This study highlights the effectiveness of a relatively safe and inexpensive tennis program to improve mental health.

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