The associations between self-reported anxiety symptoms and physical activity among university students in Finland

In this thesis, I investigate the relationship between anxiety symptoms and physical activity among university students studying at Finnish universities. As anxiety is an increasing problem among students and exercise has been shown to alleviate anxiety, my aim is to determine whether there is a sta...

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Main Author: Marttinen, Eerik
Other Authors: Faculty of Sport and Health Sciences, Liikuntatieteellinen tiedekunta, Sport and Health Sciences, Liikunta- ja terveystieteet, University of Jyväskylä, Jyväskylän yliopisto
Format: Master's thesis
Language:eng
Published: 2024
Subjects:
Online Access: https://jyx.jyu.fi/handle/123456789/95627
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author Marttinen, Eerik
author2 Faculty of Sport and Health Sciences Liikuntatieteellinen tiedekunta Sport and Health Sciences Liikunta- ja terveystieteet University of Jyväskylä Jyväskylän yliopisto
author_facet Marttinen, Eerik Faculty of Sport and Health Sciences Liikuntatieteellinen tiedekunta Sport and Health Sciences Liikunta- ja terveystieteet University of Jyväskylä Jyväskylän yliopisto Marttinen, Eerik Faculty of Sport and Health Sciences Liikuntatieteellinen tiedekunta Sport and Health Sciences Liikunta- ja terveystieteet University of Jyväskylä Jyväskylän yliopisto
author_sort Marttinen, Eerik
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description In this thesis, I investigate the relationship between anxiety symptoms and physical activity among university students studying at Finnish universities. As anxiety is an increasing problem among students and exercise has been shown to alleviate anxiety, my aim is to determine whether there is a statistically significant association between anxiety and exercise among university students. My aim was to determine whether the amount of physical activity is related to the amount of anxiety, whether it makes a difference whether a person engages in physical activity in an organized environment or not, or whether it makes a difference whether a person engages in physical activity as an individual or in a group setting. My hypotheses were that the amount of physical activity would be negatively correlated with the amount of anxiety, and that the people who exercise in an organized environment or in a group setting would report lower levels of anxiety symptoms. The data was analyzed by using quantitative methods (SPSS) and 100 students participated in the study, of which 50 were male, 49 female and 1, who left the question unanswered. Most of the participants were 26-29 years old (61%), and most of the participants were on their 6th year of studies or above (38%). The data was collected using a Webropol-online survey. Contrary to my hypotheses, the amount of physical activity was not statistically significantly correlated with anxiety, and physical activity in a supervised environment did not predict the amount of anxiety. My third hypothesis was met, there being a statistically significant difference between the people participating in group sports and those who did not, with the students participating in group sports reporting lower levels of anxiety. Based on the results of this study, I suggest that future studies should seek to identify factors that, in addition to physical activity, contribute to the experience of anxiety, as no direct conclusions can be yet drawn from this study. The more research that is carried out, the better the various bodies will be able to offer suitable opportunities for students to participate in physical activities in the future, thus promoting students’ mental health and, in turn, their ability to cope with their studies and daily life. Tässä tutkielmassa tutkin suomalaisissa yliopistoissa opiskelevien opiskelijoiden ahdistuneisuusoireiden ja liikunnan välistä yhteyttä. Ahdistuneisuuden lisääntyessä opiskelijoiden keskuudessa ja liikunnan ollessa todistetusti ahdistuneisuutta lieventävä tekijä, on tarkoituksenani selvittää, onko yliopisto-opiskelijoiden kohdalla tilastollisesti merkittäviä yhteyksiä ahdistuneisuuden ja liikunnan välillä. Tarkoituksenani oli selvittää, onko liikunnan määrä yhteydessä ahdistuneisuuden määrään, onko sillä eroa, harrastaako henkilö liikuntaa ohjatussa ympäristössä vai ei, tai onko sillä eroa, harrastaako henkilö liikuntaa yksilönä vai joukkue-/ryhmäympäristössä. Hypoteeseinani olivat, että liikunnan määrä korreloisi negatiivisesti ahdistuneisuuden määrän kanssa, ja että ohjatussa ympäristössä sekä joukkue-/ryhmäympäristöissä liikkuvat henkilöt kokisivat vähemmän ahdistuneisuutta. Tutkimuksessa käytettiin kvantitatiivisia menetelmiä (SPSS), ja tutkimukseen osallistui 100 opiskelijaa. Aineisto kerättiin Webropol-nettikyselyllä. Hypoteesieni vastaisesti, liikunnan määrä ei korreloinut tilastollisesti merkitsevästi ahdistuneisuuden kanssa, eikä ohjatussa ympäristössä harrastettu liikunta ennustanut ahdistuneisuuden määrää. Kolmas hypoteesini toteutui, sillä joukkue/-ryhmäympäristössä liikuntaa harrastavien opiskelijoiden ja joukkue-/ryhmäympäristössä liikuntaa harrastamattomien opiskelijoiden välillä löytyi tilastollisesti merkittävä ero, joukkue-/ryhmäympäristössä liikuntaa harrastavien opiskelijoiden ilmoittaen kärsivänsä vähemmän ahdistuneisuudesta. Tutkimuksen tulosten perusteella ehdotan, että tulevissa tutkimuksissa pyritään selvittämään tekijöitä, jotka liikunnan ohella vaikuttavat ahdistuneisuuden kokemiseen, sillä tämän tutkimuksen perusteella ei voi vielä suoria tehdä johtopäätöksiä siitä. Mitä enemmän asiaa tutkitaan, sitä paremmin voivat eri tahot myös tarjota tulevaisuudessa sopivia mahdollisuuksia osallistua liikuntaharrastuksiin, näin edistäen opiskelijoiden mielenterveyttä ja tätä kautta myös jaksamista opinnoissa sekä arjessa.
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As anxiety is an increasing problem among students and exercise has been shown to alleviate anxiety, my aim is to determine whether there is a statistically significant association between anxiety and exercise among university students. My aim was to determine whether the amount of physical activity is related to the amount of anxiety, whether it makes a difference whether a person engages in physical activity in an organized environment or not, or whether it makes a difference whether a person engages in physical activity as an individual or in a group setting. My hypotheses were that the amount of physical activity would be negatively correlated with the amount of anxiety, and that the people who exercise in an organized environment or in a group setting would report lower levels of anxiety symptoms.\n\nThe data was analyzed by using quantitative methods (SPSS) and 100 students participated in the study, of which 50 were male, 49 female and 1, who left the question unanswered. 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spellingShingle Marttinen, Eerik The associations between self-reported anxiety symptoms and physical activity among university students in Finland university students organized sports yliopisto-opiskelijat ohjattu liikunta Sport and Exercise Psychology Liikuntapsykologia 5021 yksilöurheilu joukkueurheilu mielenterveys opiskelijat fyysinen aktiivisuus ahdistus liikunta urheilu fyysinen hyvinvointi henkinen hyvinvointi oireet individual sports team sports mental health students physical activity anxiety physical training sports physical well-being mental well-being symptoms
title The associations between self-reported anxiety symptoms and physical activity among university students in Finland
title_full The associations between self-reported anxiety symptoms and physical activity among university students in Finland
title_fullStr The associations between self-reported anxiety symptoms and physical activity among university students in Finland The associations between self-reported anxiety symptoms and physical activity among university students in Finland
title_full_unstemmed The associations between self-reported anxiety symptoms and physical activity among university students in Finland The associations between self-reported anxiety symptoms and physical activity among university students in Finland
title_short The associations between self-reported anxiety symptoms and physical activity among university students in Finland
title_sort associations between self reported anxiety symptoms and physical activity among university students in finland
title_txtP The associations between self-reported anxiety symptoms and physical activity among university students in Finland
topic university students organized sports yliopisto-opiskelijat ohjattu liikunta Sport and Exercise Psychology Liikuntapsykologia 5021 yksilöurheilu joukkueurheilu mielenterveys opiskelijat fyysinen aktiivisuus ahdistus liikunta urheilu fyysinen hyvinvointi henkinen hyvinvointi oireet individual sports team sports mental health students physical activity anxiety physical training sports physical well-being mental well-being symptoms
topic_facet 5021 Liikuntapsykologia Sport and Exercise Psychology ahdistus anxiety fyysinen aktiivisuus fyysinen hyvinvointi henkinen hyvinvointi individual sports joukkueurheilu liikunta mental health mental well-being mielenterveys ohjattu liikunta oireet opiskelijat organized sports physical activity physical training physical well-being sports students symptoms team sports university students urheilu yksilöurheilu yliopisto-opiskelijat
url https://jyx.jyu.fi/handle/123456789/95627 http://www.urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:jyu-202406074389
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