The influence of exercise on depression and psychological well-being amongst students at a tertiary education campus.

Abstract

Research using a cross-sectional survey design was conducted to determine the influence of exercise on the psychological well-being and reported rates of depression on a sample of regular exercisers and non-regular exercisers registered at a previously disadvantaged university in South Africa. Two standardised questionnaires were used to collect data from a purposive sample of 60 (30 regular exercisers and 30 non-regular exercisers), male and female (30 females and 30 males) undergraduate students. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics. A Chi Square test was used to find out if there were any significant relationships between the regular exercisers and non-regular exercisers and male and female participants, in terms of depression and psychological well-being. Students who exercised regularly reported a positive psychological well-being while non-regular exercisers showed a more negative psychological well-being. There were no significant differences in reported feelings of depression across the male and female sample of regular and non-regular exercisers. Regular exercisers however, showed more positive psychological well-being than non-exercisers which was a significant result (p=0.001).