Physical literacy and mental health: Associations in elementary and secondary physical education students.

Abstract

The factors that influence health, both physical and mental, are of great interest to know what interventions are effective in improving health. Among young people, mental health is a superlative problem today; therefore, finding the elements that can improve it is important. Physical literacy can be defined as the ability and motivation to capitalize on our mobile potential to make a significant contribution to quality of life, including elements such as self-expression, self-concept, and knowledge about the importance of physical activity. This study aimed to examine the correlations between physical literacy and its dimensions and life satisfaction according to sex and school location among primary and secondary school students. The Kolmogorov–Smirnov test was used to find the normality of the data. Subsequently, Spearman’s rho test was applied to analyze the correlations between the dimensions of the S-PPLI scale and SLSS, and the reliability of the two scales was assessed using Cronbach's alpha. The results showed significant correlations in all dimensions and variables, in a direct manner and with a medium size, regardless of the students' sex and school location, revealing physical literacy as a tool to act on students' mental health.