Social capital and physical activity : the effects of group exercise in university teaching of physical education

Primarni cilj ovog istraživanja bio je istražiti učinke intervencije društvenoga kapitala (DK) na razinu psihološkog stresa (PS) kod studenata, dok je sekundarni cilj istraživanja bio utvrditi utjecaj intervencije društvenoga kapitala na razinu tjelesne aktivnosti (TA) studenata Ekonomskog fakulteta Sveučilišta u Zagrebu. Osnovna pretpostavka u ovom radu bila je da će eksperimentalni program u nastavi tjelesne i zdravstvene kulture, gdje će se poticati intervencija DK, utjecati na smanjenje razine PS te na povećanje ukupne razine TA kod studenata. Eksperimentalni program provodio se tijekom osam tjedana, a u njemu su sudjelovali studenti i studentice prve i druge godine Ekonomskog fakulteta Sveučilišta u Zagrebu. Istraživanje je obuhvatilo 976 ispitanika, od toga su 472 ispitanika (326 studentica i 146 studenata) bila u eksperimentalnoj skupini (ES), a 504 ispitanika (318 studentica i 186 studenata) u kontrolnoj skupini (KS). Eksperimentalni program predstavljao je pojačani DK studenata i studentica gdje se od uvodnog do završnog dijela sata poticao skupni rad, interakcija, stvaranje socijalne kohezije te međusobne suradnje između samih studenata te između studenata i profesora, a sve s ciljem povećanja razine TA i smanjenja razine PS. U KS se radilo prema uobičajenom programu rada na satovima tjelesne i zdravstvene kulture bez posebnog poticanja suradnje među studentima. Podatci su prikupljeni nakon ispunjavanja triju upitnika: upitnika razine PS, međunarodnog upitnika TA, upitnika DK te anketnog upitnika o općim podatcima. Statistička značajnost razlika između inicijalnog i finalnog stanja utvrđivana je Sign testom. Mann-Whitneyev U-test je korišten za utvrđivanje statističke značajnosti između kontrolne i eksperimentalne skupine. Kruskal-Wallisova ANOVA i post hoc medijan test s Bonferronijevom korekcijom korišteni su za utvrđivanje statističke značajnosti između podgrupa kontrolne i eksperimentalne skupine. Statistički značajna povezanost između kategoričkih varijabli utvrđivana je hi-kvadrat testom (χ2). Rezultati upućuju na to da intervencija DK u ovom istraživanju nije smanjila razinu PS kod ES (5,83±3,77), iako je uspjela održati PS na istoj razini dok je kod KS (6,34±4,13) razina PS statistički značajno porasla. Rezultati promatrane razine TA ukazuju na to da 42,11 % ispitanika u inicijalnom testiranju ne zadovoljava zadane preporuke o bavljenju tjelesnom aktivnosti. Rezultati nakon intervencije prilikom vježbanja gdje se poticala suradnja te stvarala socijalna kohezija među studentima dovela je do statistički značajnog povećanja razine TA u ES (2.536±2.492 MET/tjedno) u odnosu na KS (1.756±1.805 MET/tjedno), a samim time doprinijela ukupnom zdravlju među studentima. Jedan od ciljeva bio je istražiti ima li intervencija DK veći utjecaj na povećanje ukupne razine TA kod studenata muškog roda. Rezultati nam ukazuju na to da studentice i studenti uključeni u intervenciju imaju jednako povećanje ukupne razine TA, što govori da je motiviranost i zadovoljstvo ovakvim načinom vježbanja bila obostrana. Također, rezultati govore da se kod studenata (1.023±1.696 MET/tjedno) intenzivna TA statistički značajno povećala u odnosu na studentice (642±1.439 MET/tjedno). Rezultati ukazuju na to da su nužne ovakve intervencije prilikom vježbanja kako bi studenti u ovoj životnoj dobi povećali razinu TA i smanjili ili bar zadržali nisku razinu PS. Zabrinjavajuća je činjenica da 42,11 % studenata ne zadovoljava minimalne preporuke za bavljenjem TA, a ovakvom intervencijom ne samo da možemo to promijeniti, nego možemo imati indirektan utjecaj i na ostale dobrobiti kao što su zadovoljstvo tjelesnim izgledom koje rezultira boljim dugoročnim zdravstvenim, psihološkim, ekonomskim, društvenim i ostalim čimbenicima. Rezultati ovog istraživanja doprinijet će boljem razumijevanju javnozdravstvenih problema te se na osnovi ovog istraživanja mogu formulirati smjernice za razvoj prevencijskih programa za mlade, usmjeren na smanjenje ili zadržavanje razine PS i povećanje razine TA s krajnjim ciljem stvaranja zdravih navika i podizanja zdravlja ove populacije. Došlo se do odgovora koji su pristupi mogući da se potakne DK, a samim time da se smanji PS i poveća ukupna razina TA. S obzirom na rezultate, predložit će se načini suradnje obitelji, škole i uže društvene zajednice kako bi se utjecalo na kvalitetu života mladih, a kao krajnji učinak i ukupan prosperitet društvene zajednice.The primary goal of this study was to examine the effects of social capital (SC) intervention on the psychological distress (PD) level in students, while the secondary goal of the study was to establish the effect of SC intervention on the physical activity (PA) in students of Faculty of Economics and Business, University of Zagreb. The basic assumption in this work was that an experimental program in the classes of physical education, within which the SC intervention will be stimulated, will facilitate a reduction of PD levels, as well as facilitate an increase of overall PA levels in students. The experimental program was conducted for eight weeks, and it included male and female students of Faculty of Economics and Business, University of Zagreb. The study covered 976 subjects: 472 of them (326 girls and 146 boys) were in the experimental group (EG), and 504 subjects (318 girls and 186 boys) were in the control group (CG). The experimental program included an enhanced SC of the students, where, all the way from the introductory part of the class to the final part, collective work was stimulated, including interaction, creating social cohesion and co-operation between students themselves, as well as between students and professors, with the general aim of enhancing the PA level and reducing the PD level. In the CG, the usual work program in the physical education classes was performed, without stimulating the co-operation between the students in any special way. The data was collected after completing the three questionnaires: the PD questionnaire, the international PA questionnaire, the SC questionnaire, and the general data questionnaire. The statistical significance of the differences between the initial and the final situation was determined using the Sign test. The Mann-Whitney U test was used to establish the statistical significance between the control group and the experimental group. The Kruskal-Wallis ANOVA and the post hoc median test with the Bonferroni correction were used to establish the statistical significance between the sub-groups within the control and experimental groups. The statistically significant link between the categorical variables was determined using the chi-squared test (χ2). The results indicate that the SC intervention in this study did not reduce the PD level in EG (5,83±3,77), although it managed to sustain the PD on the same level, while in the CG (6,34±4,13), the PD level increased in a statistically significant manner. The results of observing the PA level indicate that 42,11 % of the subjects in the initial testing did not satisfy the given recommendations on physical activity. The results after the intervention while exercising when co-operation was stimulated, and thus social cohesion among the students was created, brought about a statistically significant increase of the PA level in the EG (2.536±2.492 MET/week), in relation to the CG (1.756±1.805 MET/week), and in doing this, contributed to the overall health level in students. One of the goals was to examine if the SC intervention had a greater influence on the increase of the overall PA level in male students. The results indicate that girls and boys included in the intervention had equal increases of the overall PA level, which revealed that motivation and contentment with this manner of exercising was mutual. Also, the results reveal that in boys (1.023±1.696 MET/week), the intensive PA increased in a statistically significant manner in relation to girls (642±1.439 MET/week). The results indicate that interventions of this kind are necessary while exercising for students to increase their PA levels in their age, and reduce their PD levels, or at least maintain low PD level. What is worrying is the fact that 42,11 % of students do not meet the minimal recommendations for engaging in PA, and using this kind of intervention we can not only change that but we can indirectly influence other benefits also, such as satisfaction with one's look, which results in better long-term health factors, as well as psychological, economical, social and other factors. The results of this study will contribute to better understanding of public health problems, and based on this study it is possible to formulate guidelines for developing prevention programs for youth, aimed at reducing or maintaining the PD levels and increasing the PA levels, final goal being to create healthy habits and increase the health of this population. The results revealed that one possible approach is to stimulate the SC, which means to simultaneously reduce the PD and increase the overall PA. Based on these results, we will propose certain ways of co-operation between families, schools and smaller communities, aiming to influence the quality of life of young people, and consequently, to enhance the overall prosperity of the community as a whole