Role of sports on scales of mental health among a battalion of Iranian conscripts

Purpose: Good mental health is important for individuals as well as for society. At the individual level, good mental health enables people to realize their intellectual and emotional potential and fulfill their roles in society. This study sought to investigate the role of sports and physical exercises on scales of mental health among a battalion of Iranian conscripts in Fars province. Materials and Methods: After translating the standard General Health Questionnaire (GHQ), and adjusting some of its question, the questionnaires were evaluated by a few experts of physical education and sport sciences. The reliability with Cronbach’s alpha value was 0.87. Then according to Odineski’s table, 98 questionnaires were distributed between the athletic conscripts and 115 questionnaires between the non-athletic conscripts, randomly. The collected data was analyzed by ttest and one-way ANOVA. Results: There were significant differences in the mean scores of the four mental health scales: depression, physical signs and sleep disorders and social function disorders in both groups (P = .01, P = .02, P = .03 and P = .02, respectively). Also, there was a significant difference in the mental health condition of the singleand married conscripts. The married conscripts had better mental health conditions compared to the singleconscripts in scales of mental health. Conclusion: There was significant correlation between exercises and scales of mental health. Since athletic conscripts had less psychological problems, it is recommended that physical activity be part of the strategies to improve mental health among non-athletic conscripts.