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Physical exercise and the psychological well being of adoloscents with behaviour disorders

A thesis submitted in partial fullfillment of the requirements for the degree, Doctor of Philosophy in community psychology at the University of Zululand, 2005. / Behaviour problems in class rooms are an old story that has and will continue to bother teachers for many years. In some cases children and adolescents with severe behaviour disorders are admitted in schools of industry. Schools of industry offer different support programmes but none of these look at physical exercise as a strategy to enhance psychological well being. This research was aimed at exploring the impact of physical exercise on the psychological well being of adolescents with behaviour disorders. Sixty adolescents from two schools of industry were randomly assigned into experimental and control groups. Both groups were pre and post tested on behaviour, feelings about the self, physical self perception and wellness scales. A physical exercise programme was administered to an experimental group.


Quantitative results reveal that adolescents who were exposed to the physical exercise programme showed general improvements in behaviour, feelings about the self, physical self-perception and wellness. Qualitative results indicated a decrease in smoking habits, absenteeism, aggression and cases of absconding. In the light of the above findings it can be deduced that physical exercise brought about enhanced self-esteem, self confidence, healthy interactions and social harmony among the adolescents. These attributes contribute positively to the psychological well being of an individual. This research does provide for the relative influence of physical exercise on the psychological well being of adolescents with behaviour disorders.

Identiferoai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:uzulu/oai:uzspace.unizulu.ac.za:10530/866
Date January 2005
CreatorsMnguni, Goodness Thokozile
ContributorsEdwards, SD
Source SetsSouth African National ETD Portal
LanguageEnglish
Detected LanguageEnglish
TypeThesis
Formatapplication/pdf

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