Impact of the recreational physical activities on university students’ problem-solving skills and self-esteem in Turkey

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to investigate the effects of participation in recreational physical activities on problem-solving skills and self-esteem of university students in Turkey. 111 volunteer university students participated in the study and were randomly assigned to experimental (n=51) and control (n=60) groups. The experimental group participated in the recreational physical activities which was conducted in two sessions, each lasting one hour a week. During this period, the control group did not participate in any regular physical activity program. Heppner problem-solving skill and Coopersmith self-esteem scales were administered to participants before and after 12-week period. Participants in the experimental group improved their problem-solving skills and self-esteem to a greater extent than those in the control group. In addition, there was a significant decrease in problem-solving skill and increase in self-esteem scores of participants in the experimental group in comparison to the ones in control group. The recreational physical activities positively affected the problem-solving skill and self-esteem of university students.