Analysis of the Effect of Recreational Sports Development on Health and Participation of Students in Sports Activities

Background and Objective: Research on how to participate in recreational sports and the factors influencing the choice of these sports are too meager in health areas. Therefore, the aim of this study was to analyze the effect of recreational sports development on health and Participation of students in sports activities. Material and Methods: The present study is descriptive-correlative in terms nature, and is applied in terms of purpose. The statistical population of the study consisted of all university students in Bushehr city, from whom the study sample was picked based on stratified random selection (N=۳۸۴). To collect data, a researcher-made questionnaire was used and the validity of the questionnaire was confirmed by twelve experts. Also, its reliability was calculated using Cronbachchr('۳۹')s alpha (r=۰.۹۱) and composite reliability. In order to analyze the data and examine the fit of the model, structural equation modeling was implemented using PLS۳ and SPSS۲۴ software (p≤۰.۰۵). The results of path analysis revealed that the development of recreational sports has a direct and positive correlation with physical health. Also, the effect of recreational sports development on students’ participation in sport was significant. Results: The results of factor analysis showed that physical health, mental health, and physical fitness had a significant role in explaining the physical health variable. Also, social aspects, athletic interest and pleasure, athletic performance and athletic skill acquisition had a determining role in the sport participation variable. Conclusion: According to the findings, it can be deduced that in the attention to and research on sport participation in health area, simply reliance on individual characteristics results in Halo error (based on behavioral theories), and to avoid it, it’s better to notice the effects of other variables, such as the athletic interest and pleasure, athletic performance, and athletic skill-acquisition.

Keywords:

Health , Population , Sports