The effect of neighborhood physical activity on violence prevention

Purpose: This research aims to investigate the role of neighborhood physical activity in preventing violence. The study included ۴۰۰ participants (۲۳.۸۲ ± ۸.۹۸ years), from the Khuzestan province, Iran. Methods: The data collection tools were also questionnaires. Factor analysis was used to estimate the validity of the questionnaire questions and Cronbach's alpha was used to determine the reliability. According to the Factor analysis, the questionnaire questions evaluated two sub-factors, Violence against public or private property (vandalism) and Violence against people. Results: The findings show that neighborhood physical activities, had a significant relationship with violence. Also, researchers haven’t seen significant difference between regular physical activity (RPA) and irregular physical activity (IPA) in violence prevention. The results show that there is significant difference between organized physical activity (OPA) and non-organized physical activity (NPA) in vandalism prevention. The results indicated that there wasn’t significant difference between (OPA) and (NPA) in violence prevention. Conclusions: In this approach, participation in sports activities is emphasized on the basis that it fills hours and leisure time and leaves less time to engage in anti-social activities. The results show that sports activities in neighborhoods play a prominent role in reducing violence. Therefore, giving attention to organized sports activities and expanding them in the neighborhoods should be given priority.

Keywords:

Physical activities , neighborhood , vandalism , violence , participation