| Abstract [eng] |
The connection between students physical activity and stress during the COVID- 19 pandemic Author: Evelina Jonušytė Academic advisor: Prof. Dr.(HP) Rimantas Stukas Key words: Students' physical activity, stress, mental health, COVID-19 pandemic. Theme relevance. In 2019 the outbreak of the COVID-19 virus pandemic has brought fear, anxiety, stress and disrupted their mental health. During the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic, the global prevalence of anxiety and depression increased by as much as 25% and the greatest impact was seen in mental health, according to the WHO. The aim. To evaluate the impact of physical activity on the mental health of students during the pandemic of the COVID-19 viral infection. In order to achieve the goal, the following tasks were set: 1. Determine the level of physical activity of students during the quarantine period. 2. To assess students' stress levels during the quarantine period. 3. To assess the influence of students' physical activity on their mental health. Methodology of the study. A quantitative study was conducted - in which students participated. The research used scientific literature analysis, descriptive analysis and questionnaires. 194 types of studies of Vilnius University III and IV year bachelors and I-II year master's students participated in the study. 206 students filled out the questionnaire. The questionnaire consisted of three parts: demographic questions, International Physical Activity Questionnaire Short Form (IPAQ-SF) and Depression Anxiety Stress Scale (DAAS-21). Conclusions of the study. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the subjects were more active, walking less and doing sports, but in the last week the results show that the majority of the subjects are already actively spending their free time and playing sports more often. In the study, the majority of subjects were women, who had more severe psychiatric symptoms than men. Severity levels of depression, anxiety and stress during the COVID-19 pandemic have been higher than in the past week. Conclusions: 1) During the quarantine period of the COVID-19 pandemic, the majority of students spent time passively, spending 1-2 times a week on physical activity and from 0.5 hours. until 2 a.m. The study sample of VU students belonged to the average physical activity category. 2) During the quarantine period of the COVID-19 pandemic, the majority of students encountered symptoms of depression, anxiety and stress. Medium, hard and very hard levels dominated in all areas. Men were less prone to stress symptoms than women. 3) During the period of the COVID-19 pandemic, those who did not exercise or engaged in physical activity once a week have a higher level of stress, anxiety and depression. The more often they engaged, the more they reduced the severity levels of their psychiatric symptoms. For 1-time athletes during the pandemic, very hard and hard levels dominated. Those who exercised 3 or more times in the past week had the most anxiety symptoms, but they also mostly had moderate levels of anxiety. Also, experienced more anxiety than depression symptoms. Respondents started spending twice as much time on physical activity 3 times a week or more. Those who exercised 3 times or more per week had the highest levels of stress severity. |
