The psychological attitudes of non-specialist female students at Jeddah University towards practicing physical activity

Abstract

This study aims to clarify the psychological attitudes of female students at the University of Jeddah, who are not majoring in sports sciences, towards engaging in physical activity, and to identify various differences and measure the change in the level of attitudes towards engaging in physical activity at the University of Jeddah according to: the level of physical activity, academic major, and year of study. The researchers used the descriptive survey method due to its suitability for the nature of the problem to be solved. The research community consists of female students at the University of Jeddah from its humanities, scientific, and health colleges and departments (not majoring in sports sciences) during the second semester of the year 2020. The study sample consisted of 210 students who were randomly selected from the study community.To collect the study data, the researcher used a questionnaire to measure attitudes towards physical activity, which was used in the study by Al-Jafri (2013), after making some adjustments suggested by the reviewers to suit the context of the current study. In light of the results obtained by the study, the researcher concluded that there is a positive attitude towards the practice of physical activity among the female students of Jeddah University. The students' attitudes were positive across all areas of the questionnaire. Additionally, the attitudes of Jeddah University female students, regardless of their specialization, towards practicing physical activity in particular, in terms of practitioners and non-practitioners, showed that psychological well-being was the most prominent area in both sides. This indicates that there is an acceptance among Jeddah University female students towards practicing physical activities, meaning that the sample generally had positive attitudes towards physical activity.The variables (academic major and academic year) did not affect the attitudes of non-specialized female students at the University of Jeddah towards engaging in activities. The researcher recommended the necessity of increasing opportunities for physical activity for health and participation in sports activities for all students according to their abilities and physical levels, both at the university and family levels. Additionally, increasing social awareness of physical activity through seminars and appropriate sports activities for all student categories, and issuing awareness booklets to be distributed within the university.