Dr.Hab., Professor A.V. Eganov¹
Dr.Hab., Professor A.M. Kuz'min¹
Dr.Hab., Professor S.S. Korovin²
Dr.Hab., Professor V.S. Bykov^3
1Ural State University of Physical Culture, Chelyabinsk
²Orenburg State Pedagogical University, Orenburg
³South Ural State University (National Research University), Chelyabinsk

Keywords: mental health, athlete, university student, applied martial arts, physical education, martial arts

Introduction. It is an individual health on the whole that may be considered one of the most typical manifestations of the dominating social and cultural values – indicative to a degree of the quality of social standards and general well-being of the society – and its mental health component in particular which forms, together with the somatic, physical, biological, spiritual, ethical, social and sexual health components, the integrated health system of an individual that is a subject to the health protection and improvement agenda [3, 4, 7].

It should be emphasised in this context that the national health authorities are deeply concerned by the young people’s health deterioration trend, including the mental health impairment process. This may be due to the growing mental stresses in the society triggered by unfavourable economic factors and other stressors including poor social adaptive capability, physical and mental overloads in the everyday life and educational environment, and poor self-organizing and management standards and skills [1, 2, 6].

The mental health component improvement initiatives will be rated among the top priority thrusts in the Russian education system modernization concept and reform process and one of the key domains of the national educational universe in terms of the relevant education, upbringing and personality development efforts, with due respect to and support from the national cultural values accumulated in the social practices and relevant standards designed to shape up the integrated health system on the whole and its mental component in particular  [4, 5, 7].

Having summarized the available special reports and studies, we would note that any outside factor of influence on human health often acts indirectly, through the individual mentality. And it is the mental health of a few social groups, including university students, that is still among the least studied health components that has long been in need of special research [1, 3, 6, 7].

Mental health structure viewed as an integrated system may be described as composed of a variety of constituents that refer to specific mental health aspects including physical, biological, social, psychological, spiritual and ethical aspects. Some of the relevant rated constituents may be applied for the mental health rating analysis [1, 6, 7].

S.A. Druzhilov was the first to find and formulate the following three groups of factors most expressly manifesting themselves in every health/ disease related issue: (1) preceding factors that predetermine health condition; (2) translating/ transferring factors relating to the specific individual behavioural model in response to a variety of stressors; (3) motivators, i.e. the general “own problem” response factors triggered by individual health disorders as a result of some psychosomatic and/or somatic pathologies [1].

We would define mental health as the integral characteristic indicative of the performance quality of the individual mentality viewed as one of the constituents of the integrated body systems (nervous, muscular, cardiovascular, respiratory, endocrine etc.) that ultimately determine the integrated individual health situation. Mental health may be viewed as a degree of harmony of the human being with the world outside it – that may manifest itself in the personal confidence, reliance on own powers, and even the state of spiritual well-being free of any unhealthy mental conditions or disorders; the state that secures adequate mental responses being supported by the mental process self-regulation mechanisms able to rehabilitate the body and mind following stressful situations/ activities and resist to and balance themselves under unfavourable/ harmful environmental effects that an individual may face [6].

Every form of physical education and sport activity may be viewed as one of the most powerful factors of positive influence on the integrated health on the whole and its mental component in particular; and this is the reason why a high priority is given to the development and analysis of the sport disciplines of the highest positive effect on a variety of mental health constituents [2, 3, 7].

Objective of the study was to explore the mental health structure of university wrestlers in applied martial arts.

Methods and structure of the study. Background data for the study were mined based on the university students’ questionnaire survey whereby they were requested to rate their personal health conditions as a result of the individual self-assessment and interpersonal relations in the university community, with due consideration for the relevant physical, mental, social, spiritual and ethical aspects. As provided in the questionnaire survey instruction, the respondents were to choose the statements most close to their mental situation and health and rate themselves versus the surrounding people on the ten-point scale. The mental health diagnostic exercise resulted in 89 rating factors being scored by points [8] to rate the individual mental health – with 29 of the rating factors given in Table hereunder.

Subject to the study were 60 respondents of 18-23 years of age split up into two groups. Group 1 (n=38) was made of young university wrestlers (all men) engaged in martial arts including judo, sambo, mixed martial arts, kickboxing etc.; and Group 2 (n=22) was formed of peers not engaged in sport (all men).

Results and discussion. Comparative statistical data for the two groups of students engaged and non-engaged in martial arts gave grounds to group mental health profiling (see Table 1 hereunder) to rate the role and importance of physical education and sport activities for mental health standards. The study data given in Table 1 hereunder demonstrate that at least 21 mental health rates of the athletes vs. non-athletes are significantly different i.e. statistically reliable at t=3.52–2.04 at p≤0.001–0.05.

Table 1. Mental health rates and statistically significant differences of student-athletes vs. non-athletes’ groups as provided by two-sample double t-tests, ±  

The following mental health rates in the university wrestlers’ group were found to be higher as compared to that of the peer non-athletes: determination in different conditions; confidence on the whole; interpersonal communication skills; balance of mental processes; emotional condition; mental condition improvement ability under stresses; competency in mental health related issues; willingness to learn and go in for sports, education and labour activity; emotional condition self-control ability and practical skills; internal balancing ability; knowledge of personal inner world; and mental well-being (rates 1-19 in Table 1 above).

It should be noted that the integrated mental health rate and summarized response points (rates 20, 21 in Table 1) show the athletes group rates being significantly different from and higher than those of the non-athletes group (t=3.11–3.25 at p≤0.001-0.05). As for the other mental health rates (rates 22-29 in Table 1), the differences are close to the significant ones and show the same trend.

Therefore, it may be stated with confidence that applied martial arts – notwithstanding the naturally high stressors, mental and nervous tension in common situations, increased emotional levels, higher aggressiveness in common situations and mental fatigue on the whole (t=2.06-3.26 at р≤0.03-0.01) they are associated with – help maintain and improve mental health as substantiated by a variety of relevant comparative mental health rates.

Conclusion. The following mental health rates in the university wrestlers’ group engaged in applied martial arts were found to be significantly higher than those of their peer non-athletes: determination in different conditions; confidence on the whole; interpersonal communication skills; balance of mental processes; emotional condition; mental condition improvement ability under stresses; competency in mental health related issues; willingness to learn and go in for sports, education and labour activity; emotional condition self-control ability and practical skills; internal balancing ability; knowledge of personal inner world; and mental well-being.

The university wrestlers engaged in applied martial arts were found to develop a variety of expressed traits in the mental health structure that give the reasons to acknowledge the physical education and sport activities under the relevant martial arts as highly beneficial for the mental health protection and improvement agenda.

References

1. Druzhilov S.A. Psikhologicheskie faktory zdorov'ya cheloveka i determinanty ego negativnykh psikhicheskikh sostoyaniy v trude (Human psychological health factors and determinants of its negative mental states at work) / S.A. Druzhilov // Mezhdunar. zhurnal eksperim. obrazovaniya (Intern. Journal of Experimental Education). – 2013. – № 10. – P. 250–253.
2. Korovin S.S. Funktsii professional'noy fizicheskoy kul'tury i ikh kharakteristika (Functions of professional physical education and their characteristics) / S.S. Korovin, V.A. Kabachkov // Vestnik sportivnoy nauki (Bulletin of Sport Science), 2007. – № 4. – P. 36–38.
3. Kuvaldin V.A. Analiz vliyaniya fizicheskogo i psikhicheskogo komponentov zdorov'ya na kachestvo zhizni i obrazovatel'noy deyatel'nosti studentov Tyumenskoy gosudarstvennoy sel'skokhozyaystvennoy akademii i neuchashcheysya molodezhi (Analysis of impact of physical and mental health components on quality of life and learning of students of Tyumen State Agricultural Academy and non-studying youth) / V.A. Kuvaldin // Teoriya i praktika fiz. kultury. – 2010. – № 10. – P. 19–23.
4. Kuz'min A.M. Teoreticheskie osnovy professional'nogo vospitaniya budushchikh spetsialistov fizicheskoy kul'tury: avtoref. dis. ... dokt. ped. nauk (Theoretical bases of professional education of future experts of physical training: abstract of doctoral thesis (Hab.) / A.M. Kuz'min; USAPhC. – Chelyabinsk, 1999. – 37 p.
5. Lubysheva L.I. Kul'turnye transformatsii sovremennogo sporta v aspekte sotsiologicheskogo analiza (Cultural transformations of modern sport in context of sociological analysis) / L.I. Lubysheva // Teoriya i praktika fiz. kultury. – 2013. – № 6. – P. 10–13.
6. Psikhicheskoe zdorov'e obuchayushcheysya molodezhi (Students' mental health) / A.V. Eganov, V.S. Bykov, E.A. Cherepov et al. // Sovremennye kontseptsii professional'nogo obrazovaniya studencheskoy molodezhi: kollektivnaya nauchnaya monografiya (Modern concepts of vocational training of students: collective monograph) / Ed. A.Yu. Nagornov. – Togliatti: SIMJET, 2015. – 496 p. [Electronic resource]: Available at: http://elibrary.ru/item.asp?id=23872032 (date of access: 18.02.2016).

Corresponding author: eganov@bk.ru

Abstract

Mental health is highly rated as one of the key components of human health, with the health protection and improvement agenda being one of the most important values for students and imperative for their educational, labour, sport and defence activities being successful. Most of the modern researches tend to consider specific sport health issues in the context of an integrated body, spiritual and intellectual health system. This article considers specific aspects of the mental health structure of university wrestlers engaged in applied martial arts versus those of their peer non-athletes. The study data and analysis showed that the overall mental health levels in the men university wrestlers’ group engaged in applied martial arts are significantly better than those in the peer non-athletes' group in the following aspects: dynamic behaviour in challenging situations; overall confidence levels; mental process balancing ability; emotional condition balancing ability; stress-resisting mental state improvement ability; willingness to learn and succeed in sports, education and labour; and body ability to maintain inner mental balance.