Effect of Participation in Aerobic Dancing Classes on Psychological Well-Being of Male Students

Background: In the recent decades, the positive psychology considered as an ability of human being which are provided appropriate studies in well-being and happiness domains. In this way, the purpose of current research was to identify the effect of aerobic dancing on psychological well-being of non-athletic male students.

Materials and Methods: The research method was of a quasi-experimental nature in the form of a time-series design using experimental and control groups. 40 non-athlete students (21.6±1.82 years old) from General physical Education 1 course in Birjand University were randomly selected and assign to two groups. The Ryff's scales of psychological well-being were used to analyze the psychological well-being parameters in the pre-test and post-test of training. The training protocol was including 12 weeks, and 3 seasons (60 minutes) per week that each subject in experimental group received 15 minutes warm-up, 30 minute aerobic training and 15 minutes cool-down and relaxation training.

Results: The results of repeated measure analysis of variance indicated significant differences in psychological well-being and its subdivisions in the 3 phases of tests in the experimental group (p<0.01). Moreover, the results of t-test showed the positive influence of 12 weeks aerobic training on psychological well-being of the student boys (first post-test, p<0.001; second post-test, p<0.001), and well-being scores of aerobic group was higher than control group.

Conclusion: The result of the present research emphasizes the factors affecting on psychological well-being as well as its ways to promote of well-being. Implications of these findings are discussed among exercise psychologists.