Aggression and psychological well-being of adolescent taekwondo participants in comparison with hockey participants and a non sport group

Abstract

Aggression among young adolescents has reached dangerous levels in contemporary society, especially in the school context where acts of aggression have increased dramatically. According to experts, schools in South Africa have become one of the most dangerous places where violence varies from blunt assaults on learners to bite wounds and fire-arm related injuries. It is a well accepted notion in Sport and Social Sciences that sport is an extension of society and the problems in society are also the problems in sport, therefore the aggression problem in society naturally extends into sport. It is therefore, imperative for educators and researchers to look at new ways to contain and reduce aggression in young adolescents, as well as finding creative ways to improve the psychological well-being of learners in our schools. The aim of this investigation is to determine if Tae Kwon Do, as a special form of Martial Art, can reduce aggression levels and improve psychological well-being significantly in comparison with hockey participants and a non sport group. A survey method and two standardized questionnaires were used in this study namely, an Aggression Questionnaire and a Psychological Well-being Questionnaire. The research indicated the following: the Verbal Aggression and Hostility scores of the Tae Kwon Do participants were significantly lower than the hockey participants and non sport group. T he Personal Growth and Self-acceptance scores of Tae Kwon Do participants were significantly higher than the hockey participants and non sport group.

Benefits and challenges of practicing taekwondo to adolescents in Addis Ababa City, Ethiopia

“…Many other studies also support the positive outcomes of martial arts/TKD: lower verbal aggression and hostility and higher personal growth and self-acceptance (Steyn & Roux, 2009); greater improvements in cognitive self-regulation, affective self-regulation, prosocial behavior, classroom conduct, and performance on a mental math test (Lakes & Hoyt, 2004); self-reliance and enthusiastic optimism (Kurian, Verdi, Caterino, & Kulhavy, 1994); less participation in risk behavior (Goldsmith, 2013); improvement in social dysfunction of children with autism spectrum disorder (Movahedi, Bahrami, Marandi, & Abedi, 2013); and improvement of juvenile delinquents on resistance to rules, impulsiveness, and inappropriate social behavior (Zivin, et al, 2001). …”

“…Here, it is important to note that wellbeing could be understood as living or having or experiencing a good life and it could have different dimensions including material welfare, physical health, relationships, living environments, feelings, etc (White, 2008). The positive role of the martial arts found by various researchers could be conceptualized as psychosocial benefits (Goldsmith, 2013;Kurian, Verdi, Caterino, & Kulhavy, 1994;Lakes & Hoyt, 2004;Lantz, 2002;Movahedi, Bahrami, Marandi, & Abedi, 2013;Steyn & Roux, 2009;Zivin, et al, 2001) and physical benefits (Draxler, Ostermann, & Honekamp, 2010;Fong, Fu, & Ng, 2012;Fong, Tsang, & Ng, 2011;Khan & Joshi, 2011;Lantz, 2002). There are also other researchers who reported negative outcomes of the martial arts.…”

Martial Arts as a Form of Undertaking Physical Activity in Leisure Time Analysis of Factors Determining Participation of Poles

“…Therefore, it seems justified to promote MA at all stages of education. Instilling the habit of regular training, development of a specific lifestyle (supported with knowledge about health benefits of such training and impact on intellectual and moral sphere) [ 44 , 45 , 46 ], and providing access to the sports infrastructure after finishing school may help change this situation. Many Polish professionals promote the implementation of elements of judo to the practice of sport and physical education [ 47 , 48 , 49 ].…”

The role of taekwondo training on the subjective wellbeing of adolescents in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

“…The positive effect of the martial arts found by different studies can be broadly classified as physical benefits (see, Draxler, Ostermann, & Honekamp, 2010;Fong, Fu, & Ng, 2011;Fong, Tsang, & Ng, 2011;Khan &Joshi, 2011) andpsychosocial benefits (see, Goldsmith, 2013;Kurian, Verdi, Caterino, & Kulhavy, 1994;Lakes & Hoyt, 2004;Movahedi, Bahrami, Marandi, & Abedi, 2013;Steyn & Roux, 2009;Zivin, et al, 2001). The negative effect of the martial arts found by different studies can be categorized as psychosocial problems (see, Endresen & Olweus, 2005;Lotfian, Ziaee, Amini, & Mansournia, 2011), health related problems (see, Wargo, Spirrison, Thorne, & Henley, 2007), injury related problems (see, Kazemi, et al, 2009;Landa, 2004;Pieter, 2005;Zetaruk, et al, 2004), and unhealthy weight management of athletes (see, Kazemi, Alima, & Ciantis, 2011).…”

“…Many studies have examined the role of different martial arts training on the lives of practitioners and most of them came up with positive results showing the positive effect of martial arts training (see, for example, Binder, 2007;Draxler, Ostermann, & Honekamp, 2010;Fong, Fu, & Ng, 2011;Fong, Tsang, & Ng, 2011;Goldsmith, 2013;Khan & Joshi, 2011;Kurian, Verdi, Caterino, & Kulhavy, 1994;Lakes & Hoyt, 2004;Movahedi, Bahrami, Marandi, & Abedi, 2013;Steyn & Roux, 2009;Vertonghen & Theeboom, 2010;Zivin, et al, 2001).…”