The Importance of Basketball for High School Students. Part 2 (Utility Dimension Analysis)

Abstract

Background and Study Purpose. The use of basketball in curricular and extracurricular activities is common in most countries. The research aims to identify the opinions of high school students and the effects and usefulness of basketball on multiple levels: socialization, stress reduction, health and fitness optimization, personality formation, body harmony, etc. Material and Methods. A sample of 259 high school students (124 females and 135 males) from Gorj county, Romania, were included in a sociometric cross-sectional study in the first part of the 2023-2024 school year. All investigated participants partook in physical education lessons with basketball topics. The factor analysis of the applied questionnaire included 14 items within the usefulness dimension, with responses reported on a Likert scale with 5 levels of intensity of opinions. The independent Gender, Area variables and the interaction Gender *Area variables were defined and analysed. Results. Gender differences indicate higher values for males, but not statistically significant (P > 0.05). Only for flexibility is the opinion of females superior and statistically significant (P < 0.05). Differences between urban and rural are in favour or urban for most items, but still statistically insignificant (P > 0.05). The only items where F values are significant are those related to the role of basketball in the formation of fair-play attitude and the accessibility of basketball as a leisure activity (P < 0.05). The Gender *Area variables interaction indicates only 3 situations where significant differences of opinion are reported (P < 0.05): accessibility of basketball as a leisure activity, effect on effort capacity and fitness level, and effect of basketball on coordination. All these cases indicate higher values of urban males vs rural males and vice versa for females, where rural females score higher than urban females. Conclusions. For the utility dimension, we noted the majority of opinions in favour of basketball, through its various effects on students in adolescence. The most optimistic scores were for the benefits of coordination and speed (components of skill-related physical fitness). This is followed by beneficial effects on health, the formation of fair-play attitudes, physical development and body harmony, facilitating socialization, communication and group integration. The influence of basketball on stress reduction is also viewed with confidence. The effect on improving effort capacity and general level of physical fitness scores moderately. Weaker values are given for influences on intellectual abilities and level of segmental muscle strength. Students give the lowest confidence in the effects of basketball on flexibility and endurance levels. In contrast to the attractiveness factor, for the usefulness dimension, we found less significant differences in opinion between rural and urban females and males. This is an indicator of critical thinking ability and reflects a good level of understanding of the effects of playing basketball on multiple levels in the sample surveyed.