La práctica del baloncesto como factor protector de la salud emocional y mental en contextos universitarios

Abstract

Objective: The study seeks to identify the impact of sports practice on emotional health in students of the Universidad Distrital Francisco José de Caldas. Hypothesis.It is proposed that frequent sports practice favors the improvement of cognitive regulation of emotions, acting as a protective factor against mental health in a university environment. Method:This study employs a mixed approach, combining qualitative and quantitative data. The study sampleincludes 51 university students between 17 and 25 years of age, from different majors. The measurement instrument was the Cognitive Emotion Regulation Questionnaire (CERQ), Garnefski, 2001. Results:The data indicate that, although sport has benefits for emotional health, it is not the determining component for an adaptive emotional regulation. Conclusions:The analysis of the data question the aforementioned hypothesis that sport practice improves cognitive emotion regulation in university students. Suggesting that other variables may have a determinant influence on emotional health. Therefore, the practiceof sports acts as a coadjuvant factor of mental health in university students; additionally, the lack of sports activity may be associated with a greater tendency to unfavorable thought patterns for emotional health.