Stress, happiness and psychological well-being among college students: Role of sports in mental health

Abstract

The importance of sports in a student’s life is invaluable and goes much further than the basic physical benefits. The current study aims to investigate the impact of sports on mental health by exploring stress, happiness and psychological well- being among college students. The sample for current investigation consists of 100 (50 who indulge in sports regularly, 50 who are not into any sports activity) students from the colleges of Mohali and Chandigarh. Perceived stress scale (Cohen, 1983), Psychological well - being Scale (Ryff, 1995), and General happiness Scale (Lyubomirsky & Lepper, 1999) were administered to the sample. t-test was applied to compare sports playing and non-sports playing individuals. Results indicate significant differences between sports playing and non-sports playing students on levels of stress, happiness and psychological wellbeing.