Physical Activity and Self-esteem of Young People on the Example of Secondary School Students from Lublin

Abstract

The number of young people in Poland with various functional disorders, often resulting from low self-esteem, is increasing every year. This article assumes that physical activity could be one of the factors influencing the improvement of young people’s self-esteem. The aim of the research was an attempt to determine the relationship between physical activity and self-esteem of school students. The research sample consisted of 243 students attending the first grade of secondary schools in Lublin. The research used the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (SES) created by Rosenberg and a proprietary survey on physical activity of young people. Data analysis showed that every second surveyed student showed physical activity only in the context of physical education classes; also the results of research in the field of self-esteem of the studied youth are not satisfactory because nearly half of the respondents had low and very low levels of it. An analysis of the responses of the surveyed boys and girls indicates that there are some differences in this matter. The statistical analyses carried out did not show any correlation between physical activity and self-esteem level of young people.