Abstract:

Lifestyle and health of an individual are influenced by many factors. One of the most significant factors is life satisfaction and its components. Life satisfaction is understood as a multidimensional construct closely related to the area of personal wellbeing and quality of life. Life satisfaction in university students represents one of the determinants of good health, high motivation for studying, work productivity, satisfactory interpersonal relationships and overall healthy lifestyle. The main objective of the present study is to identify and compare the level of overall life satisfaction and selected components of health in current sport and nonsport university students. The study included a total of 767 students from two Czech universities, Palacky University Olomouc and University of Ostrava. In terms of age, the study focused on young adults aged 19 to 26. To assess the current level of life satisfaction, the research study used a standardized psychodiagnostic tool – Life Satisfaction Questionnaire (LSQ). The used diagnostic methods are fully standardized and contain domestic normative values. Statistical result processing was conducted using the Statgraphics programme v. 10.0. For each variable, basic statistical variables were calculated. Result processing was made using non-parametric statistical methods. Normality was assessed using the Shapiro-Wilk normality test. Analyzed data did not show the normal distribution. To assess the differences between independent groups, the Mann-Whitney U test was used. The level of statistical significance was tested at p ≤ 0.05; p ≤ 0.01; p ≤ 0.001. The effect size is expressed in d values, where d is Cohen’s coefficient for effect size. The highest level of overall life satisfaction was revealed in university students of sport sciences. In comparison with the students of nonsport sciences the difference is significant (p ≤ .001; d = 0.49). Satisfaction with own health in the students of sport sciences is significantly higher than in the students of nonsport sciences (p ≤ .001; d = 0.44). The results of the present study indicated that current university students who study sports sciences assess their life satisfaction significantly higher compared with the students of other specializations. The results of the study indicated a positive correlation between physical activity of current university students and the subjectively perceived level of life satisfaction, their components and health. Sport and physical activity in university students therefore represent important elements primarily involved in increasing the quality of life and an overall healthy lifestyle. The presented findings extend the state of knowledge about current university students. The outputs have practical application in daily practice within the university pedagogical-psychological counselling.

Keywords:

Well-being, health psychology, young adultus.