Abstract:

The current lifestyle of the youth has a negative impact on their subjective well-being. The findings presented by UNICEF in the State of the World's Children and Youth Mental Health Report are alarming. Children and young people are showing an increased prevalence of mental health problems and even mental illness. UNICEF's recommendations in terms of prevention include ensuring mental health promotion in schools through quality services and positive relationships. Numerous research studies have pointed to the fact that physical activity can have a long-term impact on the subjective well-being of individuals [1] [2] [3] [4]. The main goal of this research was to identify possible correlations between the frequency of performing physical exercise and dance vs. the emotional and cognitive components of subjective well-being. The research sample consisted of 185 adolescents with a mean age of 18.36±2.27 years, 129 females and 56 males. A questionnaire designed by the authors was used. It was inspired by the research of Larson, Mannell and Zuzanek [5] as well as the life satisfaction questionnaire of Fahrenberg et al. [6]. The goal was to identify 1) what kinds of physical exercise are performed by adolescents and 2) the frequency of physical activity in relation to respondents’ subjective well-being. The results indicated weak to moderate statistically significant relationships between the frequency of physical exercise and dance vs. the cognitive and emotional components of subjective well-being. The discussion deals with the possibilities of engaging adolescents in physical activities in educational practice and outside of physical education.

Keywords:

Well-being, movement, adolescents.