An investigation into the use of exercise as a medium for mental health promotion among institutionalised children

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dc.contributor.advisorEdwards, S.D.
dc.contributor.authorChetty, Julie
dc.date.accessioned2009-09-10T10:27:00Z
dc.date.available2009-09-10T10:27:00Z
dc.date.issued2006
dc.descriptionSubmitted in accordance with the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophiae in psychology in the Department of Psychology at the University of Zululand, 2006.en_US
dc.description.abstractIt is widely documented that institutionalised children represent a vulnerable sector of the population as they carry a high risk for the development of psychological problems. Recently, there has been a surge of interest in the use of exercise as a medium for mental health promotion. Various studies have provided evidence that exercise improves general health, quality of life, mood, subjective well-being, self esteem, self perception and other attributes which influence mental health positively. However, there is little research done in the South African context with specific emphasis on children. It was against this backdrop that an investigation into the use of exercise as a medium of mental health promotion among institutionalised children was conducted. This study was contextualised within the community psychological model of mental health promotion with mental health being conceptualised as a subset of physical activities aimed at improving health and well-being. A quasi-experimental control group research design, with pre and post testing on self report measures of physical self-perception, depression and paediatric symptoms, was used to investigate the effectiveness of physical exercise as a medium for mental health promotion among institutionalised children in local children's homes. Focus groups were held with children and caregivers to obtain qualitative data. The exercise intervention was associated with significant improvements in the physical self-perception of the children and caretakers' ratings of children's behaviour. These findings provide a compelling argument for the value of exercise in the promotion of mental health in children's homes.en_US
dc.description.sponsorshipNational Research Foundationen_US
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/10530/68
dc.language.isoenen_US
dc.subjectMental health promotionen_US
dc.subjectChildren's home -- South Africaen_US
dc.subjectExcerciseen_US
dc.titleAn investigation into the use of exercise as a medium for mental health promotion among institutionalised childrenen_US
dc.typeThesisen_US
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