A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF ATHLETIC AND NON-ATHLETIC STUDENTS DEGREE OF DEPRESSION IN UNIVERSITY

Abstract

This study investigate the degree of depression between female and male non-athletic versus athletic undergraduate students of a university in Malaysia. A total of 160 participants which include 80 female athletes and 80 non- athlete students as well as 180 male athletic and non-athletic students participated in the study. The Beck depression test (BDI) was employed to measure the degree of depression. T-test was employed to assess the difference between athletes and non-athletes at P≤0.05.The result showed that physical activity was inversely associated with degree of depression among all students. Both female athlete and non-athlete students have higher degree of depression compared to the male students. The degree of depression among non-athlete female and male students is higher than athlete students.