HEALTH STATUS AND LIFE SATISFACTION OF SELF-ASSESSMENT OF STUDENTS AT THE UNIVERSITY OF NIS (WITH A FOCUS ON DIFFERENT FIELDS OF STUDY, PHYSICAL ACTIVITY AND GENDER DIFFERENCES)
Keywords:
self assesment, students, health status, health-related lifestyle habitsAbstract
The Aim: The authors aimed to examine and analyze the self-assessed mental and somatic health status, life satisfaction and level of physical activity of students at the University of Nis, according to the function of different study programs (fields of study) and gender.
Material and methods: The research was conducted on a sample of 172 respondents, 94 female and 78 male ones, aged 19 to 23. The interviewed students attended undergraduate studies in the winter semester of the academic year 2018/2019, at the Technical Faculties and the Faculty of Sports and Physical Education, University of Nis. The information was collected by filling out a modified form of the Sportello Salute Giovanni questionnaire which contained questions that examined the following domains in the student population: self-perception of psychological and physical health, life satisfaction, level of physical activity and frequency of health-related lifestyle habits such as smoking and alcohol consumption.
Results: The results show a statistical difference between the examined parameters of self-assessed health by gender, weekly frequency of physical activity and an alarmingly low percentage of non-smoking students. The students of the Faculty of Sports and Physical Education have a generally high level of life satisfaction and self-assessed health status compared to students of Technical Faculties, which certainly singles out and impacts physical activity as one of the important factors in preserving and improving health. The results showing respondents’ life satisfaction indicate that female population has significantly better values of self-assessed health, being also more satisfied with life compared to male population.
Conclusion: Schools and colleges are the most suitable locations and provide an opportunity to promote a healthy lifestyle, with physical education classes as a principal element in promoting healthy behaviours.
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