Reasoning For the Study
I chose to conduct my own experiment due to the fact that a lot of the research and findings discussed in The Research & Findings page had their limitations and faults. The first problem is that a lot of the researchers found differing and contradicting results when conducting their studies. The second problem is some of these studies did not take into account differing variables that could affect the results, such as age, gender, etc. Some of these studies failed to have controls as well. The final issue is even with the studies and experiments discussed, very few have actually been done. Because of these problems that arise, I thought it to be beneficial to my research to conduct my own. I chose to leave myself out of the experiment to eliminate personal bias and thought it would be more appropriate and accurate simply observe others. I mirrored one of the studies discussed, by M.P. Jans, while making a few changes to account for its shortcomings (such as gender, age, and lifestyle variables). |
Methodology
To test whether or not physical activity affects the mental health of an individual, I studied ten participants in this experiment to
determine if in fact, a correlation does occur. In order to overcome variables, such as age and gender, the participants of this experiment consisted of five boys and five girls in the age group of 18 to 21 years. I asked each participant to fill out two questionnaires prior to the experiment. The first questionnaire was the PHQ-9 , which stands for The Patient Health Questionnaire. This questionnaire is used for screening, monitoring, and measuring the severity of depression, which seems to be a common mental health problem among many young adults today. The PHQ-9 uses DSM-IV depression diagnostic criteria, along with several other leading major depressive symptoms
in the form of a brief report. The PHQ-9 generates five categories of depression severity including the following: minimal depression, mild depression, moderate depression, moderately severe depression, and severe depression. In addition to these categories, the
participants were also able to score no depression symptoms at all. After the mental health of each participant is assessed, I then instructed them to take the second questionnaire. This questionnaire is the GPPAQ, which is short for General Practice Physical Activity Questionnaire. The GPPAQ was created by the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and approved by the Department of Health as a brief measure of physical activity.The GPPAQ can be used to asses adults aging from 16-74 and generates four levels
of physical activity: active, moderately active, moderately inactive, and inactive. Both questionnaires were used in the study to assess the mental health and activity levels of each participant prior to the experiment. I grouped the participants into groups based on their physical activity level. I then asked all of the participants to increase their usual physical activity by at least thirty more minutes every day for two weeks. After the first two weeks had passed, I reassessed the PHQ-9 to each participant to track the results and to find any type of correlation that might have occurred. I asked the participants to continue with at least thirty more minutes than their usual activity, prior to the experiment, for two more weeks. The PHQ-9 was assessed for the last time to track the results of the four week study.
The Participants:
To test whether or not physical activity affects the mental health of an individual, I studied ten participants in this experiment to
determine if in fact, a correlation does occur. In order to overcome variables, such as age and gender, the participants of this experiment consisted of five boys and five girls in the age group of 18 to 21 years. I asked each participant to fill out two questionnaires prior to the experiment. The first questionnaire was the PHQ-9 , which stands for The Patient Health Questionnaire. This questionnaire is used for screening, monitoring, and measuring the severity of depression, which seems to be a common mental health problem among many young adults today. The PHQ-9 uses DSM-IV depression diagnostic criteria, along with several other leading major depressive symptoms
in the form of a brief report. The PHQ-9 generates five categories of depression severity including the following: minimal depression, mild depression, moderate depression, moderately severe depression, and severe depression. In addition to these categories, the
participants were also able to score no depression symptoms at all. After the mental health of each participant is assessed, I then instructed them to take the second questionnaire. This questionnaire is the GPPAQ, which is short for General Practice Physical Activity Questionnaire. The GPPAQ was created by the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and approved by the Department of Health as a brief measure of physical activity.The GPPAQ can be used to asses adults aging from 16-74 and generates four levels
of physical activity: active, moderately active, moderately inactive, and inactive. Both questionnaires were used in the study to assess the mental health and activity levels of each participant prior to the experiment. I grouped the participants into groups based on their physical activity level. I then asked all of the participants to increase their usual physical activity by at least thirty more minutes every day for two weeks. After the first two weeks had passed, I reassessed the PHQ-9 to each participant to track the results and to find any type of correlation that might have occurred. I asked the participants to continue with at least thirty more minutes than their usual activity, prior to the experiment, for two more weeks. The PHQ-9 was assessed for the last time to track the results of the four week study.
The Participants: