The Effect of Eight Weeks of Pilates Exercises on Self-Efficacy and Psychological Well-Being of Male Armed Forces Personnel with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)

Paying attention to physical activity and regular exercise in the military forces can control physical and mental disorders and thus maintain the health of personnel and increase efficiency. The present study was conducted to determine the effectiveness of Pilates exercises on self-efficacy and psychological well-being of armed forces personnel suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder.

 The research was semi-experimental in a pre-test and post-test design with a control group. Based on the objective, 40 armed forces personnel suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder were selected purposefully and available in 2021 and were randomly divided into two groups of Pilates interventions and control (20 people in each group). The experimental group performed Pilates exercises for eight weeks (3 one-hour sessions per week), while the control group received no intervention. Sherer's (1982) standard self-efficacy and Ryff's (1989) psychological well-being questionnaires were used in both pre-and post-tests. The findings were analyzed through dependent and covariance t-tests. Statistical analysis was done using SPSS 25 software, and a significance level 0.05 was considered.

In this research, 20 people in the experimental group with an average age of 45.11±5.37 and a history of suffering from 26.0±5.3 disorders, and 20 people in the control group with an average age of 43.32±5.09 and a history of suffering from disorder 23.0±9.2 were participated. The results of the research showed that eight weeks of Pilates exercises significantly improved the scores of both self-efficacy (p=0.02) and psychological well-being (p=0.01) in the experimental group of armed forces personnel suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder.

According to the results obtained regarding the effect of Pilates exercises on psychological well-being variables and self-efficacy, these exercises are suggested as a cost-effective, accessible, and practical program to improve the psychological factors of male personnel of the armed forces.