Comparative study of behavioral problems of athlete and non-athlete children

Poor mental hygiene in childhood can result in disadvantageous physical and mental behavior in the future. Considering the relationship between body and mind and their influence over each other this study was conducted to compare behavioral problems of athlete with those of non-athlete students. 221 male and female students between 7 and 11 years of age were entered into this study، in Sanandaj City and were divided into three groups: non athlete، individual sport and team sport. To assess behavior problems we used teacher`s and patient`s Rutter children behavior questionnaire، which were completed by teachers and parents. We used t-test for comparison of the mean values between boys and girls and one- way ANOVA was used to compare variables in the three groups. The results of this study showed higher prevalence of behavioral problems in non-athlete children and significant differences in the subscales between the individual sport and team sport groups (P<0. 05، P< 0. 01). Also the boys had higher rates of behavior problems than girls (P< 0. 01). Various sport activities can be useful in reducing behavior problems in children and can be regarded as a valuable way، in addition to other new methods، for managing behavior problems.