Attitude towards sport and physical activity, self-esteem, life satisfaction relationships and variations in terms of gender : perspectives from university students : physical activity and health

Universities provide a platform for sport and physical activity participation opportunities to students. For students, participation in sport and physical activity is an important part of university life which can lead to improved physical and mental health. Positive consequences such as increased self-esteem and life satisfaction can emanate from participation in sport and physical activity. University students' participation in sport and physical activity can be bound by the social constructions of gender and gender stereotypes. Hence, the purpose of the study was to examine the relationship among attitude towards sport, self-esteem and life satisfaction of university students from a gender perspective. A non-probability convenient sample of university students (from first year to postgraduate) from two universities in the Gauteng Province, participated in the study. A four-section questionnaire comprising questions on demographic variables, participants' attitude towards sport, self-esteem and satisfaction with life was used to collect data. Cronbach alpha was used to assess the reliability of the attitude to sport scale (α=0.943), self-esteem scale (α=0.748) and satisfaction with life scale (α=0.804). Correlations were used to examine the relationship among the constructs. The results of the correlation analysis showed weak, yet positive association between students' attitude towards sport and satisfaction with life. Attitude towards sport and self-esteem showed insignificant associations with satisfaction with life. The mean ranks indicated that male students seem to be more inclined to sport compared to their female counterpart. Limitations and areas for future research are suggested.