A prescription for a healthier body and mind
"We set out to determine whether sports training would have a positive impact on these children by lowering aggression, and how this result can be achieved," explains Shahar. It would be more effective than verbal therapy, she says, because while verbal therapy encourages children to control their behavior, research indicates that it does not reduce negative emotions. The introduction of sport, however, is able to reduce aggressive behavior as a result of quelling negative emotions.
In 25 schools across Israel, Shahar and her fellow researchers analyzed a 24-week-long after-school program based on sports. Half the participants comprised a control group who did not receive sports instruction, and the other half were systematically introduced to a variety of sports for five hours a week. Three times a week, students ranging from grades 3-6 played group sports such as basketball or soccer. Twice a week, they participated in martial arts, including judo and karate.
After 24 weeks of programming, Shahar compared questionnaires and evaluations executed at the beginning of the program with the same tests administered at the end. Her results demonstrated an improvement in traits relating to participants' self-control, such as self-observation, problem-solving skills, and delayed gratification -- which ultimately led to a decrease in the incidence of aggression. Only those children who exhibited higher levels of self-control also demonstrated the decline in aggression.
Boys benefit most
Girls had a much weaker response to sports programming than their male classmates, Shahar's research showed. Statistically, there was little change in the female population. Shahar reasons that girls do not often suffer from the same aggression problems as boys, and are less likely to exhibit a passion for sport.
American Friends of Tel Aviv University (2011, July 7). Leaving anger on the field: Statistics show that sports help ease aggression in boys. ScienceDaily. Retrieved August 17, 2011, from http://www.sciencedaily.com /releases/2011/07/110706195908.htm
2 comments:
It is common for a parent who has run out of options for remedying a situation where their child is having problems concentrating or staying out of trouble, to ship them off to Karate. Even Chuck Norris is on to this idea. Fifteen years ago Norris started a program, aptly named KICKSTART to integrate Karate into the daily curriculum of thirty-eight public schools in Dallas and Houston, Texas. Its purpose is to help fight the war on drugs and youth violence.Norris reports phenomenal success of the program. Attendance rates are improving steadily, self-discipline, self-esteem, and respect for others is on the rise. Surprizingly, the key to Norris’s program is that it addresses all levels of human needs of Maslow’s hierarchy.
1.Basic – access to food & shelter.
2.Security - learn self protection.
3.Belonging - part of a team.
4.Esteem – pride learning Karate.
5.Self-actualization – On way to fulfilling their potential.
Anon: Thanks for sharing the information! Very interesting about Maslow's hierarchy.
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