2012 Volume 9 Pages 59-67
Aim：To investigate the effects of attending a lecture on “Sportsmanship for Japanese” on purpose in life (as assessed through the ’Purpose in Life Test’ Part A：PIL-A) and self-esteem (assessed according to the Rosenberg Self Esteem Scale Japanese version：RSES-J) among participants in a sports activity program centered on the playing of competitive games.
Methods：The subjects of this research were participants in 3 sports programs led by the author between April and July 2011. The participants were 122 adults (31 women and 91 men, including 17 individuals with mental disorders). All of the research subjects attended a 1-hour lecture on the subject of “Sportsmanship for Japanese” before participating in a sports activity program which centered on the playing of competitive games. In this program, sessions were held about 10 times (once a week for 90 minutes). Both before and after the sports program, each participant completed a questionnaire relating to PIL-A and RSES-J. After the sports program, the participants completed a questionnaire designed to discover whether attending the “Sportsmanship for Japanese” lecture had improved their attitude to participating in sports activities.
Results：The lecture had improved the participants’ attitude to participating in sports activities. (No participant responded that they were “not influenced”). There was a significant increase in the average PIL-A score after the sports program by comparison with before (94.81±17.71⇒101.89±14.77：p<0.001). There was a significant increase in the average RSES-J score after the sports program by comparison with before (25.19±3.60⇒26.16±3.54：p<0.001).
Conclusion：This study found that attending the lecture on “Sportsmanship for Japanese” improved the attitude of the subjects when participating in sports activities. Moreover, participating in a sports activity program centered on the playing of competitive games after attending the “Sportsmanship for Japanese” lecture improved the participants’ purpose in life, and may have improved their self-esteem.
