Analyzing the mental health challenges of individuals to participate in leisure sport activities

Background: The present study was designed and conducted with the aim of analyzing the psychological health challenges of individuals to participate in leisure sport activities. Exercise and physical activity is a valuable tool that today fills most of the leisure time of millions of people around the world. Leisure is a good mobile opportunity to do sports. Over the past fifteen years, people's knowledge of the benefits of physical exercise has increased, and the fitness program at the community level has developed and leisure sports have grown unpredictably. In fact, today the people of the world are motivated to participate in sports activities to achieve health, well-being, and vitality and avoid diseases (6). Methods: The method of the present study is mixed, which was done qualitatively and quantitatively. The statistical population of the research in the field of recognizing factors consists of experts in the field of sports activities and institutionalization, including sports management specialists, executives and managers of cultural and sports departments, managers of sports organizations, sociologists familiar with sports, veteran coaches, veterans, People are familiar with cultural activities in sports (N = 11) and the sampling method in the first statistical community is purposeful. In the second part of compiling and designing the model and testing it, the statistical population of the research consisting of young people throughout the city of Tehran who spend their leisure time from sports activities to sports activities is considered due to the unlimited number of them in Across the city of Tehran and using Morgan table 384 people were considered. Results:  In order to analyze the qualitative part, open, axial and selective coding was used. Also, in a small part, descriptive and inferential statistics were used to analyze the research data. Qualitative results of the study showed that the psychological health challenges of individuals to participate in leisure sports activities included 23 cases. Conclusion: In general, the mental health challenges of individuals to participate in leisure sports activities were identified in three categories: individual challenge, mental challenge and environmental challenge. This issue has been mentioned in various researches. Lack of attention to these challenges has caused the process of impact of these challenges in mental, personal and environmental dimensions to be still evident. According to the results of the present study, it is suggested that while paying attention to the existing challenges, conditions be created to improve individual education in order to improve sports skills and create mental capacities among individuals. It is also suggested that by improving the environmental situation, conditions be provided to improve environmental issues in attracting people to leisure sports activities.