Relación entre actividad física y niveles de estrés en alumnos universitarios de la Universidad Santo Tomás

Abstract

The main objective of this research article is to identify the correspondence between levels of physical activity and stress levels in university students at the Santo Tomás University. The research was carried out using a quantitative approach, with a descriptive scope and a crosssectional design, using a sample made up of 46 university students, distributed among 31 male students and 15 female students. To identify physical activity levels, the IPAQ test in its short version was applied, while the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS) was used to measure perceived stress. The statistical process was executed using the IBM SPSS Statistics version 27 computer program, using frequencies, percentages, Shapiro-Wilk normality test, Spearman measurement and Chi-square test. The results showed that the majority of the population presented high levels of physical activity. However, they also indicated a high prevalence of perceived stress, with percentages greater than 93% in both sexes. Furthermore, the inferential analysis shows a relevant statistical analogy in relation to levels of physical activity and perceived stress (ρ = 0.226; p = 0.131), although a weak positive trend is observed. It is concluded that the practice of physical activity in this population was not clearly related to lower levels of stress, possibly due to other factors associated with the university context, such as academic demands, personal responsibilities and social demands. Finally, as a main recommendation, use a larger sample and use a population that does not perform physical activity to find significant differences.