Psychological And Social Impact Of An Inclusive Sports Program Among Students And People With Severe Mental Disorder

Physical exercise has proven to be an effective tool to improve the overall health of people with severe mental disorders. In this research we analyze the effect of an inclusive program of sports and physical activity, carried out jointly by young students and people with severe mental disorder on a set of psychosocial variables associated with recovery, such as the skills of daily life, psychiatric symptomatology and cognitive variables. A total of 30 people (22 men and 8 women) participated in a longitudinal study where four evaluations were carried out: one before starting the program (pretest), the second at 7 months of intervention, the third at 14 months and, one year after the end of the program. The results show a more significant improvement in the different variables in the group of people who attended the program more regularly and a generalized worsening in all the participants in the follow-up measure. The importance that this type of inclusive sports programs can have in order to improve the psychosocial health of people with serious mental disorders is discussed.