ABSTRACT
This study was carried out to investigate the influence of recreation on the
physical and mental well-being of University of Benin students. To guide this study, five
research questions were raised with corresponding hypotheses that were tested at 0.05
level of significance.
The study adopted a descriptive survey research design and the research
instrument for the study was a self-constructed questionnaire. The population of this
study was made up of 299 students of the Department of Human kinetics and Sports
Science with a sample size of 151 students which accounted for 50% of the total
population. The test instrument for the research was a self-constructed questionnaire. A
correlation coefficient of 0.734 was obtained as regards the instrument’s reliability,
showing it was reliable. The data analysis was done using Pearson correlation statistics to
test the formulated hypotheses that corresponded to the research questions.
The findings of the study based on research questions raised and hypothesis
formulated showed that there was a positive strong relationship between recreation and
physical well-being, mental well-being, self-esteem, inter-personal skills, and class
schedule of the University of Benin students. It was concluded that there was a strong
positive relationship between recreation and physical well-being, mental well-being, self
esteem, interpersonal skills and class schedule of students of the University of Benin,
Benin City. Hence, with this positive influence on students, recreation should be on the
front burner for students in collaboration with their studies. It was chiefly recommended
that the university system should encourage and facilitate access to recreational activities
to help students maintain their physical health, which, in turn, supports their academic
and personal success.
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