Introduction

E Exercise plays an important role in the general health of individuals. In 2002, the World Health Organization declared “Movement is the secret to health.” Although the mechanism by which regular exercise improves mood is not exactly clear, various theories have been proposed to explain this relationship. One of these aspects is the physiological mechanisms hypothesis of the release of endorphins (which produce pleasant feelings) and the reduction of cortisol levels (a hormone secreted in the blood by nervous stress). A number of studies have shown that exercise and physical activity increase plasma endorphins and are associated with feelings of happiness [1]. (Frey, 2001). Endorphins are natural pain-relieving drugs that lead to pleasant feelings. On the other hand, exercise increases the hormone serotonin, which is effective in mood [1]. (Veenhoven, 2001). On the other hand, psychological mechanisms of the theory of distraction and the theory of increasing social connection are proposed. In a general conclusion, it can be stated that exercise and physical activity have a significant impact on the mental health and happiness of people involved in such activities [1]. (Yaqubi and Baradaran, 2011). Today, exercise is used as one of the effective methods in treating various diseases and physical and mental problems, including those suffering from depressive disorders, in a way that has yielded fruitful results. Depression is one of the most common types of mental disorders that reduces the quality of life and in which the person feels sad, lack of pleasure and discouragement and is unable to feel joy and happiness [1].

(Bardbar, 2011). Depression has several causes, including: neurochemical, genetic, neurobiological, neuroendocrine and brain causes. Research has shown that depression and mood disorders can be associated with abnormalities in the levels of certain neurotransmitters in the brain, including serotonin and norepinephrine. In many cases, depression is caused by a decrease in the levels of neurotransmitters. Some modern researchers believe that the main cause of depression is the interaction between different neurotransmitters. According to cognitive-behavioral theory, depression is caused by biases and discriminations in information processing and thinking, and depressed people have a set of negative and pervasive thoughts and beliefs [1]. Regular exercise can play an important role in ensuring mental health by affecting the problem-oriented stress pattern and reducing the negative consequences of stress, and exercise can be considered as a protective physical activity against depression [1]. (Cooper-Patrick et al., 1997). Today, regular exercise is increasingly accepted as a means to maintain and promote mental health. Overall, the results of the research indicate that sports behavior improves mental health, including mood. On the other hand, another component that has attracted the attention of researchers to find a connection with sports is catastrophic thinking. Catastrophic thinking is a process by which physiological sensations and emotional reactions caused by internal or external factors are interpreted as dangerous or likely to lead to disaster. In other words, an overgeneralization in which the impact of negative events or experiences is clearly amplified [1]. (Friedman et al., 2008). Although the factors of catastrophic thinking and misinterpretation processes have been discussed from the perspective of various theories, Beck's (1985) cognitive theory has the broadest and clearest cognitive approach to clinical anxiety. According to Beck, emotional disorders are a reflection of cognitive styles [1]. (Khawaja and Ovi, 1992). He believes that the set of negative thoughts and beliefs is one of the characteristics of depressed people that is involved in selecting, coding, and The framing and evaluation of stimuli and events in the world affect and lead to a vicious cycle of individual emotions and depressive symptoms [1]. (Ganji, 2013). Sutton et al.'s (1999) study showed that catastrophic thoughts contribute to high levels of anxiety. Cognitive catastrophizing is one of the important factors underlying depression. In his book Pathology, Ganji has pointed out that depressed people make mountains out of straw and interpret events based on their meaning for them, not on their objective characteristics (Ganji, 2013); Therefore, the relationship between depression and catastrophic thoughts can be determined in such a way that exercise may act as a diversion from negative thoughts. On the other hand, Beck considers one of the effective interventions for depression to be the correction of biased and ineffective interpretations and believes that changes in cognition lead to improvements in other symptoms of the disease. Beck's cognitive trait framework assumes that life events are the result of a vicious cycle of negative automatic thoughts, processing biases, and depressed mood [1]. (Gottlieb and Jurman, 2010). Research shows that adolescent depression is severe, persistent, and persistent, and if left untreated, it can persist into adulthood [1]. (Wisman et al., 1999). Since, according to the cognitive perspective, depression is the result of negative thoughts, and this cycle continues continuously to lead the individual to a depressed mood, and due to the novelty of this component and the lack of research in this field in Iran, the present study compared catastrophic thinking and depression among athletic and non-athletic adolescents.

Materials and Methods: The present research method is descriptive of the causal-comparative type. The statistical population of this study included all male and female high school students in Qods city with the age range of 12 to 17 years, of which 797 students were selected by two-stage random sampling method. The sample was selected by two-stage random sampling method; in such a way that first eight high schools were selected by gender from among the schools by cluster random method and then 10 students were selected from each class by simple random method. People were selected as adolescent athletes who, based on the personal characteristics questionnaire, had been engaged in regular sports activities for at least one year and three days per week, and other adolescents were included in the group of non-athletic adolescents.

Results: Based on factorial analysis of variance, the depression rate of girls was significantly higher than that of boys (F = (779 and 1) = 31.42, p < 0.001). Regarding the sports factor, the depression rate of students who had regular sports activity was significantly lower than that of non-athletic students (F = (779 and 1) = 7.44, p = 0.007). Meanwhile, no significant interaction was observed between gender and exercise. Since the Catastrophic Thoughts Scale has three subscales: cognitive catastrophizing, physical catastrophizing, and psychological catastrophizing, multivariate analysis of variance was used to compare catastrophic thoughts among male and female athletic and non-athletic students. The results showed that the main effect of gender was significant (F (769 and 3) = 25.00, p < 0.001). Based on one-way analysis of variance as a follow-up MANOVA test, boys were significantly lower than girls in all three factors of cognitive catastrophizing (F = (769 and 3) = 25.00, p < 0.001), physical catastrophizing (F = (769 and 3) = 25.00, p < 0.001), and psychological catastrophizing (F = (769 and 3) = 25.00, p < 0.001), but the main effect of sports activity and the interaction of gender and sports activity were not significant (p < 0.05).

Conclusion: Overall, the results of the present study showed that the level of depression in adolescents who regularly participated in sports activities was significantly lower than that of non-athletic students. This level of depression was higher in non-athletic girls than in non-athletic boys. On the other hand, in the variable of catastrophic thoughts, boys were significantly lower than girls in all three factors. In general, it can be inferred from the results of previous studies and the present study that sports can not only play the role of a protective or preventive factor against physical and mental problems for the individual, but also that counselors and even doctors can use it as one of the therapeutic components, and institutions can prevent many physical and mental problems by expanding the culture of sports and providing sports facilities.

Keywords: catastrophic cognition, depression, athlete.

Ethical Considerations

Compliance with ethical guidelines

The ethical principles observed in the article, such as the informed consent of the participants, the confidentiality of information, the permission of the participants to cancel their participation in the research. Ethical approval was obtained from the Research Ethics Committee of the University.

Funding

This study was extracted from the M.A thesis of first author at Department of Sport Sciences of University of Shahrood Branch, Islamic Azad University, Shahrood, Iran..

Authors' contribution

Authors contributed equally in preparing this article.

Conflict of interest

The authors declared no conflict of interest