Introduction

One of the new diseases that has not only affected Iran but also the whole world is the disease caused by coronavirus or COVID-19, also known as acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2019 [1]. It has also had an unprecedented impact on the sports arena and deprived athletes of training and competition in a suitable environment [2]. The present study aimed to investigate the relationship between group sports and mental health and the formation of personality traits of prisoners during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Sport is an important factor in changing behavior in social disorders, and the role of sport in the emergence of social personality, respect for social rules, the emergence of social talents, the ability to establish social relationships, and the reduction of problems is undeniable. To this end, the main question of the study is whether group sports are related to the mental health and personality formation of prisoners during the COVID-19 pandemic?

Materials and Methods: The present non-experimental study was of a descriptive-applied type, and the statistical population in this study included all offenders in Lahijan city in 2022, including 298 people, who were selected by convenience sampling, and based on the Morgan table, the sample size was reported to be 168 people. In this study, the Neo personality questionnaire, mental health, and Ghaffari group exercise questionnaire [3] were used as research tools, and in order to determine the power of the group exercise variable to predict the mental health of prisoners, the regression method and data analysis method were used using SPSS version 22 and Smart PLS version 3 software. The significance level was also considered 0.05 in all tests. The Neo personality questionnaire is a test developed by McCrae and Costa[4] to measure personality and is used to assess the 5 main personality factors. The Mental Health Questionnaire was developed by Goldberg in 1972 and has been widely used to diagnose mild mental disorders in various situations. The internal consistency coefficient of this scale using Cronbach's alpha has been reported to be 85%. Ghaffari's Group Exercise Questionnaire [3] was designed by Ghaffari to measure and determine the main factors affecting the tendency towards public exercise. The content, face, and criterion validity of this questionnaire have been assessed as appropriate, and the Cronbach's alpha coefficient calculated for this questionnaire was estimated to be 0.75. All three questionnaires developed were distributed to 20 experts from the statistical community in two stages to determine their reliability. The reliability of the questionnaire was determined by calculating the Cronbach's alpha coefficient of the collected data and using SPSS software.

Results: The findings showed that group exercise has a significant positive relationship with the mental health and personality formation of prisoners during the COVID-19 pandemic (P<0.0567/192f=) and has improved the mental health and personality formation of prisoners (P<0.0536/493f=). Based on the significance level obtained for group exercise and mental health and personality characteristics of prisoners, it is less than 0.01. Therefore, with 99% confidence, it can be said that there is a relationship between group exercise and mental health and personality characteristics of prisoners, and since the obtained coefficients are positive, then group exercise has a significant positive relationship with the mental health and personality characteristics of prisoners. Also, based on the results, the significance level obtained for group exercise and mental health of prisoners is less than 0.01. Therefore, with 99% confidence, it can be said that there is a relationship between group exercise and mental health of prisoners, and since the obtained coefficients are positive, then group exercise has a significant positive relationship with the mental health of prisoners. In other words, with increasing tendency and group exercise, the mental health of prisoners also increases. Also, based on Table 4, the significance level obtained for group exercise and prisoners' personality characteristics is less than 0.01. Therefore, with 99% confidence, it can be said that there is a relationship between group sports and the personality characteristics of prisoners, and since the obtained coefficients are positive, group sports have a significant positive relationship with the personality characteristics of prisoners. In other words, by increasing the tendency and doing group sports, it increases the personality characteristics of prisoners. In order to determine the power of the group sports variable to predict the mental health of prisoners, the regression method was used. The results of the regression analysis showed that the group sports variable predicts 53% of the variance of the mental health variable of prisoners (, P<0/05,67/192f=). In order to determine the power of the group sports variable to predict the personality characteristics of prisoners, the regression method was used. According to the results of this analysis, it showed that the group sports variable predicts 38% of the variance of the personality characteristics of prisoners. (P<0/05, f=36/493).

Conclusion: The present study was conducted with the aim of investigating the relationship between group exercise and mental health and the formation of prisoners' personality traits during the COVID-19 pandemic. The findings showed that group exercise has a significant positive relationship with mental health and the formation of prisoners' personality during the COVID-19 pandemic and has improved the mental health and formation of prisoners' personality. In other words, with an increase in the tendency to do group exercise, the mental health of prisoners also increases and their personality traits change. In explaining this finding, it can be said that exercise and physical activities can significantly help improve mental conditions and reduce psychological problems, especially during pandemics such as COVID-19 and the harms caused by it. It is recommended to do group exercise, make exercise popular, and institutionalize it among prisoners in order to directly reduce prison medical costs and prisoners' health. The findings showed that group exercise has a significant positive relationship with the mental health and personality development of prisoners during the COVID-19 pandemic and has improved the mental health and personality development of prisoners. Therefore, in addition to improving physical health and increasing strength and endurance by improving mental health-related indicators such as reducing anxiety and depression, increasing self-confidence, improving social skills, and positive interactions with others, group exercise has a direct impact on reducing prison treatment costs and prisoners' health and successfully returning to society after release. Considering that exercise is an important factor in changing behavior in social disorders and the role of exercise in developing social personality, respecting social rules, developing social talents, the ability to establish social relationships, and reducing prisoners' undeniable problems, it is suggested that group exercise be developed in the organization to develop and improve prisoners' personality characteristics. In addition, making exercise popular and institutionalizing it among prisoners will have a direct impact on reducing prison treatment costs and prisoners' health. It is also recommended that future studies be conducted in a longitudinal and qualitative manner to provide more accurate information on factors related to the lifestyle and mental health of prisoners. In addition, it is recommended to conduct research on special groups of prisoners with specific disabilities or prisoners with psychological problems and compare it with the research conducted.

Keywords: Group sports, mental health, personality development, prisoners, COVID-19

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 of Lahijan Branch, Islamic Azad University, Gilan, Iran.

Funding

No financial support was received from public, commercial, or non-governmental funding sources during this research.

Authors' contribution

The authors of this research have participated equally in all stages of the project.

Conflict of interest

According to the authors' declaration, this article has no conflict of interest.