The impact of free sports activities on trait anxiety among Palestinian prisoners in Israeli prisons
Abstract
This study aimed to examine the effect of practicing free sports activities on trait anxiety among Palestinian prisoners in Israeli occupation prisons. A descriptive-analytical approach was employed, using a sample of 493 Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli prisons (Eshel, Balboua, Ramon, Ofer, and Fqma) during 2022–2023. The authors developed a 32-item questionnaire to measure the impact of practicing free sports activities on trait anxiety. Based on the findings, the overall impact of practicing free sports activities on trait anxiety among Palestinian prisoners in Israeli prisons is high, with a response rate of 78.5%. Statistically significant differences were observed in the effect of sports activities on anxiety levels between married and single prisoners, with married prisoners benefiting more (p < 0.05). Additionally, based on the location of imprisonment, differences were noted in favor of Eshel prison regarding the impact of free sports activities on trait anxiety, Younger prisoners, particularly those under 25 years old, experienced greater reductions in trait anxiety, as did prisoners serving sentences of less than five years (p < 0.05). It is crucial that prisoners be encouraged to practice free sports activities due to their demonstrated positive effect on reducing trait anxiety. Regular sports activity programs should be implemented across all imprisonment centers as part of rehabilitation efforts to help reduce trait anxiety among Palestinian prisoners.
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References
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The works and papers that are published in this Journal are subject to the following terms:
1. The Publication Service of the University of Murcia (the publisher) has the Publication Rights (Copyright) to the published papers and works, and favors and permits the reusing of the same under the license indicated in point 2.
© Servicio de Publicaciones, Universidad de Murcia, 2013
2. The papers and works are to be published in the digital edition of the Journal under the license Creative Commons Reconocimiento-No Comercial-Sin Obra Derivada 3.0 España (legal text). The copying, using, spreading, transmitting and publicly displaying of the papers, works or publication are permitted as long as: i) the authors and original sources (Journal, publisher and URL of the publication) are quoted; ii) it is not used for commercial benefit; iii) the existence and specifications of this users license are mentioned.
3. Conditions of Self-Archiving. It is permitted and encouraged that the authors spread electronically the pre-print (before printing) and/or post-print (the revised, evaluated and accepted) versions of their papers or works before their publication since this favors their circulation and early diffusion and therefore can help increase their citation and quotation, and also there reach through the academic community.















