Comparison of the Effect of Sport on Violence of Athlete and Non-Athlete Criminals

Exercise, as one of the most important leisure activities, has several educational purposes and can be effective in adapting criminals to the prison environment. The aim of this study was to compare the effect of exercise on violence of athletic and non-athletic criminals in Khuzestan province in 2017-2018

The present study was conducted in two stages: qualitative-quantitative (methodological) and descriptive-comparative. The statistical sample of the study in the qualitative stage of 12 people included employees, faculty members and criminals and in the quantitative stage of the research were 487 people (291 athletes and 196 non-athletes). Sampling in the qualitative stage was done by non-random and purposeful method and in the quantitative stage by systematic random sampling method based on Krejcie and Morgan Table. In the first stage (qualitative), the demographic questionnaire "Effect of Exercise on Criminals Violence Scale” was designed and the construct validity, divergent, convergent and combined reliability of the scale were measured. In the second stage (quantitative), the developed scale was distributed among the above samples. Data were analyzed by SPSS.22 and PLS. 23.

In the qualitative stage, the "Effect of Exercise on Criminals Violence Scale" was developed with 36 items and 5 main themes of physical health, mental health, non-return to prison, reduction of violence and group participation. The results of the quantitative stage also indicate that the effect of exercise on reducing the violence of athlete criminals (0.57) compared to non-athlete criminals (0.41) was significant.

Considering the effect of sport in reducing the violence of criminals, it is suggested that managers and officials adopt more regular and extensive programs to establish sports classes and facilities in penitentiaries.