Alterations in Selected Measures of Mood with a Single Bout of Dynamic Taekwondo Exercise in College-Age Students

Abstract

This study was designed to investigate and to compare the acute alterations in selected measures of mood profile in novice Taekwondo practitioners while evaluating whether dynamic Taekwondo practice was an appropriate exercise modality for enhancing six psychological state dimensions: Vigor, Anxiety, Depression, Anger, Fatigue, and Confusion. 20 male and female college-age students enrolled in Taekwondo activity class and an additional 20 students enrolled in the lecture-control class (ages 18 to 21 years) completed the Profile of Mood States (POMS) inventory prior to and immediately following one 75-min. session of dynamic Taekwondo or lecture. To examine the exercise effect, a series of 2 × 2 analysis of covariance were performed on mean posttest scores, using pretest scores as the covariate. Analysis indicated that Taekwondo participants reported a significant improvement ( p<.007) with respect to the control group in scores on Tension, Depression, Anger, Fatigue, Confusion, and Vigor. Also, Total Mood Disturbance significantly improved after the dynamic Taekwondo session. The selected affective benefits of an acute Taekwondo exercise in this study were independent of sex. Unlike the exercising subjects, the control subjects reported no such benefits and, indeed, increased their scores for negative mood states. These results suggest that a dynamic version of Taekwondo achieves the necessary activity parameters that begin to induce positive mood state changes and that extensive Taekwondo skill is not necessary to elicit some beneficial change in affect. This study also supports the findings of several earlier studies indicating that acute exercise may elicit positive changes in affective states and that prolonged exercise is not necessary to produce immediate beneficial alterations of mood.