Effectiveness of Sports Activities on Cognitive Emotion Regulation Strategies, Perceived Psychological Stress, and Psychological Hardiness of Veterans and the Disabled

Aims Adequate physical activity and mobility positively affect the mental health of people, especially people with special needs. This study aimed to investigate the effectiveness of sports activities on cognitive emotion regulation strategies, perceived psychological stress, and psychological hardiness of veterans and the disabled. Instrument & Methods This descriptive study was conducted in 2021 on veterans and the disabled in Yazd, Iran. the number of 100 people (50 athletes and 50 non-athletes) selected by the convenience sampling method. The Cognitive Emotion Regulation Strategies Scale, the Perceived Stress Scale, and the Ahvaz Psychological Hardiness Questionnaire examined research variables. Data were analyzed using the analysis of variance test through SPSS 25 software with the one-way ANOVA. Findings There was a significant relationship between the perceived physiological stress, uncompromising emotion regulation strategies, and psychological hardiness in athletes and non-athletes’ veterans and disabled (p≤0.05). There was no significant difference in adapted emotion regulation strategies between the two groups (p>0.05). Conclusion The results showed lower scores in perceived stress and uncompromising strategies of emotion regulation and a higher score of psychological hardiness in athletes’ veterans and disabled