Introduction: The purpose of the research was to compare the mental health, resilience and hardiness of the athletes and non-athletes.
Method: The research method is descriptive (causal-comparative). 300 people (150 athletes and 150 non-athletes) were selected as the research sample by available sampling. Data were gathered by Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale, Goldberg’s General Health and Ahwaz’s Hardiness. Data were analyzed by independent t-test and MANOVA.
Results: There’s a significant difference between the two groups of athletes and non-athletes in term of mental health, resilience and hardiness. Thus, mental health, resilience and hardiness of the athletes were higher than those of non-athletes.
Discussion and Conclusion: Athletes have higher resilience and hardiness and fewer mental health problems thus have higher mental health. Therefore, as sport has a fundamental role in promoting mental health, it is recommended that families and responsible organizations encourage people –especially teenagers and young people- to engage in sports.