Sports as a social rehabilitation tool for young people and adults with drug addiction and alcoholism problems

Abstract

Sport is a value-forming agent that, first-hand, supports the prevention of addictions at an early age, being of great help in the formation of the personality of human beings. However, when vulnerable people fall into bad habits, such as drug addiction and alcoholism, sport plays a crucial role in their rehabilitation process. This study was carried out in the municipality of Ocosingo, Chiapas, Mexico, specifically in Barrio Nuevo, where basketball was used as a tool to reduce rates of drug and alcohol consumption in the community. During the research, a basketball training course was implemented, in which the participants acquired knowledge about the technical and tactical foundations of the sport, in addition to receiving physical and theoretical preparation, including basketball regulations. Participants were directly involved in practice and training, with the opportunity to compete at an amateur level against other neighborhoods and municipalities. The objective of this research was to analyze how basketball influences the rehabilitation process of people with alcoholism and drug addiction problems in this city. Through surveys and tests applied to the participants, quantitative and qualitative results were obtained that allowed us to verify the proposed hypothesis: the implementation of a sports recreation program significantly improved the rehabilitation of the affected people.