Examination of stress and aggression levels of volleyball and handball players living in Adıyaman province

The aim of this study is to examine the perceived stress and aggression levels of students who are actively engaged in youth handball and volleyball branches in terms of demographic variables. The research was conducted using the descriptive survey model, and as one of the quantitative research methods, the "Perceived Stress Scale" developed by Eskin et al. (2013) and the "Buss-Perry Aggression Questionnaire" adapted by Madran (2012) were administered to the athletes. The collected data were analyzed using the SPSS program, and the level of statistical significance was accepted as. As a result, it was found that female volleyball and handball players had higher levels of stress and aggression compared to their male counterparts. This finding aligns with many previous studies indicating that females, particularly in verbal and relational aggression, tend to show higher levels than males. Statistically significant differences were observed in the stress and aggression levels of athletes based on their sports branches. Volleyball players were found to have significantly higher levels of stress, especially in the "stress/discomfort" dimension, as well as in all sub-dimensions of aggression, compared to handball players. These findings highlight the importance of implementing stress management, anger control, and psychological resilience programs for coaches and sports psychologists, as athletes' heightened stress and aggressive responses