Investigation of the relationship between stress coping strategies of amateur football players and mental resilience

Aim: The aim of this study is to examine the relationships between stress coping strategies and mental endurance of amateur football players. Material and Method: This study was conducted with the relational screening model, one of the quantitative research methods. The population of this study consists of amateur football players. The research was selected by the convenience sampling method, which is one of the non-random sampling methods, and the sample of this study consisted of 331 football players operating in amateur teams in Adıyaman province. In addition, football players who have been playing football regularly for at least 2 years and voluntarily agreed to participate in the study were included in the study. As data collection tools, the "Mental Toughness Scale in Sports" was used to measure the mental endurance levels of the athletes and the "Stress Coping Strategies in Sports Scale" was used to evaluate their strategies for coping with stress. In the analysis of the data, Independent Samples T Test, One-Way ANOVA Test, Pearson Correlation Test, Multiple Regression Test and Hierarchical Regression Tests were performed through the SPSS 26 statistical program. In this study, the statistical significance level was accepted as p<0.05 and the confidence interval was 95%. Result: As a result of the analyses, a positive significant relationship was found between stress coping strategies and mental resilience. Additionally, it was found that the average scores of coping with stress strategies differed according to age, income, employment status, educational status, marital status and football experience. Finally, mental toughness varies significantly according to age, working status, educational status, marital status and football experience. Conclusion: As a result, it can be said that thought control, relaxation and mental complexity coping skills, which are among the cognitive/emotional stress coping skills, increase the psychological resilience of soccer players. Keywords: Strategies for coping with stress, mental toughness, amateur football.