An examination of the reasons for starting sports and social appearance anxiety levels of individuals attending fitness centers

The aim of this study is to examine the relationship between the reasons for starting sports and the levels of social appearance anxiety among individuals who attend private fitness centers operating in Bingöl province. A total of 400 participants took part in the study on a voluntary basis. In the study, a personal information form related to the subject was used, along with the "Social Appearance Anxiety Scale" developed by Hart et al. (2008) and adapted into Turkish by Doğan (2010), and the "Factors Motivating Participation in Sports" scale developed by Akça (2012). Descriptive statistics including arithmetic mean, standard deviation, frequency, and percentage distributions were presented to gain insights into demographic information and other group-related questions. A correlation test was conducted to determine the relationship between participants' reasons for starting sports and their levels of social appearance anxiety. Independent Samples T-Test and One-Way Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) were used to determine the relationship of the data collected through the aforementioned scales with certain demographic variables. The data were analyzed using the SPSS Statistics 22 software package. As a result of the study, it was found that individuals' levels of social appearance anxiety showed a significant difference in terms of gender and the number of days the gym was used, while the levels of reasons for starting sports significantly differed by gender, sports history, and the number of days the gym was used. A positive and significant relationship was identified between participants' levels of social appearance anxiety and the levels of motivating factors for participating in sports and expectations from the sports branch. It was concluded that as participants' social appearance anxiety levels increased, the importance of the factors motivating them to participate in sports and their expectations from the sports branch also increased accordingly.