Examination of sport well-being and motivational determination of secondary education students according to various variables: The case of Kütahya province

The aim of this study is to examine the sports well-being and motivational determination of secondary school students based on various variables. The study's population consists of students enrolled in secondary schools affiliated with the Ministry of National Education across Türkiye. The sample group includes 1,858 participants (n=1030 female; n=828 male) attending secondary schools affiliated with the Kütahya Provincial Directorate of National Education during the 2024-2025 academic year. The sample group was selected using a simple random sampling method. The Recreational Sports Well-Being Scale (RSWBS), developed by Pi and colleagues in 2022, was utilized (Pi et al., 2022). The Turkish version of the RSWBS underwent validity and reliability testing by Koç in 2022 (Koç, 2022). Additionally, the scale was adapted into Turkish by Sarıçam and colleagues in 2014, with validity and reliability studies conducted within this framework.Before conducting relevant analyses on the data, the Kolmogorov-Smirnov normality test was applied, confirming that the data followed a normal distribution. Consequently, independent sample t-tests and one-way variance analysis (One-Way ANOVA) were performed. The results were evaluated based on a significance value of p<.05. Significant differences were identified in the sub-dimensions of physical and mental health, life satisfaction, positive emotions, and overall recreational well-being scores based on the variables of age, gender, years of sports participation, father's educational background, school type, and income level. Regarding motivational determination, significant differences were observed in the sub-dimensions of long-term goal pursuit, current goal pursuit, repetition of unattainable goals, and total motivational determination score based on the variables of age, father's educational background, income level, and years of sports participation. Based on these findings, as age, income level, and sports participation increase, recreational well-being and motivational competence tend to improve positively. Keywords: Motivation, Recreational Sports Well-Being, Secondary School Students