Personality characteristics of individuals participating in recreational outdoor sports acti̇vities, risk taking and excitement seeking and related factors

Aim: In this study, it was conducted to examine the Personality Characteristics, Risk Taking and Excitement Seeking and Related Factors of Individuals Participating in Extreme Sports Activities for Recreational Purposes. Material and Methods: The data of the research were delivered to the participants face to face and the participation was based on volunteerism. The research group consists of 498 participants between the ages of 18-55, who are engaged in recreational paragliding, skiing, free and scuba diving. All of 480 people were reached, and 50 questionnaire forms with deficiencies or errors were excluded from the analysis. The form of 430 questionnaire was evaluated. In addition to the personal information form, the 10-item Personality Scale developed by Gosling et al. (2003) and adapted into Turkish by Atak (2013), the scale developed by Hoyle et al. (2002) was adapted to Turkish Culture by Çelik and Turan (2016). The Thrill-Seeking Scale (HAS) and the DOSPERT (Field-Specific Risk-Taking) Scale, which was developed by Weber et al. (2002) and a 30-item short form of the scale was created in Blais and Weber (2006), and adapted to Turkish culture by Dinç and Tez (2016). Data were evaluated in SPSS 25.0 package program and AMOS 21.0 package program at 95% confidence interval and 0.05 significance level. Kurtosis and skewness values were checked to determine whether the data showed a normal distribution. In the analysis of the data, descriptive statistics, Structural equation modeling with Amos (Path analysis) and One Way MANOVA analyzes were used. Results: As a result of the research, it was seen that the participants with scattered personality traits had a statistically significant and negative effect on excitement seeking, Health, Self-Confidence, Psychological, Ethics and Continuity (β: -1,974; -1,809; -1,552, -2,540, -1,931, -2,225 p<0.05). 1-unit increase in disorganized personality trait had a decrease of -1.974 on sensation seeking, -1.809 decrease on Health, -1.552 decrease on self-confidence, -2,540 decrease on psychological, -1.931 decrease on ethics and persistence - It caused a decrease of 2,295. In the model created to investigate the effects of the participants' personality traits on sensation seeking and risk taking, it was seen that participants with stable personality traits had a statistically significant and positive effect on excitement seeking, Health, Self-Confidence, Psychological, Ethics and Continuity (β: 2,365; 2,242; 2,468, 1,284, 1,332, 2,084 p<0.05). A 1-unit increase in disorganized personality trait caused a .616 increase in sensation seeking, a 1.194 increase in device withdrawal, a .774 increase in Disconnectedness, and a .939 increase in not being online. The dependent variable explained 5.27% of sensation seeking (R22,527), 5.29% of the change in health (R^2,529), 3.21% of the change in self-confidence (R22,321), and % of change in psychological. It explained 7.89 (R22,789) of the change, 6.39% (R^2,639) of the change on ethics and 6.78% of the change on continuity (R22,678). Conclusion: As a result, it was seen that personality traits had a significant effect on sensation seeking and risk taking.