An investigations into the relationship between psychological resilience and trait anxiety levels among university students who engage in sports and those who do not

This study aimed to examine whether there is a significant difference in psychological resilience and trait anxiety levels between university students who engage in sports and those who do not. The study population consisted of students enrolled at Selçuk University and Karamanoğlu Mehmetbey University during the 2023–2024 academic year. A total of 236 students from various faculties participated in the study. A personal information form prepared by the researcher was used to collect demographic data, including gender, age, faculty, sports participation status, and years of sports experience. Psychological resilience was measured using the Resilience Scale developed by Friborg ve ark.. and adapted into Turkish by Basım and Çetin (2011), which includes six sub-dimensions. Trait anxiety was assessed using the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory developed by Spielberger ve ark.. and adapted into Turkish by Öner and Le Compte (1985). Data were analyzed using SPSS version 25. Independent samples t-tests were used for binary variables, and one-way ANOVA was applied for variables with more than two groups. Pearson correlation coefficients were calculated to examine relationships between total scores and sub-dimensions of the scales. According to the results, psychological resilience and trait anxiety levels did not differ significantly based on sports participation, gender, age, faculty type, or duration of sports involvement (p > .05). However, a low-level, statistically significant negative correlation was found between trait anxiety and psychological resilience among both students who participate in sports and those who do not (p < .05).