Effect of regular physical activity on socialization levels in adolescent athletes

The aim of this study is to examine the effects of adolescent athletes participating in regular physical activity on their social lives in terms of different variables and to determine the effect of socialization status on their lives. Our universe covers Bitlis province and our sample group covers adolescent athletes studying in Bitlis. It consists of 202 (138 male, 64 female) volunteer athletes studying in the 2024-2025 academic year. In collecting data related to the study, the "Personal Information Form" and the "Socialization Scale" were applied to the participants to determine the socialization levels of athletes The data were analyzed using the SPSS statistical program. According to the findings obtained in the study, it was determined that there was no statistically significant difference between the Socialization Scale scores of the research group according to the variables of height, gender, age, parental education status, parental interest in sports, financial income status, weekly physical activity frequency, daily physical activity duration, physical activity increasing friend self-confidence, physical activity positively affecting friend relationships and insufficient physical activity causing anxiety towards friends (p>0.05). According to the characteristics of physical activity, it has been determined that the majority of participants reported an increase in their self-confidence among friends, a positive impact on friendships, encouragement to participate in different environments, and that generally insufficient physical activity creates anxiety within their social circles. Regarding the age variable of the research group, it was found that participants in the 12-14 age range had higher average scores on the socialization scale compared to participants in the 15-17 age range. According to the body weight variable of the research group, it was found that participants in the 40-50 kg range had higher average scores on the socialization scale compared to those in the 61+ kg range. Regarding the variable of physical activity promoting participation in different environments among athletes in the research group, it was determined that athletes who were encouraged to participate in different environments through physical activity had higher average scores on the socialization scale compared to students who were not encouraged to do so. In conclusion, it was determined that the participation in physical activity positively affected the participants' socialization, and that the participants had a high level of socialization. Based on this information, it is believed that integrating physical activity activities alongside educational activities will positively impact students socialization.