Investigation of athletic mental energy levels and exercise addiction levels of individuals who do regular sports

Nowadays, it is emphasized that in order to increase the performance of athletes, psychological and mental characteristics as well as physical characteristics should be improved. It is stated that increasing the level of athletic mental energy is important in improving the performance of athletes, but increasing the level of exercise addiction can have negative effects. In this regard, the purpose of the research was determined to examine the athletic mental energy levels and exercise addiction levels of individuals who exercise regularly. 413 licensed athletes who regularly exercise in any branch in the provinces of Elazığ, Tunceli and Diyarbakır participated in the study voluntarily. "Athletic Mental Energy Scale (AMES)" and "Exercise Addiction Scale (EAS)" were used as data collection tools. Participants' athletic mental energy levels and exercise addiction levels were examined in terms of variables such as gender, age, branch, training age, educational status and number of weekly exercises. SPSS 22.0 was used to analyze the data. The Independent Sample T test was used for paired group comparisons, and the One-Way Anova test was used for multiple group comparisons. The Sheffe test was used for within-group comparisons. It was determined that the participants' athletic mental energy levels and exercise addiction levels did not differ in terms of gender variable. In terms of the age variable, it was determined that the athletic mental energy levels and exercise addiction levels of the 15-19 age group and the 20-24 age group were significantly higher than the 25-29 age group and the over 30 age group. In the branch variable examination, it was determined that the athletic mental energy levels and exercise addiction levels of football players and combat athletes were significantly higher than those of basketball and volleyball players. In the examination of the training age variable, it was determined that the athletic mental energy and exercise dependence levels of the groups with a training age of 1-3 years and 4-6 years were significantly higher than the group with a training age of over 7 years. In the examination made in terms of the educational status variable, it was determined that the exercise addiction and athletic mental energy level of the master's degree group was significantly lower than the other groups. In the examination made in terms of the weekly exercise number variable, it was determined that the athletic mental energy levels and exercise addiction levels of the participants who exercised 1-3 times a week were significantly lower than the group who exercised 4-6 or more than 7 times a week. In conclusion, while the athletic mental energy levels and exercise addiction levels of individuals who regularly exercise do not differ by gender, they are higher in football and combat athletes than in basketball and volleyball players. These levels decrease with increasing age, training age, and educational level, and increase with increasing weekly exercise frequency. The risk of exercise addiction increases as athletes' athletic mental energy levels increase.