The relationship between motivation and mental well-being levels of disabled athletes and sportive competence

This study examines how the motivation and mood of athletes with disabilities while practicing sport are related to their perceived sporting abilities. It also assesses the impact of factors such as age, sport discipline, athlete background and national team membership on sport motivation, mood and perceived abilities. The research analyzes the relationships using quantitative methods and collects data from volunteer participants through questionnaires. The sample of the study consists of volunteer athletes with physical disabilities who actively participate in competitions in team or individual sports. "Athletes Descriptive Information Form" was used to describe the characteristics of the athletes, "Motivation in Sport Scale" was used to measure their motivation levels, "Perceived Sportive Competence" subscale of the Self-Physical Description Inventory and "Mental Well-Being Scale" were used to assess their perceived competence to determine their mental health status. The data were analyzed in SPSS program. It was determined that the education variable positively affected the dimensions of motivation in sports; knowing and achieving, internalizing and unmotivation and that it was significant. As the level of education increases, the mental and emotional health status of the person is positively affected. However, there is no significant relationship between education level and sport skills. According to the marital status of the athletes, significance was found in the sub-dimensions of unmotivation, which is a sub-dimension of motivation in sport. According to the sport type, a statistically significant difference was found in the sub-dimensions of motivation in sport; knowing and achieving, external regulation, internalization and unmotivation, and a significant result was also found in the total scores of motivation in sport. According to the type of sport, a statistically significant difference was found in the sub-dimensions of motivation in sport, extrinsic regulation and unmotivation.