An investigation of psychological resilience and sources ofstress among football referees

This study aims to examine the psychological resilience and sources of stress among football referees. In line with this aim, the relational screening model, one of the quantitative research methods, was used in the study. The study population consists of football referees actively officiating during the 2024–2025 period, and the sample group includes 314 football referees. The data collection tool of the research consists of three parts. The first part includes "Demographic Information" created by the researcher; the second part consists of the "Brief Resilience Scale" adapted by Doğan (2015); and the third part includes the "Factors Causing Stress in Football Referees Scale" developed by Koca (2018). All statistical analyses were carried out using the SPSS 22.0 statistical software package. The study found no statistically significant differences in the total scores of the psychological resilience scale based on variables such as age, gender, educational status, income level, professional seniority, and referee classification. On the other hand, statistically significant differences were found in the total and sub-dimension scores of the "Factors Causing Stress in Football Referees Scale." Correlation analysis revealed weak but negative significant relationships between the Brief Resilience Scale and the Factors Causing Stress in Football Referees Scale (FCSFRS) and its subdimensions. These findings indicate that psychological resilience may play an important role in reducing the impact of stress factors, particularly those arising from social sources. In other words, as the level of psychological resilience increases, the perceived level of stress-inducing factors decreases. Indeed, the findings suggest that psychological resilience has a protective role especially against stress originating from social factors. In this context, implementing psychological resilience development programs could be an important step for individuals working under high stress, such as football referees. Such programs may contribute to more effective stress management and to strengthening individuals' coping skills. Referees should be supported particularly in developing psychological skills that enhance resilience, self-awareness, stress management, and emotional balance. Customized support systems should be established based on the specific needs of referees from different classification levels, seniority, age, and income groups.