Examination of perceived social support and sports mental toughness levels in women football players

In this study, it was aimed to examine the perceived social support and mental toughness levels of female football players. The sample of the study consists of 211 female football players playing in various leagues of Turkey. The Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support (MSPSS) and Sport Mental Toughness Questionnaire(SMTQ) were used to collect the data and applied to female football players playing in different leagues in Turkey. Levene Test was applied to analyze the homogeneity of the data and Kolmogorov-Smirnov test was used to control the normality of the distribution. As a result of the test, it was found that the data for all analyzes showed normal distribution. As a result of the study, it was found that the level of mental toughness of female football players in sports differs according to the place where they live (with whom they live), in addition to this, the level of mental endurance differs according to the position they play, the status of being a national athlete and the age variable. According to the results obtained, it has been determined that the control level, which is the sub-dimension of mental toughness, is higher for female football players playing in the defense position than female football players playing in the midfield. Also, it was found that the level of confidence, which is the mental toughness sub-dimension of female football players, is higher in female football players who are national athletes. It has been observed that as the age of female football players increases, their mental stamina increases, and as their age decreases, their mental stamina decreases. When the findings related to the perceived social support levels of female football players participating in the research were examined, it was seen that the perceived social support levels of female football players did not differ significantly according to the variables of sports age (year of experience), the place they played, the place where they lived (with whom they lived), hometown, and the league played. In addition, it has been revealed that there is a significant relationship between the perceived social support levels of female football players and their educational status, income level, being a national athlete and their age.