Examining the relationship between mental training and psychological skill levels of female football players

This research was conducted to examine whether there is a significant relationship between mental training and psychological skill levels of female soccer players playing in super league and 1st league. For this purpose, the survey model was used. While the research population consists of professional female soccer players in Turkey, the sample consists of 203 participants from super league and 1st League female soccer players. 'Sports Mental Training Inventory (SMI)', 'Scale for Assessing Athletes' Psychological Skills' and 'Demographic Information Form' consisting of questions determined by the researcher were used to reach the demographic information of the female soccer players who participated in the study. The data obtained were analyzed using IBM SPSS 24.0 package program. The normal distribution of the data was examined by considering normal distribution curves, skewness-kurtosis values and it was determined that the data showed normal distribution. Accordingly, Independent sample T test and Oneway anova analysis were applied. Post-hoc (LSD) analysis was performed to determine the difference between the groups. In addition, Pearson correlation analysis was performed for the relationship between mental training and psychological skills. In the statistical analysis and interpretations of the data, the significance level was taken as 0.05. While no relationship was found between mental training and psychological skills sub-dimensions of female soccer players' mental training and Relief from Worries (r=,073; p=,302), in all other sub-dimensions Ability to Cope with Difficulties (r=,374**; p=,000), Openness to Learning (r=,305**; p=,000), Concentration (r=,362**; p=,000), Confidence and Achievement Motivation (r=,477**; p=,000), Goal Setting and Mental Preparation (r=,408**; p=,000), and Ability to Perform Well Under Pressure (r=,359**; p=,000). Keywords: Women's football, mental training, psychological skills