Examination of the relationship between attitudes towards sports and mental resilience levels of candidates prepared for the Police Vocational Training Center (POMEM) exam

The purpose of this research is to examine the relationship between the attitudes towards sports and mental toughness levels of the candidates preparing for the Police Vocational Training Center (Pomem) examination. The population of the research consists of candidates preparing for the police vocational training center (Pomem) examination in 2021. Our sample group consists of candidates preparing for the Police Vocational Training Center (Pomem) examination in Ankara and 10 different preparation centers in 2021. In the research, "Personal Information Form" prepared by the researcher, "Attitude Scale towards Sports" developed by Şentürk (2015), and (Sports Mental Toughness Questionnaire) developed by Golby and Wersch (2009) and adapted into Turkish by Pehlivan and Dinç (2017). The "Mental Resilience Scale in Sports" was used for which validity and reliability studies were conducted. During the analysis of the data, SPSS 25.0 (Statistical Package for Social Sciences) package program was used and in the analyzes gender, age, graduation status, personal income status, family income status, residence status, whether they were athletes and how many times a week they did sports (f) and percentage (Descriptive statistics were used to determine the %) distributions. Within the scope of the research, the arithmetic averages and standard deviations of the answers given to the scales were calculated, and their attitudes towards sports and mental endurance in sports were calculated. Independent groups t-Test analysis and one-way Analysis of Variance were used to test whether there was a statistically significant difference, and Pearson Correlation analysis to test if there was a significant relationship. According to the results of the research; As a result of the t-Test results, there was a significant difference between the gender variable and the attitude towards sports and the dimension of being interested in sports, a significant difference between the gender variable and the mental toughness in sports, and a significant difference between the sub-dimensions of trust and control, the age variable and the sub-dimensions of the mental toughness scale in sports. A significant difference was found in the scores of the age groups (p<.05). Significant differences were found in the sub-dimensions of the attitude scale towards sports, in the sub-dimensions of being interested in sports, doing active sports and total attitude towards sports, according to the license status, and in the scores of the sub-dimensions of the mental resilience scale in sports, confidence and control dimensions, according to the undergraduate status. According to the results of the Pearson correlation test; between the sub-dimensions of the scale of mental stamina in sports and the scale of attitude towards sports, which are the sub-dimensions of the sub-dimensions of the scale of interest in sports, living with sports, doing active sports and attitude towards sports at a moderately positive level; between the sub-dimensions of the sub-dimensions of the mental stamina in sports and the total scores of the sub-dimensions of the sub-dimensions of the scale of attitude towards sports, living with sports, doing active sports, and attitude towards sports at a moderate level in the positive direction; A low level of positive correlation was found between the control dimension, which is one of the sub-dimensions of the mental endurance scale in sports, and the total scores of the sub-dimensions of the scale of attitude towards sports, interest in sports, living with sports, doing active sports, and attitude towards sports (p<.05). As a result, it can be said that the attitudes of the police candidates towards sports have an effect on their mental resilience levels. Keywords: Police Candidates; Attitude; Attitude Towards Sports; Mental Stamina