The relationship of serious leisure and flow state in recreational basketball

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to test the Turkish validity and safety of the Serious Leisure Inventory and Scale (SLIM) in recreational basketball players and to compare the findings of the SLIM and Flow State Scale-2 (FSS-2) with demographic variables. Materials and Methods: SLIM, the validity and reliability of which was proven within the scope of this study, and FSS-2 were used as data collection tools. The study population are athletes who play recreational basketball in Turkey. The sample were 315 volunteers for the validity and reliability of SLIM in Turkish in Study I, and 727 volunteers (602 men and 125 women) in study II. The obtained data were analyzed with SPSS and AMOS package programs. DFA, frequency, arithmetic mean, standard deviation were used in the analysis of data obtained by convenience sampling method. T test and ANOVA tests were used in independent samples displaying parametric distribution. In addition to Mann-Whitney U test and Kruskal Wallis H-Tests being used for independent samples displaying non-parametric distribution, Sperman Correlation and Regression tests were used to determine the relationship and effect between scales. Cronbach Alpha reliability coefficient was calculated to examine the internal consistency of measurement tools. Findings: It was found that SLIM Turkish form is a valid and reliable measurement tool and significantly differentiates according to gender, age, level of involvement in basketball, career, licensed years and weekly free time. On the other hand, it has been concluded that FSS-2 significantly differentiates according to gender, level of participation in basketball and licensed year variables. A positive relationship and effect have been examined between SLIM and all sub-dimensions of FSS-2. Results: SLIM can be named as a detailed leisure activity analysis tool due to its 18 dimensions. Recreational basketball participants have most of the Serious Leisure traits and experience Flow at varying levels according to their level of participation.