Examining the relationship between health beliefs and flow experience of individuals participating in recreational activities

The aim of this study is to examine the health beliefs of individuals over the age of 18 residing in Izmir province from the recreational activities they participate in and the flow experience shaped depending on the activity. Quantitative research method was used in the research and the relational survey model was taken as basis. A total of 318 data were obtained from the sample group participating in the study. The participants were first asked to approve the voluntary consent form, and then they were asked to answer 6 demographic information questions, a 9-question questionnaire that constitutes the flow experience, and a health belief scale consisting of 21 questions and a total of 5 sub-dimensions consisting of perceived seriousness, perceived barriers, physical benefit, psychosocial benefit and self-efficacy. The data of the study were analyzed with SPSS Statistics 27.0 program. Within the scope of the findings obtained as a result of the study, there was no significant difference between the health beliefs of individuals over the age of 18 participating in recreational activities and gender, education level, weekly free time duration, while there was a significant difference according to age variable, free time evaluation status variable and reason for participating in activities. In the same study, flow experience was found to differ according to the gender variable, while no significant difference was found according to the variables of age, educational level and weekly free time duration. A significant difference was found in the variable of leisure time evaluation status specific to the flow experience. According to the correlation value between the two variables, it is understood that the flow experience has a positive and moderate effect on health beliefs. The t value calculated for this relationship is 7.445 and the p value is 0.000. This means that the effect of flow experience on health beliefs is statistically quite strong and significant. It is thought that the flow experience during recreational activities can significantly affect individuals' health beliefs and that such activities can play an important role in strengthening health beliefs.