The relationship between exercise addiction, social appearance anxiety and mental well-being levels of sport sciences faculty students

Aim: The aim of the study was determined as examining the relationship between exercise addiction, social appearance anxiety and mental well-being levels of students studying at the Faculty of Sport Sciences. Material and Method: The research was carried out with a total of 300 university students studying at the Faculty of Sports Sciences in the 2024-2025 academic year. In the study, personal information form, Exercise Addiction scale, Social Appearance Anxiety scale, Mental Well-Being scale were used. In the study, the comparison type of the relational screening model, one of the quantitative research methods, was used. The data obtained within the scope of the research were analysed in SPSS 25 programme. In the analysis of the data, Kolmogorov-Smirnov test and Shapiro-Wilk tests were applied to determine normality. Mann-Whitney U test was applied to examine the differences between variables and Kruskal-Wallis test was applied to compare more than one group. Spearman Correlation test was used to analyse the relationship between variables. Results: Research results; In the study, a significant negative relationship was found between social appearance anxiety and mental well-being levels, and this relationship shows that as the social anxiety levels of individuals about their appearance increase, there is a decrease in their mental well-being. The positive relationship between exercise addiction and mental well-being levels reveals the effects of regular physical activity on psychological functioning and the constructive contributions of exercise on self-efficacy, stress management and life satisfaction support the general mental resilience of the individual. As the weekly exercise frequency increased, both exercise addiction and mental well-being levels increased, and this finding suggests that regular physical activity has positive effects on psychological health. Conclusion: The findings show that social appearance anxiety negatively affects mental well-being, while regular exercise increases individuals' psychological resilience and life satisfaction.