Investigation of Sports Sciences Faculty students' sports participation motivation and stress coping levels

The purpose of this study is to examine the motivation for sports participation and the stress coping skills of students at the Faculty of Sport Sciences in terms of several demographic variables (gender, undergraduate program, class level, and active sports participation) and to reveal the relationship between these two variables. The study included 521 female and male students at the Faculty of Sport Sciences at Konya Selçuk University. The "Motivation for Sports Participation Scale," developed in 1983 by Gill, Gross, and Huddleston and adapted to Turkish by Oyar, Aşçı, Çelebi, and Mülazımoğlu (2001), was used to determine motivation for sports participation. The "Stress Coping Styles Scale (SSTÖ)," developed by Folkman and Lazarus (1980) and adapted to Turkish by Şahin and Durak (1995), was used to determine levels of stress coping. A "Personal Information Form," prepared by the researcher, was also used as a data collection tool to collect demographic information about the participants. Data were analyzed using independent sample t-tests and one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA). According to the research findings, students' motivations for participation in sports are generally similar across genders; however, when subscales were examined, female students were found to have higher team spirit motivation, while male students were found to have higher achievement-oriented motivation. No significant difference was observed in stress coping levels by gender. While there were no differences in general motivation and stress levels between undergraduate programs, a significant difference was found only in the friendship subscale. Analysis by grade level revealed that upper-class students had higher motivations for success, team spirit, physical fitness, and friendship than first-year students. In contrast, first-year students had higher stress coping levels than other grades. Students who actively participate in sports had significantly higher stress coping skills than those who did not. In conclusion, the motivations for participation in sports and the level of stress coping of students in the Faculty of Sport Sciences are largely shaped by personal factors, their social environment, and their active sports participation. For students who see sports as both a source of motivation and a means of coping with stress, these findings may guide the development of student support systems at universities.