Examination of mindfulness and self-compassion in student-athletes at the faculty of sports sciences

The present study aims to examine the relationship between mindfulness and self-compassion in student-athletes at the faculty of sports sciences. It is also aimed to examine whether the mindfulness and self-compassion levels of the participants differ based on the variables of gender, best athletic record achieved, and the status of being an individual athlete or a team-sport athlete. The participants of the present study consist of student-athletes studying at Gazi University Faculty of Sports Sciences. A total of 256 student-athletes studying at Gazi University Faculty of Sports Sciences in the spring semester of the 2019-2020 academic year were selected convenience sampling and included in the study. The participants consist of individuals who do not take psychiatric medicine or receive psychological support. The student-athletes are within the age range of 18-32 with an age average of 21.74 (SD=4.04). 91 of the participants are female while 146 are male. In addition to a personal information form, the Mindfulness Inventory for Sport was used to measure the mindfulness levels of the participants while the Self-Compassion Scale was used to measure their self-compassion levels. The data obtained in the study were analyzed using SPSS 23.00. In these analyses, the female athletes had a significantly higher average in overall mindfulness and the awareness sub-scale compared to the male athletes. It was also found that the individual athletes had a significantly higher score average in the refocusing sub-dimension of mindfulness compared to the team-sport athletes. The athletes who set Turkish records had a significantly higher score average in the non-judgment sub-dimension of mindfulness compared to the athletes without any records. In the overall sample, it was found that there was a positive and significant relationship between self-compassion and mindfulness, awareness and refocusing in individual and team-sport athletes.