The relationship between health beliefs regarding recreational sports activities and enjoyment of physical activities: A study on Women's Community center participants

The aim of this study is to examine the relationship between health beliefs regarding recreational sports activities and enjoyment of physical activities among women's community center participants, as well as to test the relationship between these variables. In the study, the relational survey model, one of the general survey models, was utilized. The research group consisted of 516 female members selected through a convenience sampling method from a total of 2,000 female members participating in the Şafaktepe Women's Community Center in Ankara. In the study, the "Personal Information Form," the "Health-Belief Scale on Sportive Recreational Activities (HBSSRA)" and the "Physical Activity Enjoyment Scale (PACES) " were used as data collection instruments. Within the scope of the study's hypotheses, Spearman correlation analysis was conducted to examine the relationships between variables, while the independent samples t-test and one-way ANOVA were employed to determine differences between groups. Within the scope of the study's hypotheses, data analysis was conducted using the independent samples t-test, Mann-Whitney U test, one-way ANOVA, Kruskal-Wallis H test, and Spearman correlation analysis. In the findings of the study, a significant relationship was identified between the age variable and HBSSRA, whereas no significant relationship was found between the age variable and PACES. Additionally, according to the results of the Mann-Whitney U test, no significant difference was found in the total mean scores of HBSSRA and PACES based on marital status. According to the results of the Mann-Whitney U test, a significant difference was found in the total mean scores of HBSSRA and PACES based on the variable of participation in recreational activities considered as sports. A low to moderate positive significant relationship was identified between the sub-dimension mean scores of the Health-Belief Scale on Sportive Recreational Activities and the total scores of the Physical Activity Enjoyment Scale. In conclusion, it can be stated that as the level of enjoyment of physical activities increases among women's community center participants, their level of health beliefs regarding recreational sports activities also increases. Key Words: enjoyment, health belief, physical activity, sports recreation, women's community center.