Investigation of stress perceptions and communication skills of team and individual sports

The purpose of this study was to investigate the stress perception and communication skills of individuals who are actively engaged in sports in the team and individual sports branches conducted by the provincial directorate of the Ministry of Youth Sports in Van Province and also who are continuing their education in secondary education institutions. The research conducted with the screening model was conducted in the 2018-2019 academic year. In this study, there were 600 people on total and 300 were interested in team sports while 300 were interested in individual sports. As a data collection tool, "Communication Skills Assessment Scale (CSAS)" was used to measure students' communication skills, and "Perceived Stress Scale (PSS)" was used to determine stress perceptions. The collected data were analysed using the SPSS statistical package program. In the statistical analysis, the measurements were evaluated with both Kolmogorov-Simirnov test and Shapiro Wilk tests, and it was found that the distribution of variables was not normal. Mann Whitney U test was used for comparison of two-level variables and Kruskall-Wallis H test was used for comparison of more than two groups. In the event of differences between the groups, Mann Whitney U tests were used for Kruskall Wallis test to determine the source of the difference. Data are summarized by giving mean, standard deviations and frequency. In this study, the error level was taken as P˂0.05. When the findings obtained in the study were evaluated, it was found that result of statistical analysis of communication skills of individuals interested in team sports and individual sports and the perceived stress levels were not significant (p> 0.05). As a result of statistical analysis according to perceived stress level and gender variable, perceptions of stress were meaningful in favour of men (p <0.05). When the communication skills of individuals interested in team sports and individual sports were evaluated, communication skills of the individuals whose sports year was between 1-3 years, who were overweight according to BMI assessment, whose mothers had high education level and who used technology in their spare time were found to be higher and significant (p <0.05). When the communication skills of the athletes were evaluated according to the gender variable, it was found that the statistical analysis was not significant (p> 0.05). No significant difference was found between the variables of the sports year, BMI, number of siblings, leisure time and stress perception. In addition, no significant relationship was found between the communication skills and perceived stress scale of our study (P> 0.05). As a result, communication skills and stress perceptions of individuals interested in team and individual sports were found to be similar. In the gender variable, it was found that female students were more stressful. It is thought that having education about sports as well as communication skills and stress management will have important contributions to the sports life of individuals who are interested in team sports and individual sports. Key Words: Sports, team and individual sports, communication skills, stress