Leisure time motivation and sensation seeking of sailing and windsurfing individuals

The aim of this study is to investigate the leisure motivation and sensation seeking of the participants of sailing and windsurf. The population of the study consists of participants in different levels of participation in sailing and windsurf activities in sailing sports centers which are assured by Sailing Federation of Turkey, the sample consists of sailing and windsurf participants ranging between 18 and 42, 617 in total number 218 of which are female and 399 of which are male. The data collection tools used in the study are Leisure Motivation Scale (LMS) developed by Pelletier et.al. (1989) and Sensation Seeking Scale (SSS-V) developed by Zuckerman (1994) and Demographic Information form developed by the researcher. These three measurement tools were combined in for survey form. The data obtained from the measurement tools were transferred to the electronic statistics package program in order to analyze them. For the statistical display of data, descriptive statistics and frequency analyses were done. In the analysis of the data obtained via convenience sampling method, as statistical method, arithmetic mean, standard deviation; and for the independent samples, t-test, one-way MANOVA, ANOVA and Pearson Correlation tests were used. In order to determine if the data meet the prerequisite of parametric tests, Skewness and Kurtosis, and Levene testes were carried out. In order to determine the reliability of the scales, Cronbach Alpha coefficients were measured. In the statistical analysis and comments, p<.05 significance level was taken into consideration. In the light the results obtained, significant differences were found in gender, branch, welfare level, branch level and the number of days spent in a year according to sensation seeking level and leisure motivation levels of sailing and windsurf participants. Along with this, a statistically significant correlation between leisure motivation and sensation seeking of the sailing and windsurf participants was found. Keywords: Leisure, recreation, adventure recreation, leisure motivation, sensation seeking, sailing, windsurf.