Correlation between Ability to Cope with Sporting Problems and Athlete Engagement

Abstract

This research was performed with the aim of determining the relationship between the ability to cope with sports problems and athlete engagement of students in sports sciences The study was designed according to correlational survey and causal comparative model. The study included a total of 288 athletes, 81 women and 207 men, obtained with the convenience sampling method. For collection of data in the research, the Turkish adaptation of the “Athletic Coping Skills Inventory 28 (ACSI-28)” and the “Athlete Engagement Questionnaire” developed with the aim of measuring commitment to sport among athletes were used. Multiple regression analysis was used to test whether the ability to cope with sports problems predicted athlete engagement or not. As a result of data analysis, the model where the ability to cope with sports problems predicted athlete engagement was significant (p .05), freedom from worry (p>.05), coping with adversity (p>.05) and coachability (p>.05). In general, it can be stated that coping with sportive problems is an important factor for athlete engagement. In future studies, the reasons for the insignificant results in the relationship between coping with sportive problems and athlete commitment should be examined in detail.