ÜNİVERSİTE ÖĞRENCİLERİNİN YALNIZLIK DÜZEYLERİ ÜZERİNE SPORUN ETKİSİ

Abstract

The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of sports on the university students’ level of loneliness. The students’ level of loneliness was examined in terms of gender, sports branch and the exercise frequency in the study. The sample of the study is comprised of a total of 319 (Nmale=123; Nfemale=196; Xage=20.03 ± 1.65) students who were studying at different departments of Amasya University Faculty of Education in 2011-2012 academic year, and the students were selected according to random selection method. The data was collected through a personal information form and the UCLA Loneliness Scale that was adapted to Turkish by Demir (1989). Descriptive statistics and t-test were used to evaluate the data. The findings show that there is not a statistically significant difference in the loneliness level in terms of the gender variable, between the female and male students who are doing sports, and between the variables related to sports (sports branch and exercise frequency) and the level of loneliness (p>0.05). While the level of loneliness between the females who do sports and those who do not is not statistically significant (p>0.05), we found a significant difference between the males in terms of their loneliness level (p<0.05). These findings reveal that males who do sports have less feelings of loneliness in comparison to those who do not. Overall, we conclude that involving in a sports activity may diminish the feeling of loneliness; therefore it is necessary to encourage the university students to do sports