Relationship between self-efficacy and life satisfaction according to exercise participation in obese female university students

Abstract

The aim of this study was to examine the relationship between self-efficacy and life satisfaction according to exercise participation in obese female university students. The sample of the study consisted of over 18 age 145 obese (BMI≥30) that were regularly exercising for at least 4 days, 90 minutes in a week for 6 mounts and 136 obese sedentary (BMI≥30). The mean age was (20.69 ± 1.84) for obese female students who participated regular exercise and (20.19 ± 1.49) for obese female university students who was sedentary. “General Self-Efficacy Scale” that originally developed by Sherer et al. (1982) and adapted to Turkish by Yıldırım and İlhan (2010) and “Life Satisfaction Scale” that originally developed by Diener et al. (1985) and adapted to Turkish by Yetim (1991) were used for measurement. For statistical analysis, The Kolmogorov-Smirnov test was used to determine whether the scores were normally distributed. Descriptive statistics, independent sample t test and pearson correlation analysis were also applied. There was statistically significant difference for the mean life satisfaction (t = 7.68, p <.05) but there was no statistically significant difference for the mean self-efficacy (t = 1.17; p> .05) between two groups according to the t test results. There was a significant positive correlation between life satisfaction and total self-efficacy scores (r = .551**). As a result, there was significant difference in life satisfaction between two groups. Obese female students with high self-efficacy perceptions may be aware of their abilities and thus rely on their abilities. In this case, it can be concluded that they are happy and generally enjoy life.