The effect of sport on perceived social support and future attitudes

Abstract

The purpose of the study is to determine the perceptions and future attitude levels of the students about the social support they receive from their friends, families and teachers according to the variables of gender and doing / not doing sports. The research group consists of a total of 332 students, including 152 male and 180 female volunteering in the 7th and 8th grades in Gaziantep in the 2019-2020 academic year. The data was collected by applying the Personal Information Form, Social Support Appraisals Scale for Children (APP) and Attitude Towards the Future Scale. SPSS 22.0 statistical program was used to analyze the data. As a result of the Kolmogorov-Smirnov normality test applied after the descriptive analyzes, the groups did not show normal distribution, Mann Whitney-U test and Spearman's Rho correlation test were used. As a result of the analysis of the data; Significant differences were found between the groups in terms of social support and sub-dimensions, and attitudes towards future and sub-dimension scores of male and female students who do sports, and students who do and do not do sports (p < 0.05). As a result of Spearman's Rho test, positive and negative relations were found between the sub-dimensions of social support and attitude towards the future (p < 0.05 / p < 0.01). Based on the findings of our research and our literature reviews, we can say that sports increase the social support perceptions that individuals receive from their friends, families and teachers, and their positive and planned attitude levels towards the future.