A research on the basic psychological needs of swimmers in Kocaeli province in terms of any variances (İzmit district case)

Kocaeli University Sports Sciences Faculty Recreation Department

^* Corresponding author: hakanakdeniz@gmail.com

Abstract

This study was conducted with the aim of investigating the basic psychological requirements of swimmers who perform individual sports in Kocaeli province with respect to certain variables. The sample of the study consisted of 80 swimmers who perform individual sports in Kocaeli province, İzmit district between the years of 2016 – 2017, 32 of whom were male and 42 of whom were female. In collecting data, the Basic Psychological Needs Scale which was developed by [4] was used in order to determine the psychological needs of individuals. Basic Psychological Needs Scale was adapted into Turkish by [9] A personal information form that was developed by the researcher was used. No significant difference was observed when basic psychological need scores were compared according to gender (P<0,05). In consequence of comparing the results of basic psychological need scale by means of age variable, a significant difference was observed by means of the need for relatedness between the 14 – 16 and 20 – 22 age groups (P<0,05). When basic psychological need scores were compared with respect to educational background, a significant difference was found in terms of the need for autonomy, need for competence and need for relatedness while a significant difference was observed by means of all scores (p<0,05). With respect to need for autonomy and need for competence; a significant difference was observed between Secondary Education and High School while the need for relatedness and total scores created a significant difference between Secondary Education and University (p<0,05). As a consequence of the comparison between the results of basic psychological need scale according to family attitudes, a significant difference was only observed by means of the need for competence between the variables (p<0,05). With respect to the sub-dimension of the need for competence, a significant difference was found between democratic family structure and authoritarian family structure (P<0,05). As a result of a comparison between basic psychological needs considering the educational background of female parents, there was a significant difference between the variants by means of the need for competence and the need for relatedness. With respect to need for competence and relatedness, a significant difference was observed for both, between the educational levels of primary school and high school (P<0,05).