Investigation of Secondary School Students' Attitudes Towards Physical Activity

Abstract

This research was conducted to reveal secondary school students' attitudes towards physical activity according to the opinions of the students based on dependent and independent variables. The physical activity attitude scale for secondary school students developed by Yildizer et al., (2019) was used (PAAS). PAAS consists of 5 sub-dimensions and 25 items. The necessary permissions were obtained for the scale method used in this study, with the decision of the Scientific Research and Publication Ethics Committee of Mardin Artuklu University, dated 08.06.2022 and numbered 2022/6-4. The sample group of the research consisted of 305 students, and the data obtained were analyzed with the SPSS 25.0 software. Independent sample T Test and One-Way ANOVA tests were used in the analysis of the data obtained from the participants. In the study, it was determined that the physical activity levels of female students were higher than male students. In the analyses performed in the research, a difference was found in the grade level of the secondary school students, and there was a decrease in the level of physical activity as the grade level increased. Also, "Pearson correlation analysis" was conducted in order to determine the level and direction of the relationship between dependent variables. In the correlation analysis, it was seen that the strongest relationship was between "PAAS" and the love sub-dimension (r= 0.807; p<0.05). As a result of the research, it was seen that the jobs of the mothers and fathers of the students, the number of siblings of the students, and the place of residence of the students did not lead to a difference in their attitudes towards physical activity.