A Study on Achievement Motivation Levels of Professional Athletes Aged 14-18 After the Earthquake

Abstract

The earthquakes caused extensive destruction. Extreme natural disasters are known to have a significant impact on the mental health of the affected population. The aim of this study is to investigate the success motivation levels of professional athletes aged 14-18 after the earthquake according to gender and age. The research was carried out with a total of 100 students, 71 men and 29 women, aged 14-18, who were professionally engaged in sports, in the Kozan district of Adana province, where the effects of the February 6 Kahramanmaraş earthquakes were experienced in May 2023.

In the study, the “Sport Specific Achievement Motivation Scale-SSS” developed by Willis (1982) and adapted in Turkish by Tiryaki and Gödelek (1997) was used. The data obtained by using descriptive statistics on the variables taken as a basis during the statistical analysis and evaluation of the data, and then the t-test, ANOVA and Pearson correlation coefficient are presented in tables. Evaluation of the data was carried out with SPSS 16.0.

According to the results obtained from the research findings, it was seen that female athletes had a higher level of motivation to approach success than male athletes. In addition, it was concluded that although the motivation to approach the success of the 15-year-old athletes was higher than that of athletes of other ages, the motivation to show strength and the motivation to avoid failure were significantly lower than the other age groups.

The motivation of athletes to approach success after the earthquake can be used as a source of motivation to overcome the effects of the event and return to normal life. Athletes can continue to train to reach their goals, even under challenging conditions.