Examination of motivation, anxiety and imagery levels of footballers from different leagues

Abstract

In the study, it was aimed to compare the motivation, anxiety and imagery levels of footballers from different leagues. For this purpose, totally 129 professional football players from The Turkish Super League (Xage: 25.44±4.11 year) and First League (Xage: 23.80±4.33 year) participated in the study voluntarily. Competitive State Anxiety Inventory (CSAI-2) for measuring anxiety, Sport Imagery Questionnaire (SIQ) for measuring imagery and Sport Motivation Scale (SMS) for measuring motivation levels of participants were used in the study. Frequency and percentage distribution calculations and Independent Samples t-tests were used for analysis. Obtained data showed significant differences in somatic anxiety, intrinsic motivation to experience stimulation, identification and introjection sub-dimensions in terms of league levels of footballers (p<0.05). Also, significant differences were found in external regulation, identification and introjection scores in terms of age groups (p<0.05). As a result, anxiety and motivation levels differ regarding the league level of professional football players.