Examination of exercise addiction and aggression: A cross-sectional study on university students
Keywords:
Addiction, aggression, exercise, sport, studentAbstract
The aim of this study was to examine exercise addiction and aggression levels among students at the Faculty of Sport Sciences. This cross-sectional study included 976 university students who responded digitally. Socio-demographic information was collected using a personal information form created by the researcher. Exercise addiction was assessed using the Exercise Addiction Scale, and aggression levels were measured using the Buss-Perry Aggression Scale. After completing the assumptions of the data for analysis, Independent Sample t test was used for pairwise comparisons and One-Way Anova (Tukey HSD) was used for multiple comparisons. Statistically, there were no significant differences in anger and hostility dimensions based on gender (p>0.05). However, males showed significantly higher levels of physical, verbal, and general aggression compared to females (p<0.05). Gender did not significantly affect exercise addiction dimensions (p>0.05). Similarly, field of study did not influence aggression or exercise addiction levels among students (0.05). Students who reported more frequent exercise sessions and longer durations exhibited lower aggression levels and higher exercise addiction scores, with these differences being statistically significant (p<0.05). In conclusion, male students in sport sciences faculties tend to exhibit higher aggression levels than their female counterparts. Moreover, increased frequency and duration of exercise appear to mitigate aggression levels effectively.
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