The Correlation of Participation to Sport, Social Self-Efficacy and Social Anxiety in Adolescents

Sports participation in adolescents may increase social self-efficacy and decrease social anxiety with time. Understanding the correlation between social self-efficacy and social anxiety may be useful for developing effective interventions for adolescents with social anxiety. The aim of this study is to examine the relationship between social self-efficacy and social anxiety in athlete and non-athlete adolescents through some variables. A moderate negative correlation was determined between the participants' social self-efficacy and social anxiety levels. It was seen that social self-efficacy and social anxiety levels did not differ statistically according to gender variable. According to the age variable, it was determined that the social self-efficacy level of 16-year-old participants was higher than 15-year-old participants. According to the athletic variable of the study, it was determined that the social self-efficacy level of athlete participants was higher than non-athletes. In the study, it was determined that social anxiety levels did not differ statistically according to athletic status. As a result, it can be said that high social self-efficacy decreases the level of social anxiety in adolescents. Social self-efficacy and social anxiety levels of adolescents do not vary according to gender. While 16 years old participants had higher social self-efficacy than 15 years old participants, their social anxiety levels did not differ according to 15 and 16 years of age. Social self-efficacy of athlete adolescents is higher than nonathletes. In addition, it can be said that there is no statistically significant correlation between participation to sport and social anxiety in adolescents.