Psychological well-being, body image and self-esteem in elite and amateur female taekwondo athletes in Turkiye

Basit Öğe Kaydı
dc.contributor.authorGonen, Mevlut
dc.contributor.authorTurkmen, Mutlu
dc.contributor.authorCakir, Zekai
dc.contributor.authorAri, Fatih
dc.contributor.authorCatikkas, Fatih
dc.date.accessioned2026-09-01T15:52:35Z
dc.date.available2026-09-01T15:52:35Z
dc.date.issued2026
dc.departmentBayburt Üniversitesi
dc.description.abstractBackground Female athletes competing in weight-category sports may experience unique psychological pressures related to body image, performance expectations, and sociocultural gender norms. While elite sport participation is often assumed to enhance psychological functioning, evidence remains mixed. This study examined differences in psychological well-being, body image, self-esteem, and athletic identity between elite and amateur female taekwondo athletes in Turkiye, a cultural context characterised by distinct gender and body norms, and explored their associations with psychological well-being. Turkiye represents a theoretically relevant context in which institutional weight regulation intersects with sociocultural gender norms, creating a setting in which body-related psychological experiences may be uniquely shaped by both sport structures and cultural expectations. Methods A cross-sectional design was employed with 233 female taekwondo athletes (107 elite, 126 amateur; M_age = 22.0 +/- 3.2 years). Participants completed validated Turkish versions of the Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Well-Being Scale (WEMWBS), the Body Appreciation Scale-2 (BAS-2), the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (RSES), and the Athletic Identity Measurement Scale (AIMS). Independent samples t-tests, one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA), Pearson correlations, and hierarchical multiple regression analyses were conducted. Results No significant differences were found between elite and amateur athletes in psychological well-being or self-esteem. Elite athletes demonstrated significantly stronger athletic identity (p < .001), whereas amateur athletes reported significantly, though modestly, higher body image scores (p = .046). In regression analyses, self-esteem (beta = 0.428, p < .001) and body image (beta = 0.354, p < .001) were significant predictors of psychological well-being, jointly explaining 52.6% of the variance (R & sup2; = 0.526), with self-esteem showing the strongest independent association. Effect size estimates indicated that differences were large for athletic identity (d = 0.75), small for body image (d = 0.26), and negligible for psychological well-being and self-esteem (d = 0.09 and d = 0.13, respectively). Conclusions Psychological well-being in female taekwondo athletes was more strongly associated with self-esteem and body image than with competitive level. These findings support prioritising self-esteem and body appreciation in structured psychological support programs for female athletes in weight-category sport systems.
dc.identifier.doi10.1186/s40359-026-04628-w
dc.identifier.issn2050-7283
dc.identifier.issue1
dc.identifier.orcid0009-0004-4313-6749
dc.identifier.pmid42120999
dc.identifier.scopus2-s2.0-105043892688
dc.identifier.scopusqualityQ2
dc.identifier.urihttp://dx.doi.org/10.1186/s40359-026-04628-w
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12403/8478
dc.identifier.volume14
dc.identifier.wosWOS:001813582500004
dc.identifier.wosqualityQ1
dc.indekslendigikaynakWeb of Science
dc.indekslendigikaynakScopus
dc.indekslendigikaynakPubMed
dc.language.isoen
dc.publisherSpringernature
dc.relation.ispartofBmc Psychology
dc.relation.publicationcategoryMakale - Uluslararası Hakemli Dergi - Kurum Öğretim Elemanı
dc.rightsinfo:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess
dc.snmzKA_WOS_20260820
dc.subjectBody Image
dc.subjectPsychological Well-Being
dc.subjectFemale Athletes
dc.subjectTaekwondo
dc.subjectAthletic Identity
dc.subjectT & Uuml;Rkiye
dc.titlePsychological well-being, body image and self-esteem in elite and amateur female taekwondo athletes in Turkiye
dc.typeArticle

Dosyalar

Koleksiyon

WoS İndeksli Yayınlar Koleksiyonu
PubMed İndeksli Yayın Koleksiyonu
Scopus İndeksli Yayınlar Koleksiyonu