Rumination and Physical Activity Enjoyment in the Long Term After the Kahramanmaraş Earthquake

Apart from the fact that Türkiye is an earthquake country, the earthquake, the epicenter of which was Kahramanmaraş province on 6 February and which covered 11 provinces and was known as the disaster of the century, caused devastating results. In addition to threatening human life, natural disasters such as earthquakes can also affect people's mental states and daily life habits in both the short and long term. In this context, this study aimed to examine the levels of rumination (recurring negative thoughts) and enjoyment of physical activity of the students of the Faculty of Sports Sciences in the long term after the Kahramanmaraş earthquake. The research was cross-sectional in the relational screening model. The sample of the study consisted of (n:253) students studying at Karamanoğlu Mehmetbey University Faculty of Sport Sciences. Demographic information form, Self-Critical Rumination and Physical Activity Enjoyment Scale (PAES) were used as data collection tools in the study. Descriptive analyses, Man Whitney-U test, Kruskal Wallis test and Spearman's correlation test were used to analyze the data. According to the research results, the PAE levels of the participants were significantly higher in males than females and in those who do sports than those who do not do sports (p0.5). A significant negative relationship was found between the participants' enjoyment of physical activity and rumination levels (p0.5). As a result, physical activity can be recommended to protect mental health after natural disasters such as earthquakes.