The effects of listening to music in sports activities on psychological resilience, physical strength performance and motivation in terms of mental health

This research investigates the effects of listening to music on psychological resilience, physical strength performance, and motivation in sports activities, emphasizing the mental health of active athletes participating in international competitions in the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC). In this study, a quantitative survey model was used. The study's sample group consists of 344 athletes (169 female athletes and 175 male) from TRNC who participate in international competitions. Data were collected using a "Personal Information Form," and the "Impact of Music in Sportive Activities Scale (IMSAS)," consisting of 18 items under the three sub-dimensions, developed by Karayol and Turhan (2020). The data were analyzed quantitatively using SPSS 26.0. Independent samples t-test and one-way ANOVA were used for comparisons between groups of participants based on different independent variables. In cases where significant results were obtained from ANOVA, Bonferroni tests were used for <i>post hoc</i> analysis. In this study, the relationship between the participants' gender, type of sport, years of sport experience, and the effects of listening to music in training on their psychological resilience, physical strength performance and motivation were examined. A significant difference was found in the variables of gender and years of sport experience depending on the participants' listening to music before, during, and after the activity. According to the gender variable, significant differences were found in the physical strength and performance and psychological resilience sub-dimensions during both the pre-activity and during-activity phases. In the post-activity phase, significant differences were observed across all three sub-dimensions: motivation, physical strength and performance, and psychological resilience. In terms of years of sports experience, significant differences were identified in all three sub-dimensions during the pre-activity phase. During the activity, significant differences were found in the motivation and physical strength and performance sub-dimensions, while in the post-activity phase, a significant difference was observed only in the psychological resilience sub-dimension. There were no statistically significant differences across the three sub-dimensions- (motivation, physical strength and performance, and psychological resilience) based on sport type in relation to whether participants listened to music before, during, or after the activity.