@article{2020,title={Analysis of Athletes’ Mental Training Practices and Self-Confidence Levels},abstractNode={The aim of the present study is to find out athletes’ mental training practices and self-confidence levels according to some demographic information and to analyze the relationship between these. Descriptive relational survey model was used in the study. The population of the study consists of athletes studying at Samsun Ondokuz Mayıs University Yaşar Doğu Sport Sciences Faculty during the academic year 2019-2020. The sample of the study consists of 295 athletes who were studying at Samsun Ondokuz Mayıs University Yaşar Doğu Sport Sciences Faculty and who were chosen with random sampling method. In the study, “The Sport Mental Training Questionnaire – SMTQ” which was developed by Behnke et al. (2017) and adapted by Yarayan and İlhan (2018), “Self-confidence Scale” developed by Akın (2007) and “Personal Information Form” developed by the researcher were used as data collection tool. For the assessment of the data obtained from the study, based on the normality assumption controls, Mann Whitney-U test or Student t-test were used for paired comparisons, while Kruskal Wallis H test or one-way ANOVA and Tukey multiple comparison test were used for the comparison of three or more groups. The relationship between the athletes’ mental training practices and their self-confidence states was determined with Pearson Correlation coefficient. It was found that the students did not differ significantly in terms of the variables of gender, age, being a national team athlete and being a club’s athlete in the SMTQ and Self-confidence Scale. In the SMTQ, there were significant differences in interpersonal skills and mental imagery sub-dimensions in terms of the variable of sport type; in interpersonal skills and total scale in terms of the variable of sport age; in mental performance skills in terms of the variable of department; in interpersonal skills, self-talk and mental imagery skills sub-dimensions and total score in terms of the variable of income level. In Self-confidence Scale, significant differences were found in all sub-dimensions and total score in terms of the variable of sport age; in internal self-confidence sub-dimension and total score in terms of the variable of income level. A significant positive association was found between athletes’ mental training practices and self-confidence levels. Thus, it is expected that in case of including mental training practices for the sport field they are performing in, athletes can have increases in their self-confidence levels. },author={Soner ÇANKAYA-Hacı Ali ÇAKICI - Ebru YILDIZ - Yılmaz AKSOY},year={2020},journal={Turkish Studies-Social Sciences}}