Social Distancing and Quality of Life Among Candidates for the Sports Science Degree During the Covid-19 Pandemic

Abstract

This study aimed to examine the relationship between the level of compliance with COVID-19 social distancing measures and the COVID- 19 impact on the quality of life of the candidate students in the Faculty of Sports Sciences, based on their gender, whether they are athletes or nonathletes, and whether they are individual athletes or team athletes. The study included 1083 candidate students, including 364 females and 719 males. The Social Distancing Scale and the COVID-19 Impact on Quality of Life Scale were used to collect data. The results showed that the degree of compliance with COVID-19 social distancing measures between athletes and non-athletes was also discovered to differ in favor of nonathletes; and the COVID-19 impact on the quality of life of athletes and non-athletes was similar, being below the average. The level of compliance with COVID-19 social distancing measures in individual or team athletes was higher, and the negative impact of COVID-19 on the quality of life of both groups was below the average. There was no relationship between the level of compliance with COVID-19 social distancing measures and the COVID-19 impact on the quality of life of athletes, and there was a weak negative relationship between the level of compliance with COVID-19 social distancing measures and the quality of life of non-athletes. Because these findings show that people who engage in movement and sports are less affected by COVID-19-related negatives, it is essential not to restrict people's movement and sports activities while taking precautions for COVID-19 and similar emergencies.