Psychological safety of the educational space in the structure of motivational orientation of female athletes: a comparative analysis

Abstract

The purpose was to determine the characteristics of female athletes’ perceptions of the psychological safety of the educational space and to compare the impact on the motivational orientation of female athletes of the game (Group I) and individual sports (Group II). An empirical study was conducted with female students from the Faculty of Physical Culture and Sports, with Group I (n = 26; 55.32%) participating in team sports (handball, volleyball), and Group II (n = 21; 44.68%) participating in individual sports (athletics). Psychodiagnostic research methods were used: the “Questionnaire of an Athlete’s Motivational Orientation” (I. Smoldovskaya) was used to study motivational orientation, and the “Psychological Safety of the Educational Space” questionnaire (I. Baeva, E. Volkova, E. Laktionova) was used to study female athletes’ perceptions of psychological safety in the educational space. Results. Differences between groups of female athletes with different perceptions of the level of psychological safety of the university’s educational space were established based on the components of female athletes’ motivational orientation (р