BMC Sports Sci Med Rehabil. 2026 Jul 3. doi: 10.1186/s13102-026-01859-7. Online ahead of print.
ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to determine the levels of self-talk among male football players aged 18 and over who are actively playing football, and to examine whether these levels differed according to variables such as age, education, team type, position, duration of football playing, weekly sports day, willingness to work with a sports psychologist, perception of the benefit of a sports psychologist, and preference for sharing problems.
METHOD: The study included 167 male football players (age range = 18-33, mean age = 23.8, SD = 4.2) who were actively playing football during the 2022-2023 season. Data were collected using the Self-Talk Scale (SPS). Mann-Whitney U tests were used for two-group comparisons, Kruskal-Wallis H tests for three-or-more-group comparisons, and Spearman correlation for continuous variables, as normality was violated.
FINDINGS: The Cronbach’s Alpha reliability coefficient of the scale was found to be 0.96. The mean self-talk score of the participants was 5.12/7, indicating a moderate-to-high level of self-talk. The analysis revealed that although the Kruskal-Wallis test indicated an overall age difference (p = .043, ε² = .059), post-hoc pairwise comparisons with Bonferroni correction were not significant (all p > .005). For team type, a significant overall difference was observed (p = .031, ε² = .042), but post-hoc comparisons did not remain significant after Bonferroni adjustment (p = .024, adjusted α = .017) ; this finding should be considered exploratory due to the small professional group size (n=8). For problem sharing preference, the overall Kruskal-Wallis test was significant (p = .029, ε² = .054), but post-hoc comparisons with Bonferroni correction did not reach statistical significance (all p > .003). No significant differences were found in the variables of position, education level, duration of playing football, and weekly sports days (p > .05). In the correlation analysis, a negative correlation was found between years of playing football and self-talk (ρ = -.19, p = .014), and a positive correlation was found between weekly sports days and self-talk (ρ = .22, p = .005).
CONCLUSION: The level of self-talk among male individuals who actively play football is moderate-to-high. Age, team level, awareness of sports psychology, and family support were determining factors in the level of self-talk; while position, education, and duration of sports experience were not determining factors. The findings provide evidence-based recommendations for coaches and sports psychologists to develop psychological skills training programs, particularly for young and amateur players.
PMID:42400075 | DOI:10.1186/s13102-026-01859-7
