Social Appearance Anxiety and Rosenberg Self-esteem Scores in Young Physical Disabled Athletes

The social appearance anxiety is defined as tension and anxiety experienced by people when they are assessed by others in terms of their physical appearance and self-esteem is defined as feelings of one's personal self-worth, reflecting person's evaluation of his or her own worth. Aim: This study was conducted to investigate the differences in social appearance anxiety and self-esteem scores in physical disabled athletes and non-disabled athletes. Materials and Methods: One hundred and forty-eight physical disabled athletes and 60 non-disabled athletes participated in the study. The Turkish versions of the Social Appearance Anxiety Scale and Rosenberg Self-Esteem scale was used to assess the points associated with social appearance anxiety and self-esteem. Results: Disabled athletes had higher self-esteem and social appearance anxiety scores compared to non-disabled athletes. Also, disabled athletes having medal had decreased self-esteem and social appearance anxiety scores compared to disabled athletes not having medal. These results suggest that physical activity can improve mental health in especially successful athletes. Also, the self-esteem scores had positive correlation with the social appearance anxiety score in total sample, as well as in disabled athletes and non-disabled athletes. Conclusion: The higher self-esteem and social appearance anxiety scores in disabled athletes may be related to the higher depression, anxiety and psychological stress in athletes compared to non-athletes. These results suggest that physical activity can improve mental health in only top successful athletes.