Psychological characteristics of teenagers engaged in individual and team sports

Aim. The paper aims to determine the psychological characteristics of adolescent athletes engaged in individual and team sports. Materials and methods. The study involved 120 respondents (60 males and 60 females) aged 13-15 years from individual and team sports. The following methods were used: 1) the Buss-Durkee Hostility Scale; 2) General self-esteem diagnostics (G.N. Kazantsev); 3) CMAS (the Children's Form of Manifest Anxiety Scale) developed by A. Castenada, V.R. McCandless, D.S. Palermo and adapted by A.M. Prikhozhan; 4) the five-factor personality questionnaire (R. McCrae and P. Costa). Statistical analysis of the research results was performed using the Mann - Whitney U-test and Spearman's rank correlation coefficient. Results. Higher negativity was identified in personal characteristics of teenagers engaged in individual sports, and this group has a significantly higher level of self-esteem. Teenagers from individual sports are prone to individualization and self-control. Teenagers from team sports are more physically aggressive, however, they show lower self-esteem and a low level of anxiety. Conclusion. The results obtained in the study can be used for making recommendations to teenagers, their parents and coaches about the development of physical qualities in various sports, which will certainly contribute to both mental and physical health.