EVALUATION OF HAPPINESS AND SELF-ESTEEM LEVELS OF INDIVIDUALS WITH DOWN SYNDROME WHO PARTICIPATED IN A REGULAR PHYSICAL ACTIVITY BY PARENTS (THE EXAMPLE OF MALATYA PROVINCE)

Abstract

The aim of this study was to compare the self-esteem and happiness levels of individuals with Down syndrome who regularly participate in physical activities and those who do not. In line with the stated purpose; This research was carried out in accordance with the causal comparison model in the quantitative research type. The universe of Down syndrome children creating sample in Turkey were age 10 (years) to 23 (years), ranging from participating in sporting activities 19 (10 males and 9 females) and participate in sporting activities 16 (9 males and 9 females) totaling It created 35 individuals with Down syndrome. The Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale, which was developed by Rosenberg (1965) and adapted into Turkish by Çuhadaroğlu (1986), as well as the Oxford Happiness Scale developed by Hills and Argyle (2002) and adapted into Turkish by Doğan and Akınöz-Çotök (2011). (Short Form) was used. The analysis of the data was done in SPSS 15.0 statistics package program. The normality distribution of the data was determined using the Shapiro-Wilk Normality Test. Differences between

independent groups were determined by the Mann-Whitney U test. Statistical significance was accepted as p <0.05. According to the statistical analysis results; A significant difference was found in the self-esteem and happiness level values ​​of individuals with Down syndrome who regularly participated in physical activities and did not (p <0.05). In these differences, it was found that individuals with Down syndrome who regularly participated in physical activities had higher self-esteem and happiness level scores than individuals with Down syndrome who did not regularly participate in physical activities (p <0.05). As a result; It can be said that individuals with Down syndrome who regularly participate in physical activities may have higher self-esteem and happiness levels than individuals with Down syndrome who do not regularly participate in physical activities.