Abstract
Humans are inherently social. They need to live together and communicate other people. The socialization of the person, which first started in the family, expands over time and continues throughout life. Sport is one of the effective ways to facilitate the development of individuals and to gain a social identity. In addition, sports have a property that contributes to social consensus by bringing people from different cultures together. This study aims to determine the effects of sports activities on social integration. For this purpose, it was tried to measure the contribution of sports in terms of social integration in people who participated to daily cycling activities. The sample of this study consisted of 74 people who participated in these group activities at different times in Istanbul. Social Integration in Sports Scale was used to collect data. The scale consists of 7 sub-dimensions: "personal development", "socialization", "physical benefit", "integration", "psychological development", "moral development" and "emotional development". Data were gathered through Social Integration in Sports Scale and analyzed by Independent Samples t-Test and ANOVA test to examine the relations of scale scores with various demographic (gender, age, marital status, having children, education level, employment status, smoking, regular sports) factors. According to the results of this study, it was determined that participants' Social Integration in Sports Scale scores significantly differ in terms of marital status and regular sports. According to the data obtained in this study, cycling activities carried out in groups contribute to social integration. This contribution varies depending on demographic characteristics. Based on this determination, studies in the literature in which different sports activities and the number of participations in the activity are considered will help to measure the effect of different branches of sports on social integration.