ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Psychol.
Sec. Sport Psychology
Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1592326
This article is part of the Research TopicCombat Sports and Wellbeing: Advancing Health and Inclusion in Athletes and PractitionersView all 8 articles
Building Resilience Through Self-Defense: The Role of Martial Arts in Enhancing Psychological Strength Among Women
Provisionally accepted
- 1Faculty of Sport Sciences, Marmara University, Istanbul, Türkiye
- 2Faculty of Sports Science, Akdeniz University, Antalya, Antalya, Türkiye
- 3Süleyman Demirel University, Isparta, Isparta, Türkiye
- 4Ömer Halisdemir University, Nigde, Niğde, Türkiye
- 5Faculty of Sports Science, Erciyes University, Kayseri, Türkiye
- 6Institute of Health Sciences, Erciyes University, Kayseri, Türkiye
- 7Faculty of Psychology, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, Beijing, China
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This study investigates the psychological resilience levels of women who participate in martial arts compared to those who do not, examining differences based on demographic and socioeconomic characteristics. 802 women volunteered to participate, including 407 martial arts practitioners (Muaythai, kickboxing, boxing, or taekwondo) and 395 women who practiced Pilates. Data were collected online using a self-report questionnaire comprising the Psychological Resilience Scale and a demographic information form. Statistical analyses included descriptive statistics, independent sample t-tests, and one-way ANOVA. Results showed that women engaged in martial arts demonstrated significantly higher levels of psychological resilience in the sub-dimensions of control (p < .01, d = 0.47) and challenge (p < .01, d = 0.27) compared to non-practitioners. However, in the commitment sub-dimension, non-martial arts participants scored higher (p < .05, d = 0.35). Among martial artists, psychological resilience varied significantly based on age, experience of violence, and smoking status. Significant differences were found for non-martial artists according to age, educational attainment, and income level. These findings suggest that participation in martial arts may enhance specific dimensions of psychological resilience, especially in managing stress and embracing challenges. However, it may not necessarily foster higher commitment levels.
Keywords: psychological resilience, Women, Violence, Sport, Martial Arts
Received: 12 Mar 2025; Accepted: 12 May 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 PEKEL, Eraslan, Pepe, YOKA, Turan, YOKA and Iqbal. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Mehmet Behzat Turan, Faculty of Sports Science, Erciyes University, Kayseri, 38039, Türkiye
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