Moral decision-making attitude and psychological well-being: reflections from various sports branches

Background Study Aim. This study aimed to investigate the impact of moral decision-making attitudes among athletes in various sports on their psychological well-being. Material and Methods. A total of 345 active, licensed athletes (also students) participated in this study, with a mean age of 19.62 years (215 females and 130 males). The sports represented included athletics, badminton, basketball, boxing, fencing, football, wrestling, handball, hockey, judo, kickboxing, table tennis, taekwondo, wheelchair basketball, volleyball, and swimming. In addition to descriptive statistics, correlation and regression analyses were conducted within the framework of a relational model. Results. The study revealed significant relationships between different sub-dimensions of the moral decision-making attitude scale and psychological well-being. Specifically, a significant negative relationship (r = -0.162, p < 0.001) was observed between adopting cheating, a sub-dimension of the moral decision-making attitude scale, and psychological well-being. Conversely, a significant positive relationship (r = 0.158, p < 0.001) was found between protecting fair competition, another sub-dimension of the moral decision-making attitude scale, and psychological well-being. It was determined that adopting cheating had a significantly negative effect on psychological well-being (β = -0.188, p < 0.001), while protecting fair competition had a positive effect (β = 0.183, p < 0.001). Conclusions. This study suggests that athletes experience a negative impact on their psychological well-being when they engage in cheating as part of their moral decision-making attitudes. Conversely, their psychological well-being benefits from their commitment to fair competition. It can be argued that athletes' moral responsibilities contribute to their psychological resilience and well-being.