Abstract:

The aim of this study was to investigate the role of ruminative thoughts and irrational beliefs in determining flow in athletes. One hundred thirty three female (M=21.41 SD=4.33 age) and 261 male (M=21.92 SD=3.94 age), in total 394 (M=21.75 SD=4.07 age) athletes participated in this study. “Demographic Information form”, “Ruminative Thought Style Questionnaire”, “Irrational Performance Beliefs Inventory-2”, and “Short Dispositional Flow Scale-2” were administered to participants. The results of hierarchical regression analysis indicated that ruminative thought was not a significant determinant of flow experiences (p>0.05). On the other hand, the irrational belief of the athletes significantly predicted the flow experiences (p<0.05). A significant positive correlation was found between low frustration tolerance sub-scales of irrational belief and flow experiences (β=0.22 p<0.05). In conclusion, the ruminative thoughts that occupy the minds of the athletes are not related to the athletes' identification with their activity and focusing on the task it is seen that low tolerance, one of the sub-scales of irrational belief, which expresses intolerance to failure and inability to reach the determined goals in athletes, play a significant role in determining flow experiences of athletes.

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