An examination of self-presentational concern of Turkish adolescents: an example of physical education setting

The purpose of this study was to examine self-presentational concern of Turkish adolescents with regard to the gender composition of physical education (PE) class and also to investigate the attitude toward PE and PE class preferences of Turkish adolescents based on this concern. A total of 1,807 eighth-grade students (936 females and 871 males) completed the Attitudes Toward Physical Education Scale and Social Physique Anxiety Scale (SPAS). The findings indicated that although self-presentational concern did not differ according to the gender composition of PE class, there was a significant difference in class preference among adolescents based on this concern with most of the females who had a high self-presentational concern preferring noncoed PE class. Additionally, no significant difference was found in attitude toward PE among self-presentational concern groups. These findings are discussed in relation to the sex composition of PE class and self-presentational concerns of adolescents.     

Attitudes toward physical education and class preferences of Turkish adolescents in terms of school gender composition

The purpose of this study was to examine attitudes toward physical education (PE and PE class preferences of high school Turkish students in terms of school gender composition; 213 girls and 249 boys from coeducational public schools, and 196 girls and 210 boys from single-sex vocational schools participated in the study. The Attitudes Toward Physical Education Scale was administered and the results of 2 x 2 (Gender x School Type) ANOVA indicated that students in coeducational schools in general, and boys had more favorable attitudes. Additionally, chi-square analysis demonstrated significant differences in PE class preferences between students from single-sex and coeducational schools and between girls and boys.     

Causality as a ‘Veil’: The Ashʿarites,Ibn ʿArabī (1165–1240) and Said Nursī (1877–1960)

This article explores the development of the idea of causality as a ‘veil’ within the Islamic tradition. More specifically, it examines how the rejection of the necessary connection between cause and effect in the writings of the Ash?arites led to a highly sophisticated reconstruction of causality in Ibn ?Arabī (1165–1240) and Said Nursī (1877–1960). It also indicates some of the possible bearings of the idea of causality-as-a-veil for the contemporary discussion on the reconciliation of religious and scientific claims on the nature of causality.     

Cafcaf: an Islamic humor magazine, no joke!

Cafcaf is a humor magazine published by a group of religiously conservative Turks, who esteem and uphold what they consider to be Islamic norms and principles in their cartoons. By offering a close reading of Cafcaf, this article sheds light on transformations among Turkey’s Islamic communities. Scholars from a wide range of disciplines have been examining how the Islamic movement in Turkey has shifted course since the late 1990s. To this end, they have been studying the extent to which Islamists in the country have undergone changes with regards to their political aspirations and social attitudes. However, only a handful of these works have analyzed how genres of popular culture have responded to and echoed these transformations. A discussion of Cafcaf fills this gap by demonstrating how a group of Muslim youth reacts and responds to the changing outlooks and lifestyles of Turkey’s Islamists. The cartoons shed light on the efforts among young Muslims to establish a middle ground where they can negotiate their religious identities with their secular surroundings. The cartoons indicate that Muslim youth’s enthusiasm and willingness to attain this goal is sometimes coupled by a cascade of trepidations and hesitations.     

Gender Role Orientation of Athletes and Nonathletes in a Patriarchal Society: A Study in Turkey

The purpose of this study was to compare the gender role orientation and gender role classification of female and male athletes to those of their nonathlete counterparts. A total of 463 athletes and 378 nonathletes completed the Bem Sex Role Inventory. The findings indicated that athletes score higher on the masculinity and femininity subscales than do nonathletes. Men had higher scores on masculinity than did women, whereas women had higher scores on femininity than did men. In addition, both men and women athletes were mostly classified in the androgynous category. These findings are discussed in relation to the competitive sport environment and Turkish society.     

The Relative Influence of Parental Attachment,Peer Attachment,School Attachment,and School Alienation on Delinquency among High School Students in Turkey

Although numerous studies have confirmed the relationship between social bonds to pro-social others and delinquency in Western countries, research focusing on the same relationship in non-Western countries is scarce. This study contributes to the existing body of knowledge by examining the relationship between social bonds to pro-social others and several types of delinquency among high school students in Turkey. Results showed that the extent of an adolescent’s social bonds with his/her parents, peers, and schools had significant and diverging effects on delinquency. We also found bonds to parents and peers to have moderating effects on how school bonds affect delinquency.     

Cognitive Reactivity in Depressed Outpatients: How Different is Severe Depression?

Cognitive behavioral approaches have been able to demonstrate some of the underlying and perpetuating factors of depression such as cognitive reactivity (CR). The association of CR and the severity of depression is yet to be reported. We aimed to compare the CR of a group of outpatients based on their self-reported severity of depression (SRSD), and to identify the role of specific CR vulnerability markers in depression. The study population consisted of 221 outpatients diagnosed with Major Depressive Disorder. We used the Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview, and completed a demographic and clinical data form. The participants completed the Leiden Index of Depression Sensitivity-Revised (LEIDS-R), and the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale. To identify how well CR, as measured by the scores of the LEIDS-R, could discriminate the groups based on the SRSD, one-way analysis of variance was used. To examine the unique associations between the CR and the SRSD, a hierarchical linear regression analysis was performed. To identify group membership to severe depression, the scores of the LEIDS-R were entered in a logistic regression model. Large, and small group differences emerged on the rumination, and control scores, respectively. The other group differences were all in the medium range. The control, risk aversion, and rumination scores were the subscales which explained a significant proportion of the variance in the SRSD. Overall, the logistic regression model classified 93.7 % of the severely depressed patients correctly. These results indicated that rumination, risk aversion, and perfectionism were particularly associated with severe depression.     

Ibn ʿArabī (1165–1240) and Rūmī (1207–1273) on the Question of Evil: Discontinuities in Sufi Metaphysics

This article compares and contrasts Ibn ?Arabī’s and Rūmī’s accounts of evil. Ibn ?Arabī explains the existence of evil as a consequence of both metaphysical necessity and God’s volitional act. Evil is the inevitable ‘shadow’ of existence implied by the Infinity of God, and God’s mercy existentiates the possibilities ‘hidden’ in the Infinite, allowing this metaphysical necessity to emerge. In contrast to Ibn ?Arabī’s necessitarian-cum-volitional theodicy, Rūmī presents an almost exclusively volitional theodicy. He traces the roots of evil to the Divine Will. To preserve God’s moral perfection, he frequently points to the positive compensating functions of the existence of evil in the world. Ibn ?Arabī’s theodicy enables him to accentuate the necessity of evil in order to save the act of will, and hence God’s perfection, from being directly related to the emergence of evil. Rūmī’s volitional theodicy, however, relates the Divine Will directly to evil, and subsequently attempts to preserve the purity of the Divine intention by accentuating all the positive compensations.     

Precompetitive anxiety and affective state of climbers in indoor climbing competition

The purpose of this study was to measure the precompetitive anxiety and affective states of climbers, particularly with regard to sex and types of competition. 37 men (M=25.9, SD=3.8 yr.) and 10 women (M=25.9, SD=4.2 yr.), climbers who enrolled in Indoor Sport Climbing Competition, voluntarily participated in two different types of competition-speed and difficulty indoor climbing. The Competitive State Anxiety Inventory-2 and the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule were administered to all climbers just before the competition. The Sport Competition Anxiety Test was also administered to control competitive trait anxiety. Multivariate analysis of covariance yielded a significant interaction of sex and type of competition for affective state (Hotelling T2=0.21; F2,33=3.43, p<.05). Follow-up univariate analysis indicated that the mean Negative Affect score of women climbers before the difficulty competition was higher than mean Negative Affect scores of men before both speed and difficulty competitions and also the mean for women climbers before the speed competition (F1,34 = 6.15, p <.05). The results partially supported the hypothesis of differences in negative affect by sex and types of competition.