ARE ENVIRONMENTAL ATTITUDES AFFECTED BY OUTDOOR SPORTS PARTICIPATION? A STUDY ON UNIVERSITY STUDENTS.

Natural environment is covering all living and non-living things and it does provide an opportunity to existence. For that reason, it’s not possible to discuss the non- existence of the natural environment. In the past century, the impact of human actions on the natural environment was detrimental in that nature conservation idea emerged. Outdoor sports and outdoor recreation are nature based activities and these activities directly affect the natural environment. The aim of this study is to compare the environmental attitudes of university students who participate in outdoor sports. The sampling group of this study consisted of totally 370 volunteer university students who participate in outdoor sports (n=167) and nonparticipants in outdoor sports (n=203). Environmental attitude inventory (EAI) which was developed by Milfont and Duckitt (2006) was used to determine the environmental attitudes of participants. Turkish validity and reliability analysis of original form was made by Ak (2008). As a result, environmental attitudes of outdoor sports participants were more positive than others. Therefore, if outdoor sports participation becomes widespread and children’s participation in these kinds of activities is supported, it could play an important role in preserving the nature and raising environmental awareness.