# Human rights in sport and democratic attitudes among student-athletes: a cross-sectional survey at a Turkish university

## TL;DR

This study explores how student-athletes in Turkey perceive human rights in sport and how these perceptions relate to their democratic attitudes.

## Contribution

The study reveals that the relationship between human rights in sport and democratic attitudes is complex and not uniformly positive.

## Key findings

- Males scored higher than females on Personal and Social Rights.
- Solidarity Rights positively predicted Respect for Diversity, while Personal and Social Rights were negatively associated with Glorification of Power.
- Correlations between rights perceptions and democratic attitudes were generally small and varied across subdimensions.

## Abstract

Human rights and democratic orientations are often considered mutually reinforcing. However, in institutional settings such as sport, this relationship may be shaped by governance structures and everyday experiences of authority. This study examined associations between Sport Sciences students’ perceptions of human rights in sport and their democratic attitudes at a Faculty of Sport Sciences at a Turkish university.

Using a cross-sectional survey design, data were collected from 232 students (117 female, 115 male) using the Human Rights in Sport Scale (Personal, Social, Solidarity Rights) and the Democratic Attitude Scale (Respect for Diversity, Sensitive Behaviour, Glorification of Power, Social Responsibility).

Males scored higher than females on Personal and Social Rights, and students who did not exercise regularly reported higher Personal and Social Rights than regular exercisers. No departmental or income differences were observed. Correlations between rights perceptions and democratic attitudes were generally small and varied across subdimensions. In hierarchical regression models controlling for gender, regular exercise, department, and income, Solidarity Rights positively predicted Respect for Diversity, whereas Personal and Social Rights were negatively associated with Glorification of Power.

Overall, the findings indicate that the relationship between perceptions of human rights in sport and democratic attitudes is complex rather than uniformly positive. The results suggest that different dimensions of rights consciousness are linked to distinct orientations towards authority and diversity in sporting settings.