Relationship of Sport Orientation and Exercise Addiction of Championship Level Athletes: a Preliminary Study

The aim of this study is to examine relationship of sport orientation and athletes' exercise addiction, comparing these two variables in two genders and in individual and team athletes. From premier Arak's athletes 286 subjects selected. Data collected by "Exercise Addiction Inventory" and "Sport Orientation Questionnaire" and analyzed with correlation coefficient, t-test, ANOVA, and regression. Results indicated that exercise addiction, salience of exercise role, and psychological outcomes of exercise positively and significantly relate to competitiveness, win orientation, and goal orientation. From predictive variables, only competitiveness predicts exercise addiction and exercise addicted athletes had higher scores in all three sport orientation subscales than non-addicted counterparts. Men athletes achieved higher scores in competitiveness and salience of exercise subscales, and exercise addiction total score than women counterparts and in goal orientation and psychological outcomes of exercise individual sport athletes were higher scores than team sport counterparts.