Socio-psychological effects of participation in inter-faculty competitions

The purpose of the study was to identify the socio-psychological effects of students' participation in inter-faculty competitions. The study involved 97 students of Gatchina State University aged from 18 to 23 years. Depending on the experience of participating in inter-faculty competitions, the respondents were divided into two groups: students who do not participate in competitions and students who did not participate in sports events. Sociological survey, pedagogical observation and statistical data processing methods were used as research methods. To collect empirical material, an author's questionnaire was used, which includes 21 questions grouped into thematic blocks. The Mann-Whitney U-test was used for comparative analysis of the indicators. The results of the study showed that students participating in inter-faculty competitions have higher indicators of a sense of belonging to the faculty (M=4.42), pride in athletic achievements (M=4.67), improved emotional state (M=4.37) and self-confidence (M=4.37) compared with students who do not accept participation in competitions (p < 0.05). There were no statistically significant differences between the groups in certain aspects of overall motivation. The data obtained indicate a pronounced influence of inter-faculty competitions on the formation of social identity, emotional well-being and communicative activity of students.