Social and emotional development refers to the process of establishing healthy relationships with others, recognizing and managing emotions, demonstrating empathy, developing self-awareness, and acquiring social skills. Moral development, on the other hand, describes the ability to distinguish between right and wrong, develop a sense of conscience, and adhere to ethical values and rules. Sports provide a platform that supports individuals' social, emotional, and moral development, reinforcing values such as empathy, self-discipline, fair play, cooperation, and responsibility. This study aimed to examine the social-emotional and moral development levels of licensed middle school students engaged in different sports branches, considering variables such as gender, age, sports experience, educational level, and type of sport. A total of 171 students, comprising 62 girls and 109 boys studying at various middle schools in Van province, participated voluntarily in the study. The survey technique was employed, utilizing the "Social-Emotional and Moral Development Scale (SEMD)" developed by Ji et al. (2013) and adapted to Turkish culture by Bozgün and Baytemir (2019), within the framework of a single screening model. The results revealed that, in the sub-dimension of positive social behavior, the social-emotional and moral development levels of female students were higher than those of male students. It was also found that students participating in Muay Thai demonstrated higher levels of social-emotional and moral development compared to those involved in kickboxing and wrestling. Additionally, a weak and negative relationship was observed between sports experience and social-emotional and moral development levels in the sub-dimension of self-control. Based on these findings, it can be suggested that gender roles, the educational and sports discipline understanding of the culture in which the sport emerges, and the duration of sports experience may play influential roles in emotional and moral development..

Keywords: Empathy, self-control, self-esteem, respect