Money & society · 2022
How was sports engagement linked to older adults’ social networks?
Among people who did not actively play sports, frequent attendance at sporting events was associated with more extensive networks. Active participation was linked to both the extent and quality of social connections, satisfaction with friends, and opportunities for close relationships.
Details
Sports involvement is considered a powerful way to generate social capital, but its role in the development of older adults’ social relationships has received little attention. In particular, empirical evidence is lacking on the quality and diversity of relationships formed through active sports participation and spectatorship.
The study assessed the relationship between sports engagement and measures of network social capital, including the extent and quality of social networks and the heterogeneity of personal relationships. It also proposed new, more informative measures of the quantity and quality of an individual’s social ties.
Researchers analyzed data from a survey in Spain (N = 600) using logistic regressions. Sports participation and attendance at sporting events were closely associated with different dimensions of network social capital. Among people not actively engaged in sports, those who frequently attended sporting events had more extensive social networks. Active sports participation, by contrast, was associated with measures of the extent and quality of social connectedness, satisfaction with friends, and opportunities to enjoy close relationships.
The paper presents this as new evidence that sports engagement may contribute to closer and more extensive networks for older adults, supporting an emphasis on sports, physical activity and leisure as strategies to maintain and boost their social and psychological health.
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