Abstract
Objective: We investigate how (a) attendance at sport games and (b) identification with a sport team as fans (i.e., team identification) influence older adults’ perceptions of emotional support, belonging, and subjective well-being (SWB). Method: An experimental pilot study was conducted with 50 older adults, followed by a main survey study administered to 534 older adults from various communities across the United States. Results: Pilot study results indicated that game attendance and team identification had a positive and significant influence on older adults’ perceptions of emotional support from fellow team fans. These results were replicated in the main study, which also showed that older adults’ perceived emotional support from fellow fans was positively associated with their sense of belonging which predicted their SWB. Discussion: The findings provide insights into how older adults may be engaged in meaningful forms of social life to help them maintain and enhance mental health.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Journal | Journal of Aging and Health |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Jan 1 2019 |
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Keywords
- belonging
- group identification
- older adults
- spectator sport
- subjective well-being
Cite this
Enhancing Older Adults’ Sense of Belonging and Subjective Well-Being Through Sport Game Attendance, Team Identification, and Emotional Support. / Inoue, Yuhei; Wann, Daniel L.; Lock, Daniel; Sato, Mikihiro; Moore, Christopher; Funk, Daniel C.
In: Journal of Aging and Health, 01.01.2019.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article
}
TY - JOUR
T1 - Enhancing Older Adults’ Sense of Belonging and Subjective Well-Being Through Sport Game Attendance, Team Identification, and Emotional Support
AU - Inoue, Yuhei
AU - Wann, Daniel L.
AU - Lock, Daniel
AU - Sato, Mikihiro
AU - Moore, Christopher
AU - Funk, Daniel C.
PY - 2019/1/1
Y1 - 2019/1/1
N2 - Objective: We investigate how (a) attendance at sport games and (b) identification with a sport team as fans (i.e., team identification) influence older adults’ perceptions of emotional support, belonging, and subjective well-being (SWB). Method: An experimental pilot study was conducted with 50 older adults, followed by a main survey study administered to 534 older adults from various communities across the United States. Results: Pilot study results indicated that game attendance and team identification had a positive and significant influence on older adults’ perceptions of emotional support from fellow team fans. These results were replicated in the main study, which also showed that older adults’ perceived emotional support from fellow fans was positively associated with their sense of belonging which predicted their SWB. Discussion: The findings provide insights into how older adults may be engaged in meaningful forms of social life to help them maintain and enhance mental health.
AB - Objective: We investigate how (a) attendance at sport games and (b) identification with a sport team as fans (i.e., team identification) influence older adults’ perceptions of emotional support, belonging, and subjective well-being (SWB). Method: An experimental pilot study was conducted with 50 older adults, followed by a main survey study administered to 534 older adults from various communities across the United States. Results: Pilot study results indicated that game attendance and team identification had a positive and significant influence on older adults’ perceptions of emotional support from fellow team fans. These results were replicated in the main study, which also showed that older adults’ perceived emotional support from fellow fans was positively associated with their sense of belonging which predicted their SWB. Discussion: The findings provide insights into how older adults may be engaged in meaningful forms of social life to help them maintain and enhance mental health.
KW - belonging
KW - group identification
KW - older adults
KW - spectator sport
KW - subjective well-being
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85063037864&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=85063037864&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1177/0898264319835654
DO - 10.1177/0898264319835654
M3 - Article
JO - Journal of Aging and Health
JF - Journal of Aging and Health
SN - 0898-2643
ER -