IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/cog/socinc/v13y2025a9284.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

There Are No Thresholds Here: Social Inclusion Among the Participants of a Community Sports Initiative

Author

Listed:
  • Linda Nesse

    (Norwegian Centre for Addiction Research, University of Oslo, Norway / Faculty of Health and Social Sciences, University of South‐Eastern Norway, Norway)

  • Marit Borg

    (Faculty of Health and Social Sciences, University of South‐Eastern Norway, Norway)

  • Bengt Karlsson

    (Faculty of Health and Social Sciences, University of South‐Eastern Norway, Norway)

Abstract

Community sports initiatives can promote social inclusion by facilitating low‐threshold participation in physical exercise with others. Due to social and systemic barriers, persons with experiences of mental health and substance use problems often have limited access to community arenas, such as those offering physical exercise. Community sports may counteract such inequities in practice. In Bergen, Norway, the community sports initiative Psykiatrialliansen (The Psychiatric Alliance) aims to promote participation in physical exercise for anyone with an interest in being involved. On a weekly basis, they arrange a range of sports and activities in ordinary sports arenas across the city, free of charge. The purpose of the study was to explore how members and coaches experience participation, and in which ways participation contributes to experiences of social inclusion. Focus groups, paired interviews, and individual interviews were conducted with 33 participants. A two‐tiered thematic analysis was conducted based on a framework for social inclusion, resulting in the main theme “experiences of social inclusion,” with the following subthemes: (a) access to resources, (b) recognition through responsibilities and roles, and (c) a sense of belonging through relationships. The participants described a unique and generous arena where resources were emphasized. Furthermore, they described experiences of being acknowledged through responsibilities and positive roles. Finally, the community sports initiative was viewed as a low‐threshold, inclusive community that facilitated a sense of belonging through positive relationships. The findings indicate that Psykiatrialliansen contributes to experiences of social inclusion in multiple, intersecting ways.

Suggested Citation

  • Linda Nesse & Marit Borg & Bengt Karlsson, 2025. "There Are No Thresholds Here: Social Inclusion Among the Participants of a Community Sports Initiative," Social Inclusion, Cogitatio Press, vol. 13.
  • Handle: RePEc:cog:socinc:v13:y:2025:a:9284
    DOI: 10.17645/si.9284
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.cogitatiopress.com/socialinclusion/article/view/9284
    Download Restriction: no

    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.17645/si.9284?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Laura C. Healy & Adam Benkwitz & Zoe McVinnie & Mustafa Sarkar & Mel Islin & Andy Brinded & B. Dodge & Sofija Opacic & Zoe Swithenbank & Shanika Ranasinghe & Jennie Oliver & Maria Karanika-Murray & Ma, 2023. "Embedding Physical Activity into Community-Based Peer Support Groups for those Severely Affected by Mental Illness," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(3), pages 1-12, January.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.

      Corrections

      All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:cog:socinc:v13:y:2025:a:9284. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

      If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

      If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

      If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

      For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: António Vieira or IT Department (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.cogitatiopress.com .

      Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

      IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.