IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/spr/jhappi/v22y2021i4d10.1007_s10902-020-00288-8.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Sport Participation and Happiness Among Older Adults: A Mediating Role of Social Capital

Author

Listed:
  • Amy Chan Hyung Kim

    (Florida State University)

  • Jungsu Ryu

    (Marshall University)

  • Chungsup Lee

    (California State University)

  • Kyung Min Kim

    (University of Miami)

  • Jinmoo Heo

    (Yonsei University)

Abstract

As the global population ages rapidly, from a positive aging view, promoting later life through sport participation has been recognized as strategies for maintaining and boosting the social and psychological health of older people. To better understand the role of sport participation among older adults, the primary purpose of the study was to explore the mediating role of social capital on the relationship between sport participation and happiness among older adults. A convenience sample of 208 pickleball participants aged from 50 to 83 years completed a survey. A level of pickleball participation was measured using Serious Leisure Inventory, social capital was measured by cognitive (i.e., feelings of trust and safety) and structural (i.e., community participation, neighborhood connections) social capital, and happiness was measured by a single item scale of general feelings of happiness. After controlling socio-demographic characteristics, results showed that (a) pickleball participation was significantly and positively predicted by general happiness, (b) pickleball participation was significantly and positively predicted by all three elements of social capital, (c) two elements of social capital (i.e., feelings of trust and safety, neighborhood connections) had a significant and positive mediating role on the relationship between pickleball participation and general happiness. We suggest that sport-based social capital intervention can add significant value to older adults’ general happiness for successful aging.

Suggested Citation

  • Amy Chan Hyung Kim & Jungsu Ryu & Chungsup Lee & Kyung Min Kim & Jinmoo Heo, 2021. "Sport Participation and Happiness Among Older Adults: A Mediating Role of Social Capital," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 22(4), pages 1623-1641, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:jhappi:v:22:y:2021:i:4:d:10.1007_s10902-020-00288-8
    DOI: 10.1007/s10902-020-00288-8
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s10902-020-00288-8
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to the full text of the articles in this series is restricted.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s10902-020-00288-8?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
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Alfredo Rodríguez-Muñoz & Ana Sanz-Vergel & Evangelia Demerouti & Arnold Bakker, 2014. "Engaged at Work and Happy at Home: A Spillover–Crossover Model," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 15(2), pages 271-283, April.
    2. Carol Graham & Julia Ruiz Pozuelo, 2017. "Happiness, stress, and age: how the U curve varies across people and places," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 30(1), pages 225-264, January.
    3. Fernando Lera-López & Andrea Ollo-López & José Manuel Sánchez-Santos, 2017. "How Does Physical Activity Make You Feel Better? The Mediational Role of Perceived Health," Applied Research in Quality of Life, Springer;International Society for Quality-of-Life Studies, vol. 12(3), pages 511-531, September.
    4. Adam Shapiro & Corey Keyes, 2008. "Marital Status and Social Well-Being: Are the Married Always Better Off?," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 88(2), pages 329-346, September.
    5. John Hudson, 2006. "Institutional Trust and Subjective Well‐Being across the EU," Kyklos, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 59(1), pages 43-62, February.
    6. Verena H. Menec, 2003. "The Relation Between Everyday Activities and Successful Aging: A 6-Year Longitudinal Study," The Journals of Gerontology: Series B, The Gerontological Society of America, vol. 58(2), pages 74-82.
    7. Blanchflower, David G. & Oswald, Andrew J., 2008. "Is well-being U-shaped over the life cycle?," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 66(8), pages 1733-1749, April.
    8. Schwandt, Hannes, 2016. "Unmet aspirations as an explanation for the age U-shape in wellbeing," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 122(C), pages 75-87.
    9. Mohan, John & Twigg, Liz & Barnard, Steve & Jones, Kelvyn, 2005. "Social capital, geography and health: a small-area analysis for England," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 60(6), pages 1267-1283, March.
    10. Ottar Hellevik, 2017. "The U-shaped age–happiness relationship: real or methodological artifact?," Quality & Quantity: International Journal of Methodology, Springer, vol. 51(1), pages 177-197, January.
    11. Frey, Bruno S & Stutzer, Alois, 2000. "Happiness, Economy and Institutions," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 110(466), pages 918-938, October.
    12. Sato, Mikihiro & Jordan, Jeremy S. & Funk, Daniel C., 2016. "A distance-running event and life satisfaction: The mediating roles of involvement," Sport Management Review, Elsevier, vol. 19(5), pages 536-549.
    13. Ambrose Leung & Cheryl Kier & Tak Fung & Linda Fung & Robert Sproule, 2011. "Searching for Happiness: The Importance of Social Capital," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 12(3), pages 443-462, June.
    14. Kurumi Tsuruta & Tomoko Shiomitsu & Amy Hombu & Yoshinori Fujii, 2019. "Relationship between social capital and happiness in a Japanese community: A cross‐sectional study," Nursing & Health Sciences, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 21(2), pages 245-252, June.
    15. Alberto Alesina & Eliana La Ferrara, 2000. "The Determinants of Trust," NBER Working Papers 7621, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    16. Frijters, Paul & Beatton, Tony, 2012. "The mystery of the U-shaped relationship between happiness and age," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 82(2), pages 525-542.
    17. Berg, Brennan K. & Warner, Stacy & Das, Bhibha M., 2015. "What about sport? A public health perspective on leisure-time physical activity," Sport Management Review, Elsevier, vol. 18(1), pages 20-31.
    18. Gerdtham, Ulf-G & Johannesson, Magnus, 2001. "The relationship between happiness, health, and socio-economic factors: results based on Swedish microdata," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics (formerly The Journal of Socio-Economics), Elsevier, vol. 30(6), pages 553-557.
    19. Dolan, Paul & Peasgood, Tessa & White, Mathew, 2008. "Do we really know what makes us happy A review of the economic literature on the factors associated with subjective well-being," Journal of Economic Psychology, Elsevier, vol. 29(1), pages 94-122, February.
    20. Huang, Jian & Maassen van den Brink, Henriëtte & Groot, Wim, 2009. "A meta-analysis of the effect of education on social capital," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 28(4), pages 454-464, August.
    21. Phongsavan, Philayrath & Chey, Tien & Bauman, Adrian & Brooks, Robert & Silove, Derrick, 2006. "Social capital, socio-economic status and psychological distress among Australian adults," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 63(10), pages 2546-2561, November.
    22. Brennan K. Berg & Stacy Warner & Bhibha M. Das, 2015. "What about sport? A public health perspective on leisure-time physical activity," Sport Management Review, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 18(1), pages 20-31, January.
    23. Villalonga-Olives, E. & Wind, T.R. & Kawachi, I., 2018. "Social capital interventions in public health: A systematic review," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 212(C), pages 203-218.
    24. Kristine J. Ajrouch & Alysia Y. Blandon & Toni C. Antonucci, 2005. "Social Networks Among Men and Women: The Effects of Age and Socioeconomic Status," The Journals of Gerontology: Series B, The Gerontological Society of America, vol. 60(6), pages 311-317.
    25. Sara Erreygers & Heidi Vandebosch & Ivana Vranjes & Elfi Baillien & Hans Witte, 2019. "Feel Good, Do Good Online? Spillover and Crossover Effects of Happiness on Adolescents’ Online Prosocial Behavior," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 20(4), pages 1241-1258, April.
    26. Jinfeng Zhang & Jianxin Zhang & Mingjie Zhou & Nancy Xiaonan Yu, 2018. "Neighborhood Characteristics and Older Adults’ Well-Being: The Roles of Sense of Community and Personal Resilience," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 137(3), pages 949-963, June.
    27. Vera Toepoel, 2013. "Ageing, Leisure, and Social Connectedness: How could Leisure Help Reduce Social Isolation of Older People?," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 113(1), pages 355-372, August.
    28. Villalonga-Olives, E. & Kawachi, I., 2017. "The dark side of social capital: A systematic review of the negative health effects of social capital," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 194(C), pages 105-127.
    29. O'Brien, Megan S. & Burdsal, Charles A. & Molgaard, Craig A., 2004. "Further development of an Australian-based measure of social capital in a US sample," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 59(6), pages 1207-1217, September.
    30. Débora Godoy-Izquierdo & Raquel Lara Moreno & María Vázquez Pérez & Francisco Araque Serrano & Juan Godoy García, 2013. "Correlates of Happiness Among Older Spanish Institutionalised and Non-Institutionalised Adults," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 14(2), pages 389-414, April.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Aiste Dirzyte & Aleksandras Patapas & Aidas Perminas, 2022. "Associations between Leisure Preferences, Mindfulness, Psychological Capital, and Life Satisfaction," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(7), pages 1-26, March.
    2. Martin Schlossarek & Jaromír Harmáček & Aneta Seidlová & Lenka Suchá, 2024. "Inequalities and Social Capital as Factors of Subjective Well-Being: Case Study from Western Province, Zambia," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 25(7), pages 1-24, October.
    3. Xupeng Zhang & Dianxi Wang & Fei Li, 2022. "Physical Exercise, Social Capital, Hope, and Subjective Well-Being in China: A Parallel Mediation Analysis," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(1), pages 1-13, December.
    4. Peng, Jiamin & Yang, Xiaoyun & Poon, Patrick & Xie, Lishan, 2022. "Enhancing users' well-being in virtual medical tourism communities: A configurational analysis of users’ interaction characteristics and social support," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 71(C).

    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.
    1. Biermann, Philipp & Bitzer, Jürgen & Gören, Erkan, 2022. "The relationship between age and subjective well-being: Estimating within and between effects simultaneously," The Journal of the Economics of Ageing, Elsevier, vol. 21(C).
    2. Takis Venetoklis, 2019. "Do interactions cancel associations of subjective well-being with individual-level socioeconomic characteristics? An exploratory analysis using the European Social Survey," Quality & Quantity: International Journal of Methodology, Springer, vol. 53(6), pages 3033-3061, November.
    3. Iddisah Sulemana, 2015. "An Empirical Investigation of the Relationship Between Social Capital and Subjective Well-Being in Ghana," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 16(5), pages 1299-1321, October.
    4. Iddisah Sulemana, 2015. "The Effect of Fear of Crime and Crime Victimization on Subjective Well-Being in Africa," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 121(3), pages 849-872, April.
    5. Fulvio Castellacci & Henrik Schwabe, 2020. "Internet, unmet aspirations and the U-shape of life," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 15(6), pages 1-22, June.
    6. David G. Blanchflower & Andrew J. Oswald, 2019. "Do Humans Suffer a Psychological Low in Midlife? Two Approaches (With and Without Controls) in Seven Data Sets," Springer Books, in: Mariano Rojas (ed.), The Economics of Happiness, chapter 0, pages 439-453, Springer.
    7. Junji Kageyama & Kazuma Sato, 2021. "Explaining the U-shaped life satisfaction: dissatisfaction as a driver of behavior," Journal of Bioeconomics, Springer, vol. 23(2), pages 179-202, July.
    8. David G. Blanchflower & Carol L. Graham, 2022. "The Mid-Life Dip in Well-Being: a Critique," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 161(1), pages 287-344, May.
    9. Degli Antoni, Giacomo & Vittucci Marzetti, Giuseppe, 2022. "Estimating the effect on happiness through question randomization: An application to blood donation," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 309(C).
    10. Estela Núñez-Barriopedro & Rafael Ravina-Ripoll & Eduardo Ahumada-Tello, 2020. "Happiness perception in Spain, a SEM approach to evidence from the sociological research center," Quality & Quantity: International Journal of Methodology, Springer, vol. 54(3), pages 761-779, June.
    11. Fulvio Castellacci & Henrik Schwabe, 2018. "Internet Use and the U-shaped relationship between Age and Well-being," Working Papers on Innovation Studies 20180215, Centre for Technology, Innovation and Culture, University of Oslo.
    12. Giacomo Degli Antoni & Chiara Franco, 2022. "The effect of technological behaviour and beliefs on subjective well-being: the role of technological infrastructure," Journal of Evolutionary Economics, Springer, vol. 32(2), pages 553-590, April.
    13. John F. Helliwell & Haifang Huang & Max B. Norton & Shun Wang, 2019. "Happiness at Different Ages: The Social Context Matters," Springer Books, in: Mariano Rojas (ed.), The Economics of Happiness, chapter 0, pages 455-481, Springer.
    14. Paul Downward & Simona Rasciute, 2011. "An Economic Analysis of the Subjective Health and Well-being of Physical Activity," Chapters, in: Plácido Rodríguez & Stefan Késenne & Brad R. Humphreys (ed.), The Economics of Sport, Health and Happiness, chapter 2, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    15. Pawlowski, Tim & Downward, Paul & Rasciute, Simona, 2014. "Does national pride from international sporting success contribute to well-being? An international investigation," Sport Management Review, Elsevier, vol. 17(2), pages 121-132.
    16. Rubén Arrondo & Ana Cárcaba & Eduardo González, 2021. "Drivers of Subjective Well-being in Spain: Are There Gender Differences?," Applied Research in Quality of Life, Springer;International Society for Quality-of-Life Studies, vol. 16(5), pages 2131-2154, October.
    17. Alexandra Cristina Sãžrbu & Mircea Asandului, 2021. "Determinants Of Subjective Well-Being Among Romanian Older Adults," Review of Economic and Business Studies, Alexandru Ioan Cuza University, Faculty of Economics and Business Administration, issue 28, pages 111-124, December.
    18. Aguilar, Alexandra Cortés & García Muñoz, Teresa M. & Moro-Egido, Ana I., 2013. "Heterogeneous self-employment and satisfaction in Latin America," Journal of Economic Psychology, Elsevier, vol. 39(C), pages 44-61.
    19. Lucía Macchia & Anke C. Plagnol, 2019. "Life Satisfaction and Confidence in National Institutions: Evidence from South America," Applied Research in Quality of Life, Springer;International Society for Quality-of-Life Studies, vol. 14(3), pages 721-736, July.
    20. Yuta J. Masuda & Jason R. Williams & Heather Tallis, 2021. "Does Life Satisfaction Vary with Time and Income? Investigating the Relationship Among Free Time, Income, and Life Satisfaction," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 22(5), pages 2051-2073, June.

    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:spr:jhappi:v:22:y:2021:i:4:d:10.1007_s10902-020-00288-8. 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: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.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.