The contribution of serious leisure qualities to passion in the context of collegiate sport club participation

ABSTRACT

This study aims to explore the relationship between dimensions of collegiate sport club experiences and the development of harmonious and obsessive passions. A measure of serious leisure qualities was employed to assess members’ systematic pursuit with both the sporting and social facets of clubs. Dual passions signify contrasting psychological inclinations arising from optimal and excessive engagement, respectively. Online surveys were administered to collegiate sport club members from two universities. Completed responses from 145 individuals were included for analysis. Regression models revealed that identification and personal rewards facilitated harmonious passion. Notably, no serious leisure qualities fostered obsessive passion, but weekly practice hours did. Our results suggest that club members’ development of their identities and meanings to clubs are crucial to foster an optimal club experience. This finding adds knowledge to recent literature concerning club factors and mechanisms enhancing personal development and successful club operations. Moreover, the exploration of obsessive passion also underscores the needs to further examine the factors that drive members to overly engage in sport clubs. Future research utilising the concept of dual passions can help elucidate the psychological processes club members undergo in balancing their club commitments with other aspects of their lives.

KEYWORDS:

• Collegiate sport club
• serious leisure
• harmonious passion
• obsessive passion
• activity engagement

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

KoFan Lee

KoFan Lee, PhD, is an Associate Professor of Sport and Recreation Administration in the School of Applied Sciences at the University of Mississippi. His research centers on examining the psychological mechanisms and social influences that foster sport and recreation engagement. Dr. Lee is particularly interested in understanding the role of sport and recreation engagement in enhancing participants’ overall well-being.

Hung-Ling (Stella) Liu

Hung-Ling (Stella) Liu, Ph.D. is an Associate Professor in the School of Sport, Recreation, and Tourism at George Mason University. Dr. Liu’s research focuses on the impacts of nature-based recreation on individuals’ social and psychological development and sustainable use of natural resources as community social, economic, and environmental assets.

John P. Bentley

John P. Bentley, PhD, is a Professor of Pharmacy Administration and the Director of the Center for Pharmaceutical Marketing and Management in the School of Pharmacy at the University of Mississippi. He is a pharmacist, biostatistician, and health services researcher. His interests include patient-reported outcomes; medication use, misuse, and outcomes; latent variable analysis; and statistical mediation and moderation.