Sport, community involvement and social support

Abstract

This paper examines the relationship between involvement in sport and non-sport community activities and perceived social support. This paper reports on a large cross-sectional survey administered in the state of Victoria, Australia (N = 1833), which collected data on involvement, selected demographic variables and the multidimensional scale of perceived social support (MSPSS). The findings reveal that sport and non-sport community activities have a small but significant predictive effect on the overall MSPSS, as well as on the ‘friends’ and ‘significant other’ subscales: less than having a partner, being female or being born in Australia, but more than being employed full time, being highly educated or attending religious services. The findings do not appear to support the proposition that involvement in sport organizations is associated with or produces higher levels of social capital (measured via perceived social support) relative to involvement in other types of voluntary associations.

Acknowledgements

The authors wish to acknowledge the financial support of the Australian Research Council and the Victorian Health Promotion Foundation (VicHealth) for this project.

Notes

^1. See, for example, Commission on the European Communities, White Paper on Sport; Commonwealth of Australia, Backing Australia's Sporting Ability; Commonwealth of Australia, Australian Sport; Sport Canada, Canadian Sport Policy; and Sport England, National Framework for Sport.

^2.Skille, ‘Meaning of Social Context’, 367–68.

^3.Long and Sanderson, ‘Social Benefits of Sport’.

^4.Coalter, Wider Social Role.

^5.Putnam, Bowling Alone.

^6. Ibid., 411

^7.Stolle, ‘Bowling Together, Bowling Alone’.

^8.Thoits, ‘Stress’.

^9.Veiel and Baumann, ‘Many Meanings’.

^10.House, Landis and Umberson, ‘Social Relationships and Health’.

^11.Uchino, Cacioppo and Kiecolt-Glaser, ‘Relationship between Social Support’.

^12.Cohen and Wills, ‘Stress’.

^13.Thoits, ‘Social Support’.

^14.Thoits, ‘Stress’.

^15.Albrecht and Adelman, Communicating Social Support.

^16.Shumaker and Brownell, ‘Toward a Theory’.

^17.Sarason, Sarason and Pierce, ‘Social Support’.

^18.Putnam, Bowling Alone, 18–19.

^19.Bourdieu, ‘Forms of Capital’, 248.

^20.Coleman, ‘Social Capital’, S98.

^21.Portes, ‘Social Capital’, 6.

^22.Bourdieu, ‘Forms of Capital’.

^23.Portes and Landolt, ‘Downside of Social Capital’; ‘Social Capital’.

^24.Woolcock, ‘Social Capital’.

^25.Putnam, Bowling Alone, 19.

^26.Putnam, ‘Bowling Alone’, 67.

^27.Thoits, ‘Stress’.

^28.Shumaker and Brownell, ‘Toward a Theory’.

^29.Zimet et al., ‘Multidimensional Scale’.

^30.Dahlem, Zimet and Walker, ‘Multidimensional Scale’; Thoits, ‘Stress’; and Zimet et al., ‘Multidimensional Scale’.

^31.Bourdieu, ‘Forms of Capital’.

^32.Portes and Landolt, ‘Downside of Social Capital’; ‘Social Capital’.

^33.Blackshaw and Long, ‘What's the Big Idea?’; Brown, ‘Position of Australian Community’; Coalter, Wider Social Role; Coalter, ‘Sports Clubs, Social Capital’; Collins, Sport and Social Exclusion; Collins, ‘Voluntary Sports Clubs’; Dyreson, ‘Maybe it's Better’; Harvey, Levesque and Donnelly, ‘Sport Volunteerism’; Jarvie, ‘Communitarism’; Nicholson and Hoye, Sport and Social Capital; Seippel, ‘Sport and Social Capital’; Sharpe, ‘“It's Not Fun Anymore”’; Sharpe, ‘Resources at the Grassroots’; and Tonts, ‘Competitive Sport’.

^34. See, for example, Bradbury and Kay, ‘Stepping into Community?’; Brown, ‘Community Sport/Recreation Members’; Hylton, ‘Race Equality’; Kay and Bradbury, ‘Youth Sport Volunteering’; Long, ‘Sport's Ambiguous Relationship’; and Walseth, ‘Bridging and Bonding’.

^35.Putnam, Bowling Alone.

^36.Nicholson and Hoye, Sport and Social Capital, 9.

^37. Ibid.

^38.Barefield and McCallister, ‘Social Support’; Bianco, ‘Social Support and Recovery’; Hardy, Richman and Rosenfeld, ‘Role of Social Support’; Junge, ‘Influence of Psychological Factors’; Malinauskas, ‘College Athletes’ Perceptions'; Petrie, ‘Moderating Effects’; Rees, Smith and Sparkes, ‘Influence of Social Support’; and Robbins and Rosenfeld, ‘Athletes’ Perceptions'.

^39.Hardy, Richman and Rosenfeld, ‘Role of Social Support’; Noblet, Rodwell and McWilliams, ‘Predictors of the Strain’; Petrie, ‘Moderating Effects’; Smith, Smoll and Barnett, ‘Reduction of Children's Sport’; Woodman and Hardy, ‘Case Study’; and Rees and Hardy, ‘Matching Social Support’.

^40.Rees and Hardy, ‘Investigation’; Rees, Ingledew and Hardy, ‘Social Support Dimensions’.

^41.Zimet et al., ‘Multidimensional Scale’; Dahlem, Zimet and Walker, ‘Multidimensional Scale’.

^42.Dillman, Mail and Internet Surveys, 3–31.

^43.Kaplowitz, Hadlock and Levine, ‘Comparison of Web and Mail’, 98.

^44.ABS, 2006 Census of Population.

^45.ABS, 2015 3235.2.55.001 – Population.

^46.ABS, 2006 Census of Population.

^47.ABS, 3201.0 – Population.

^48.ABS, 2006 Census of Population.

^49. Ibid.

^50.Groves and Couper, Non-Response in Household.

^51.Dillman, Mail and Internet Surveys.

^52.ABS, 2006 Census of Population.

^53. Ibid.

^54.ABS, 2015 3235.2.55.001 – Population.

^55.Dahlem, Zimet and Walker, ‘Multidimensional Scale’.

^56.Canty-Mitchell and Zimet, ‘Psychometric Properties’.

^57.Zimet et al., ‘Multidimensional Scale’.

^58. See, for example, Commission on the European Communities, White Paper on Sport; Commonwealth of Australia, Backing Australia's Sporting Ability; Commonwealth of Australia, Australian Sport; Sport Canada, Canadian Sport Policy; and Sport England, National Framework for Sport.

^59.Weiss, ‘Provisions of Social Relationships’.

^60.Thoits, ‘Stress’, 64.

^61.Kay and Bradbury, ‘Youth Sport Volunteering’.

^62.Granovetter, ‘Strength of Weak Ties’.