This study examines the relationship between physical activity in sport and feelings of well-being, testing alternative interpretations of the relationship between these two variables. It was expected that there would be positive relationships between physical activity on the one hand and physical fitness, feelings of well-being, social interaction in the sport and exercise environment, and socioeconomic status on the other hand. It was also expected that physical fitness, social interaction, and socioeconomic status would be positively related to psychological well-being. Further, it was expected that any positive zero-order relationship of physical activity and well-being would be at least in part a result of the conjoint effects of the other variables. The analyses were conducted separately for the male and female subsamples of a large survey study of Canadian adults. The results, after controls, show a modest positive relationship of physical activity and well-being for males but no such relationship for females. The predicted independent effects of the control factors obtained for both males and females. Interpretations of the results are discussed.
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Physical Activity and Psychological Well-Being: Testing Alternative Sociological Interpretations
William McTeer and James E. Curtis
Mental Well-Being and Sport-Related Identities in College Students
Kathleen E. Miller and Joseph H. Hoffman
Past research has linked physical activity and sports participation with improved mental and social well-being, including reduced risk of depression and suicidality. In this study we examined relationships among several dimensions of athletic involvement (team sport participation, individual sport participation, athlete identity, and jock identity), gender, and depression and suicidal behavior in a sample of 791 undergraduate students. Both participation in a team sport and athlete identity were associated with lower depression scores. Athlete identity was also associated with lower odds of a past-year suicide attempt, whereas jock identity was associated with elevated odds of a suicide attempt. The findings are discussed in light of the relationship between mental well-being and a larger constellation of health-risk behaviors linked to a “toxic jock” identity.
The Effect of Career-Ending Injuries on the Subsequent Well-Being of Elite College Athletes
Douglas A. Kleiber and Stephen C. Brock
In a previous investigation of the factors that make for a satisfying “exit” from organized sport (Kleiber, Greendorfer, Blinde, & Samdahl, 1987), it was determined that the only predictor of life satisfaction in the years following departure from formal participation was whether one had sustained a career-ending injury. By examining degree of investment in playing professional sports and the academic orientation of that earlier sample, it was possible in the current study to refine the profile of those vulnerable to subsequent depression of well-being (as reflected in lower life satisfaction and self-esteem). Of athletes who had been injured, only those who had an investment in playing professional sport were likely to show lower selfesteem and life satisfaction 5 to 10 years later. The disruption to a “life narrative” that is suggested by these findings argues for a more interpretive approach to research on and treatment of injury and illness among athletes and others.
“Getting Back on the Bike”: Risk, Injury, and Sport-Related Concussion in Competitive Road Cycling
Jack Hardwicke, Howard Thomas Hurst, and Christopher R. Matthews
of developing neurogenerative diseases ( Nowinski et al., 2022 ). Likely due to the potential for deleterious long-term health consequences of SRC, alongside the immediate impact the injury can have on an athlete’s well-being, the injury has garnered cultural attention unmatched by other sporting
From Public Issue to Personal Trouble: Well-Being and the Fiscal Crisis of the State
Alan G. Ingham
What follows here is an essay—a rather one-sided viewpoint that is both tentative and, within the limits of a journal article, incomplete. I attempt to understand how our recent preoccupation with our bodies is being mobilized as one solution to the fiscal crisis of the welfare state. The deep-rooted assumptions of voluntarism that characterize liberal ideology, I claim, are surfacing again in the debate over lifestyle. And lifestyle, it appears, has become an ideological construction which diverts attention from the structural impediments to well-being by framing health issues in terms of personal, moral responsibilities—a “pull yourself up by the bootstraps” alternative to state intervention in health care. Some implications of the lifestyle ideology for physical educationists are presented.
From Exploitative Systems to Exploitative Relationships: A Black Feminist Intervention to Scholarship on Exploitation in College Athletics
Ezinne D. Ofoegbu
relationships and environments in which individual’s academic, personal, and professional well-being are prioritized. Black Women Athletes and Professionals in U.S. College Athletics Before the 1970s, Black women faced limited opportunities to play sports at the intercollegiate level due to ongoing segregation
Pride Body: Racialized Gay and Queer Men’s Physique Preparation for Canadian Pride Events
Daniel Uy
15 years. I have observed how working out and strength training have changed my health and well-being and the health of members of my classes. The importance of focusing on racialized queer and gay bodies becomes paramount as Pride may intensify particular bodily codes, aesthetics, and ideas about
Fitness Philanthropy: Exploring a Movement at the Nexus of Leisure, Charity, and Events
Catherine Palmer, Kevin Filo, and Nicholas Hookway
responsibility for health and well-being. Fitness Philanthropy: An Overview Fitness philanthropy describes a movement that mobilizes charity endeavors through mass participation sporting events. Sport Aid—a global fundraising event for famine relief, inspired by the 1985 Live Aid music event at Wembley Stadium
Developmental Effects of Athletic Participation among High School Girls
Merrill J. Melnick, Beth E. Vanfossen, and Donald F. Sabo
This study examined the impact of athletic participation on the academic, social, and social–psychological development of high school girls. A panel design and multistage sampling were used to assess the effect of athletic participation on perceived popularity, sex-role attitudes, psychological well-being, sociability, delinquency, academic achievement, educational aspiration, and extracurricular involvement. Data were obtained from transcript records and survey questionnaires administered during the subjects’ sophomore (1980) and senior (1982) years. Multiple regression analysis revealed that athletic participation was strongly related to extracurricular involvement, modestly related to perceived popularity, but only slightly related to delinquency and educational aspiration. Athletic participation was not related to psychological well-being or sex-role attitudes.
‘Life in the Travelling Circus’: A Study of Loneliness, Work Stress, and Money Issues in Touring Professional Golf
John Fry and Daniel Bloyce
This article examines the effects of globalization on the well-being of migrant professional athletes. Interviews with 20 touring professional golfers reveal that players experience many of the personal problems—such as loneliness, isolation, low decision latitude, low social support, and effort-reward imbalance—which have been identified as “strong predictors of mental ill-health” (Leka & Jain, 2010, p. 65). Feelings of loneliness and isolation developed as players were regularly apart from family and friends, and spent most of their time with other golfers whom they had somewhat superficial relationships with. These feelings coupled with, for many, uncertain income generated through golf added further to their work-related anxieties. Overall, results highlight the importance of considering how workplace anxieties and vulnerabilities impact on athlete migrants’ health and well-being.
