The team identification-social psychological health model predicts that sport team identification leads to social connections which, in turn, result in well-being. This pattern of effects was tested in a sample of 380 college students completing measures of sport fandom, identification with their university's men's basketball team, sense of belonging, and meaning in life. Mediation analyses and structural equation modeling indicated that, as expected, belonging mediated the relationship between identification and meaning in life. In addition, belonging also mediated the relationship between fandom and meaning in life. Discussion includes the importance of the well-being consequences of social ties gained through sport fandom, including connections that are more casual in nature.

Previous research had found that level of team identification was positively associated with aggression at youth sporting events (Wann, Weaver, Belva, Ladd, & Armstrong, 2015).  The current investigation was designed to extend this work by incorporating fan dysfunction into the model (i.e., fans who are confrontational and frequently complain).  Spectators at either a recreational or select (i.e., travel) youth baseball game completed a survey packet assessing demographics, team identification with their favorite Major League Baseball team, identification with the youth team, fan dysfunction, and hostile and instrumental verbal aggression directed toward officials and opponents.  Results indicated that, contrary to expectations, team identification was not a unique predictor of verbal aggression.  Rather, fan dysfunction predicted each form of aggression, aggression toward both targets, and total aggression.

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