Is Passive Sport Engagement Positively Associated with Happiness?

Abstract

Background Previous empirical evidence has shown the positive relationship between happiness or subjective well‐being (SWB) and sport participation. Nevertheless, passive sport participation has traditionally been ignored as a correlate with happiness. Methods Based on a sample of 1,632 Spanish people, one ordered probit model and three extended ordered probit models with an ordinal endogenous covariate technique and robust standard errors were applied. Results We find that different forms of passive sport participation—such as frequency of attending sporting events and a set of other forms of passive sports participation such as watching sports on TV, listening to sports programmes, reading sports news, and talking to others about sports—are positively associated with happiness. Conclusions The results indicate that passive sport participation generally appears to have a closer relationship with individual happiness than active sport participation and emphasise the role played by some forms of sport participation as a source of relational goods. This current research extends the field’s understanding of sport participation and happiness, including passive participation, and the relevance of social interactions to account for this association. Finally, the relational aspect of different forms of sport participation offers new implications for the analysis of sport engagement and happiness.

Sport engagement model in Malaysia: Effect of cost and volunteerism

“…Passive sport involvement has a stronger association with individual happiness than active sport participation, according to LeraLópez et al [ 51 ], underlining the significance of specific forms of sport engagement as a source of relational benefits. The current study broadens the field's understanding of athletic participation and pleasure, emphasizing the relevance of passive involvement and social connections in explaining this association.…”

Regular Leisure-Time Physical Activity Is Positively Associated With Happiness Occurrence Among Young Adults In Taiwan

“…These methods usually consist of a single-item (i.e., "All things considered, in general, how happy would you say you are?") to measure happiness in the LTPA domain [23][24][25][26][27][28]. This item has been validated [29,30] and tested for its temporal stability (test-retest reliability; r = 0.86; [31]).…”

Attending live sporting events predicts subjective wellbeing and reduces loneliness

“…That is, previous literature suggests direct sports participation, known as active sports engagement, is linked to reduced mental distress and better mental health [e.g., ( 10 )]. However, there is growing literature on passive sports engagement (e.g., attendance at live sporting events, LSEs; watching sports on TV), which has been associated with greater happiness than active sports engagement ( 13 ). Research has shown that sports spectatorship is associated with increased SWB across all ages at racket sports events ( 14 ), associated with both short-term and long-term SWB in college students ( 15 ), and associated with life satisfaction ( 16 ) and happiness ( 13 ).…”

“…Whilst the above literature suggests LSE attendance offers potential improvement of SWB, it suffers from several gaps. Firstly, the existing research lacks generalizability by focusing narrowly on: (a) specific sports [e.g., baseball; ( 31 ); racket sports; ( 14 )], (b) single dimensions of SWB [e.g., life satisfaction; ( 16 ); happiness; ( 13 , 32 )], and (c) subgroups in the population [e.g., college students; ( 15 ); older adults; ( 20 )]. Secondly, this literature predominantly explores the relationship between LSE attendance and SWB, and, to the authors' best knowledge, there is little research on the association between LSE attendance and loneliness .…”