Negotiations of the ageing process: older adults' stories of sports participation

Psychosocial wellbeing in active older adults: A systematic review of qualitative literature

“…There was one case study with a single participant (Roper, Molnar, & Wrisberg, 2003); nine studies had more than one but fewer than 50 participants (Dionigi, 2006b;Dionigi, Horton, & Baker, 2013a, 2013bDionigi, Horton, & Bellamy, 2011;Grant, 2001; Leavy & Aberg, 2010;Stathi, Fox, & McKenna, 2002;Whaley & Ebbeck, 2002;Wing, 2008); and three studies had over 100 participants (Dionigi, 2002a(Dionigi, , 2002bDionigi & O'Flynn, 2007).…”

“…In addition, studies reported that participants saw themselves as resisting negative stereotypes of ageing (Dionigi, 2002a(Dionigi, , 2002bDionigi, 2006b;Grant, 2001;Roper, Molnar, & Wrisberg, 2003) with some feeling motivated to compete as a demonstration of their resistance (Dionigi, 2002b). Further to this, some studies found that rather than redefining 'ageing' in positive terms some older athletes reproduced negative stereotypes and were proud to differentiate themselves from other older adults (Dionigi, 2002a(Dionigi, , 2002bDionigi, 2006b case study preferred to distance himself from older adults and associate with younger athletes believing that standards should prevent 'any old person' from competing, however as this represents the opinion of one participant it cannot be generalised across all studies.Most studies found that a sense of self was inherently related to competitive sport (Dionigi, 2002a(Dionigi, , 2002bDionigi, 2006b;Dionigi, Horton, & Baker, 2013a, 2013bDionigi & O'Flynn, 2007). Not only did participants confirm their identity as an athlete, but many also saw themselves as competitors, suggesting that identity was related not simply to engagement in sport but to performance as well.…”

“…Fear of loss refers to older athletes concern that a loss in the ability to be active will lead to a loss of independence, sense of control and sense of self. Across these studies the main concern was that decline in physical ability would lead to dependency which was viewed as an unacceptable and undesirable outcome (Dionigi, 2002a(Dionigi, , 2002bDionigi, 2006b;Dionigi, Horton, & Baker, 2013a, 2013bDionigi & O'Flynn, 2007;Grant, 2001). Participants in some studies also expressed fear in giving up sport as they believed they would become 'old quickly' and have nothing else to do (Dionigi, 2002b;Grant, 2001).…”

“…This reproduction of stereotypes is supported by Roters et al (2010) who found in a comparison between young athletic students and nonathletic students, that involvement in sport does not prevent a person from developing stereotypical perspectives on ageing. Breaking down stereotypes even in an environment where individuals may challenge those stereotypes is a difficult and complex process; the use of differentiation by labelling others according to stereotypical discourses has the potential to perpetuate ageism and isolate those who cannot or will not maintain engagement in a physically active lifestyle (Dionigi, Horton, & Baker, 2013b;Dionigi, Horton, & Bellamy, 2011;Dionigi & O'Flynn, 2007).Interestingly, one exercise study grouped participants according to activity levels (Dionigi, Horton, & Bellamy, 2011). This study found differences in approaches to ageing across varying exercise levels with the highly active group more closely resembling results in the competitive sport studies.…”

“…Consideration was also given to gender differences in study design. Dionigi, Horton, and Bellamy's (2011) sample was exclusively female, whilst Whaley and Ebbeck (2002) also had a higher female sample; however in reviewing previous research there was no indication that results of psychosocial factors varied significantly according to gender.The second group contained eight studies exploring participants' experiences within the context of competitive sport (Dionigi, 2002a(Dionigi, , 2002bDionigi, 2006b;Dionigi, Horton, & Baker, 2013a, 2013bDionigi & O'Flynn, 2007;Grant, 2001;Roper, Molnar, & Wrisberg, 2003). With the exception of the single case study of a competitive runner (Roper, Molnar, & Wrisberg, 2003), samples in all other studies were heterogeneous in terms of sport representation (Dionigi, 2002a(Dionigi, , 2002bDionigi, 2006b;Dionigi, Horton, & Baker, 2013a, 2013bDionigi & O'Flynn, 2007;Grant, 2001); participants competed in swimming, squash, track and field, orienteering, weightlifting, tennis, badminton, cycling, triathlon, croquet, bowls, athletics, golf, running, indoor rowing, netball, baseball, ice hockey, archery, canoeing, soccer, softball, field hockey, basketball, touch football, sport aerobics and race walking.…”