Sport and disaster relief: a content analysis

Abstract

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore disaster relief activities implemented by high-profile sport organisations and athletes. Design/methodology/approach – In total, 70 newspaper and magazine articles reporting the disaster relief efforts of sport organisations and athletes in various regions were identified and analysed through a content analysis. Findings – The authors find 11 forms of activities that sport organisations and athletes have implemented to provide social support in post-disaster situations. These forms are classified based on type of post-disaster social support: eight forms are categorised as tangible support, while the other three are categorised as emotional support. Research limitations/implications – The findings are based on the analysis of the news media that predominantly reported North American cases, and the current list of disaster relief activities may exclude some activities ignored by these specific data sources. Using the forms of disaster relief activities identified in this study as an initial framework, future studies should engage in the focused analysis of disaster response among sport organisations and athletes. Practical implications – The comprehensive list of the disaster relief activities identified by this study should aid the decision-making of sport organisations and athletes in facing disasters and enable them to better prepare for their disaster response. Originality/value – This study reveals the extensiveness and uniqueness of disaster relief activities currently implemented by sport organisations and athletes.

Sport Spectatorship and Life Satisfaction: A Multicountry Investigation

“…Overall, while SCT posits that the relationship between team identification and life satisfaction is mediated by social support, the available evidence suggests that focusing on a type of social support particularly relevant to the uniqueness of the spectator sport context, namely emotional support, is essential to determine this mediating effect (Inoue, Funk, et al, 2015;Inoue & Havard, 2015). Consequently, our second hypothesis proposes that emotional support mediates the relationship between team identification and life satisfaction.…”

“…Specifically, while Iwasaki and Mannell's original scale consisted of four items, the current study used a reduced version of the scale including the following two items: "other fans of the favorite sport team listen to my private feelings" and "I feel emotionally supported by other fans of the favorite sport team." These two items, both of which were measured on a 7-point Likert scale, were selected because they clearly and accurately capture the definition of emotional support as affective assistance involving the provision of empathy and caring from others (Inoue & Havard, 2015;Iwasaki & Mannell, 2000;Langford et al, 1997). Of the remaining two items in the original scale, one item ("for me, leisure is a means of developing friendships") was excluded because its wording, in particular the phrase "developing friendships," does not explicitly reflect the scope of emotional support as defined above.…”

“…The mixed results regarding the mediating role of social support highlight the need to consider the connection between the context of social identification and the nature of social support (Inoue, Funk, et al, 2015). Specifically, social support can be decomposed into different types based on functional differences, such as tangible support (i.e., providing money and other necessary items), informational support (i.e., giving useful advice and guidance), esteem support (i.e., helping to regain self-esteem after a failure), and emotional support (i.e., showing concern, encouragement, or acceptance; Inoue & Havard, 2015;Iwasaki & Mannell, 2000). Of these, Inoue and Havard (2015) found that the social support people receive from sport teams and their fans centers on two types: tangible support and emotional support.…”

“…Specifically, social support can be decomposed into different types based on functional differences, such as tangible support (i.e., providing money and other necessary items), informational support (i.e., giving useful advice and guidance), esteem support (i.e., helping to regain self-esteem after a failure), and emotional support (i.e., showing concern, encouragement, or acceptance; Inoue & Havard, 2015;Iwasaki & Mannell, 2000). Of these, Inoue and Havard (2015) found that the social support people receive from sport teams and their fans centers on two types: tangible support and emotional support. Moreover, a recent study of Japanese soccer fans showed team identification is positively associated with the perception of emotional support, but is unrelated to the perception of tangible support (Inoue, Funk, et al, 2015).…”

Team identification and postdisaster social well-being: The mediating role of social support.

“…This helping behavior tendency affects the perception of social support, that is, "social support is more likely to be given, received, and interpreted in the spirit in which it is intended to the extent that those who…provide and receive that support perceive themselves to share a sense of social identity" (Haslam et al, 2009, p.11). Previous research has reported that various sport teams actively engaged in disaster relief efforts when their local communities were affected by disasters (Inoue & Havard, 2014). If the propositions of SCT are applicable to this context, individuals who are more strongly identified with a hometown sport team would likely perceive the sport team as providing higher levels of social support.…”