HAVITZ, M.
University of Waterloo
SRG 2009
Français
This research will employ a retrospective approach to sport and recreation participation over extended periods of time. It will examine processes by which, and conditions in which, competitive young adult runners develop and maintain (or not) ego involvement with activity and commitment to ancillary programs, services and products. These processes and conditions, though important to a broader understanding of adherence to physical activity participation, are rarely explored longitudinally. Extant research on these topics is predominantly cross-sectional and most has explored antecedents of ego involvement and commitment with little attention to maintenance and ebb and flow of participation over adult life spans. Approximately 300 people, all elite to relatively elite runners in their early 20s, but who currently range in age from 21 to 90, will access a photo elicitation-based survey (on-line or hard copy). It explores via short answer questions, issues related how and when they first defined themselves as runners, social group contexts related to team affiliations, highs and lows associated with running, attachment to training and competitive settings (e.g., routes, courses and races), and attachment to brands (e.g., shoes and gear). Close-ended standardized scales measure ego involvement, hedonic, and eudaimonic well-being at the activity level over each decade of their lives, as well as general health and well-being in their early 20s and at present. A modified questionnaire will be sent to a similarly sized snowball sample of less elite runners, identified by participants in the first group. Follow-up interviews will be conducted with select individuals from both groups. Better understanding of loyalty may facilitate social and political goals by enhancing citizens’ quality of life, developing community, and increasing participation rates. It may also assist recreation and sport organizations increase revenues and generate positive reputations. High levels of involvement and loyalty may bring personal benefits in the form of improved skills, health, quality of life, and social benefits such as satisfying social relationships and more defined social identities. The research is also designed to understand why some people are not loyal and may provide structures and opportunities for eliminating or reducing constraints that negatively impact development of loyalty. Finally, it will assess negative consequences of leisure and sport loyalty including deteriorating family relationships and friendship networks, dysfunctional social worlds; and negative health outcomes including body image issues and injury.
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