An Exploratory Study Of The Sense Of Sport Community

Sense of community is the core research theme in the field of community psychology,which domestic and foreign scholar have carried out a lot of research about.It is a sense of belonging for individuals to the community and the feelings between members,which exerts an important influence on the well-being and community participation behaviors of individuals.In the 1990 s,researchers suggested that the connotation of sense of community will change in different community environments.At present,some new concepts have been proposed,such as virtual community and school community.The sense of sport community which means individual’s sense of belonging to the sport community,has attracted the attention of Western sports management experts and community psychologists.Still,researchers argue about its definition.Moreover,there exists no discussion on sense of sport community(SSC)in China up to now.This paper carried out four series of researches from the perspective of community psychology,aiming to explore the psychological structure of SSC and its influencing factors under the background of Chinese culture,and to verify its impact on individual physical and mental health.In the first study,the concept and measurement of SSC were discussed by open interview and questionnaire survey.The research hypothesized that SSC is a multi-dimensional structure.The study consists of two sub-studies.Study 1(N=19)used the open interview method and Nvivo software to understand the characteristics of SSC,and constructed the theoretical dimensions of SSC.The result found that the theoretical structure of SSC included three dimensions which are self-worth realization,emotional connection and collective belonging.This result indicates that SSC is a perception and recognition of one’s own value,a sense of belonging to the sport community,and a positive experience of establishing emotional connections with other members.Based on Study 1,study 2(N1=318,N2=329)used questionnaire survey to explore the structural characteristics of Chinese residents’ SSC and develop corresponding measurement.The results found:(1)SSC was a three-dimensional structure consistent with the theoretical dimensions;(2)SSC questionnaire for urban residents had good reliability and validity,and was significantly positively correlated with the overall happiness index and negatively with loneliness.The results indicate that the three-dimensional structure of SSC is stable and credible,and the SSC questionnaire can be used as an effective tool for evaluating the level of SSC of urban residents.The second study used questionnaire survey method to investigate the current situation of Chinese urban residents’ SSC,and discuss its probable influencing factors.The study consists of two sub-studies.Study 3(N=637)further explored the current situation and level of Chinese urban residents’ SSC through education level,economic income,and participation in sport communities.The results found that:(1)As a whole,the level of SSC of urban residents was high and showed a positive trend.Some residents still lacked SSC;(2)The level of individual SSC differed significantly in age,education level,income level,daily activity time,time to join the team and sport community scale.The result of multiple regression analysis revealed that age,income level and sport community scale are effective predictors of SSC.Study 4(N=329)explored the relationship between personality traits and SSC.The results found that the level of SSC related positively to the personality traits of extroversion,agreeableness,conscientiousness,openness and negatively to neuroticism significantly.The result of multiple regression analysis showed that the four personality traits except neuroticism can positively predict the level of residents’ SSC significantly.The results indicate that the level of urban residents’ SSC is generally good and it is affected by demographic variables and personality traits.In the third research,questionnaire survey method(N=329)was used to explore the relationship between SSC and the level of individual’s physical and mental health.The results showed that:(1)Residents’ SSC has a positive relationship with healthy life quality and overall happiness index significantly;(2)Residents in high-score group of SSC had significantly higher scores on healthy life quality and overall happiness index than those in low group-score.Residents participating sport communities also had significantly higher scores of healthy life quality and overall happiness index than the non-participating group;(3)Interpersonal trust played a mediating role between SSC and overall happiness index.The results indicate that SSC has a positive effect on physical and mental health of individuals and interpersonal trust plays a partial mediating role.The last research used questionnaire survey method(N=137)to carry out a longitudinal follow-up study with an interval of 3 months to explore the causal relationship between SSC and the level of individual’s physical and mental health.The results found that there was no significant cross-lag effect between SSC and the level of individual’s physical and mental health.Only an one-way predictive effect existed,that is,SSC can significantly predict the level of individual’s physical and mental health.The results indicate that SSC can positively affect the level of individual’s physical and mental health,but opposite is not true.Through four series of studies,this study explored and clarified the three-factor structure of SSC and the Sense of Sports Community Questionnaire(SSCQ)has good reliability and validity.The current survey results show that the overall level of urban residents’ SSC is relatively good,which will be influenced by some demographic variables and personality traits.Combining the cross-sectional and longitudinal tracking research results,it can be considered that SSC has a significant predictive effect on the physical and mental health of individuals.The innovations of this research are as follows:(1)This study is the first one to explore the group psychological characteristics of “square dancing aunts” from the perspective of community psychology,put forward a dimensional structure model of Chinese SSC and compile the Sense of Sports Community Questionnaire(SSCQ);(2)In terms of method,this study combines qualitative and quantitative research to investigate urban residents’ sense of sports community;(3)The method of cross-sectional and longitudinal tracking design was adopted in this study to verify that SSC can effectively promote individual physical and mental health.The significance of the research lies in:(1)In theory,based on Western research,this research explores SSC in the context of Chinese culture,constructs a theoretical model and compiles SSCQ.The questionnaire adds a localization measurement for domestic SOC which enriches Chinese community psychology research and is helpful to carry out empirical research in related fields.(2)In application,measuring SSC has a certain reference value for organizing and carrying out other forms of community sports(such as Tai Chi,chorus,etc.).It also helps community organizations to strengthen the management and leadership of mass sports organizations.