Abstract
The Sport Commitment Model (SCM; Scanlan et al., 2003) is a framework for understanding the determinants of commitment to sport participation. Using a modified version of the SCM (Wilson et al., 2004), a longitudinal survey of 190 international-level Masters swimmers (91 m, 99 f;M age = 51.9 yrs; range = 26–80) was conducted on two occasions, one year apart. In Analysis 1, groups were designated based on change scores for determinant constructs over the year. A series of repeated measures ANOVAs revealed significant interactive effects between determinant groups and time for functional commitment (FC), but not for obligatory commitment (OC). Post-hoc paired sample t-tests showed that groups increasing in enjoyment and satisfaction, personal investment, and involvement opportunities had increased FC, while groups decreasing in enjoyment and satisfaction had decreased FC (all ps < .01). In Analysis 2, simultaneous multiple regression analyses indicated that changes in FC (R2 = .34, p < .001) were significantly predicted by changes in enjoyment and satisfaction (? = .46) and personal investment (.22), while changes in OC (R2 = .18, p < .001) were significantly predicted by personal investment (.26) and involvement alternatives (.17) and inversely predicted by social support (-.27) (all ps < .05). Results provide support for the efficacy of the SCM in contributing to an understanding of the dynamic nature of sport commitment.Acknowledgments: This research was supported by a SSHRC-Sport Canada Strategic Initiative Grant.