Exploring the sport commitment of regional-level masters athletes as a function of gender and age

Abstract

The Sport Commitment Model (SCM; Scanlan et al., 2003) examines motivations behind continued sport participation. Using a modified SCM (Wilson et al., 2004), we surveyed 193 regional/provincial level Ontario adults from mixed sport types (99 m, 94 f; M age = 51.5). Two separate multiple regressions showed that enjoyment (? = .45) and personal investments (.31) predicted functional commitment (FC; R2 = .55), whereas social constraints (? = .34) and personal investments (.32) predicted obligatory commitment (OC; R2 = .22), ps< .001. Regarding gender, females reported higher enjoyment and FC levels, ps < .006. A series of regression analyses to examine gender effects revealed no differences for predictors of FC, with enjoyment (? m = .51; f = .26) and personal investments (m = .35; f = .54) significant. Personal investments (m = .39; f = .26) and social constraints (m = .26; f = .46) predicted OC for both, whereas enjoyment (-.22) and involvement alternatives (-.25) uniquely predicted female and male levels, respectively, ps < .04. Exploration of differences across young (35-44), middle (45-54) and older (55+ yr) age groups showed no significant mean differences for predictors, FC or OC. Regression analyses showed similar results for FC across all groups, with enjoyment and personal investments significant predictors, ps < .05. The OC model did not fit the 55+ group (p = .15). Social constraints (? y= .54; mid = .26), personal investments (y= .34; mid = .44), and enjoyment (y = -.34; mid = -.31) each predicted OC for the two younger groups, whereas social support (-.29) and involvement opportunities (.28) were predictors only for 35–44 yr-olds, ps <.05.

Acknowledgments: Supported by a SSHRC-Sport Canada Strategic Initiative Grant