Abstract
The Sport Commitment Model (SCM; Scanlan et al., 2003) is a framework for understanding the determinants of sport commitment. As no research has applied SCM to older recreational athletes, we studied its predictors among Ontario Senior Games participants, generally, and as a function of gender and age. We surveyed 132 participants (82 m, 50 f; M age = 64.3) from 23 sports. Separate multiple regressions showed that enjoyment (? = .39) and personal investments (.27) predicted functional commitment (FC; R2 = .39), whereas social constraints (? = .45), personal investments (.36), and involvement alternatives (.20) predicted obligatory commitment (OC; R2 = .40). While males had higher involvement alternatives levels, females had higher personal investment levels. A series of regression analyses to examine gender effects showed that enjoyment predicted FC for both, yet personal investments (.32) only explained females' FC. Personal investments predicted OC for both, whereas social constraints (.41) and involvement alternatives (.53) only predicted male and female OC levels, respectively. Regarding age, there were no mean differences for predictors between young (55-64 yr; n = 59) and old (65-78; n = 51) cohorts. Regression analyses showed that personal investments and enjoyment predicted the young group's FC, yet only enjoyment (.57) predicted the old's FC. Personal investments and social constraints explained OC levels for both, but involvement alternatives (.34) predicted only for the young group. We discuss how findings compare with SCM results for younger athletes, and why certain predictors may apply uniquely to older recreational sportspersons.Acknowledgments: SSHRC-Sport Canada Strategic Initiative Grant