Sports participation in sport clubs, gyms or public spaces: How users of different sports settings differ in their motivations, goals, and sports frequency

Ineke Deelen; Dick Ettema; Carlijn B M Kamphuis

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0205198

Sports participation in sport clubs, gyms or public spaces: How users of different sports settings differ in their motivations, goals, and sports frequency

PLoS One. 2018 Oct 8;13(10):e0205198. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0205198. eCollection 2018.

Authors

Ineke Deelen¹, Dick Ettema¹, Carlijn B M Kamphuis^{1

2}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Human Geography and Spatial Planning, Faculty of Geosciences, Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands.
² Department of Interdisciplinary Social Science, Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences, Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands.

Abstract

Background: To develop targeted policy strategies to increase sports participation, more insight is needed into the behavioural patterns and preferences of users of different club-organized (i.e., sports clubs) and non-club organized (i.e., gyms, health centres or swimming pools) or informal sports settings such as public spaces. This study investigates 1) how users of different settings differ regarding self-determined motivations and goals, and sociodemographic and sports-related characteristics, and 2) how the association of motivations and goals with sports participation may differ between users of different sports settings.

Methods: Data were collected through online surveys among Dutch adults aged 18-80 years (N = 910). Ordinal regression analyses were used to investigate the effects of sports settings, the level of self-determined motivations and goals, and interaction effects of motivations and goals with different sports settings, on sports frequency.

Results: Users of different sports settings differed in their personal characteristics, motivations and goals. In general, controlled motivations were negatively associated with sports frequency (B = -0.46). However, among club members, extrinsic goals related to image (B = 0.44), as well as intrinsic goals related to skill development (B = 0.40) and social affiliation (B = 0.47) had significant positive associations with sports frequency. Health-related goals significantly increased sports frequency among users of informal settings, such as public spaces.

Conclusion: The association of motivational variables with sports participation differs between settings. This implies that sports frequency is higher when participants engage in settings that better fit their motivations and goals. Because of the growing importance of informal and flexible settings and health goals, professionals in the sports and health domains should take into account the motivations, goals and needs of different target groups who (want to) use unorganized, informal sports settings including public spaces.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Adult
Aged
Consumer Organizations / statistics & numerical data*
Female
Goals*
Humans
Interpersonal Relations
Male
Middle Aged
Motivation*
Netherlands
Socioeconomic Factors
Sports / psychology*
Sports / statistics & numerical data
Surveys and Questionnaires / statistics & numerical data
Young Adult

Grants and funding

This work was funded by The Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research (grant number: 328-98-008) (ID). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.