Associations of sport participation with subjective well-being: a study consisting of a sample of Chinese school-attending students

Tianzhuo Liu; Dong Li; Hongying Yang; Xinli Chi; Jin Yan

doi:10.3389/fpubh.2023.1199782

Associations of sport participation with subjective well-being: a study consisting of a sample of Chinese school-attending students

Front Public Health. 2023 Jun 23:11:1199782. doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2023.1199782. eCollection 2023.

Authors

Tianzhuo Liu¹, Dong Li², Hongying Yang³, Xinli Chi⁴, Jin Yan^{5

6}

Affiliations

¹ School of Physical Education, Northeast Normal University, Changchun, Ji Lin, China.
² Department of International Culture Education, Chodang University, Muan, Republic of Korea.
³ Library of Beijing Sport University, Beijing, China.
⁴ School of Psychology, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, China.
⁵ Centre for Active Living and Learning, University of Newcastle, Callaghan, NSW, Australia.
⁶ College of Human and Social Futures, University of Newcastle, Callaghan, NSW, Australia.

Abstract

Purpose: Past studies have illustrated that the impact of sports participation on school-attending students' well-being plays a significant role in the life course of adolescence, which is a golden period for developing sound psychological qualities. However, the relationship between sports participation and subjective well-being is not clear, particularly in Chinese primary and middle schools. Therefore, the current study was aimed to explore the relationship between sports participation and subjective well-being in elementary and middle schools in China.

Method: All involved children and adolescents were asked to conduct a self-report of their sociodemographic factors (e.g., sex, grade, and age), independence, and outcomes. The survey involved a two-stage sampling design (district school). Besides, in order to examine the relationship between participation in sports and subjective well-being, a self-report questionnaire was used. Logistic regression with 95% confidence interval and odds ratios (ORs), was conducted to investigate the relationship between sports participation and subjective well-being.

Results: A total of 67,281 participants in total provided complete data for the final analysis of the current study. The percentage of boys and girls was 51.9% and 48.1%, namely. The current study found that compared with children who never participate in sports, those children who participated sports in 1-3 times a month, 1-2 times a week, and 3 times a week and above were more likely to enjoy better well-being. Compared with children who never participate in sports, those children who in every grade participated sports in 1-3 times a month, 1-2 times a week, and 3 times a week and above were more likely to achieve better well-being.

Conclusion: Our current study offered the positive effect of sports participation on children and adolescents' subjective well-being. For schools and governments, further studies are needed to focus on sports participation and positive feedback on adolescents' mental health, and the three parties' endeavors should be intervened.

Keywords: China; adolescents; school-aged children; sport participation; well-being.

Publication types

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

MeSH terms

Adolescent
Child
East Asian People*
Female
Humans
Male
Schools
Sports*
Students / psychology
Surveys and Questionnaires