ABSTRACT
The study was conducted
to investigate the socio-cultural factors influencing sports participation
among elderly people in Esan Recreation Centre Ekpoma Edo State, the target population was 50 men and women who are
active sports participants at
Esan Recreation Centre Ekpoma Edo State. The convenience sampling technique was used to select
participants from each game until the study sample figure was attained.
Following the analysis of elicited responses the study found among others that
success in sports at a youthful age can increase the
chances of active involvement of adult or old men in sport participation;
geographical location is one factor that determines if an individual will
participate in sports or not; at old age, men are likely to engage in sporting
activity more than women; and that the motherly role of women sometimes makes
it difficult for women to participate in sporting activity. Furthermore, the
study also found out that sports and recreation are some of the best ways for
old adults to hang out among themselves. The study recommends, amongst
others that there should be active engagement with elderly
individuals to understand their attitudes, beliefs and motivations towards
sports participation, explore the availability of sports facilities, programs,
and resources in the local community, investigate how societal norms and
expectations influence elderly participation in sport, analyze how elderly
individuals are portrayed in the media about sports participation and lastly to
partner with local organizations that promote sports and physical activity
among the elderly.
Table
of Contents
Title page - - - - - - - - - i
Certification
- - - - - - - - iii
Dedication
- - - - - - - - iv
Acknowledgement
- - - - - - - v
Abstract
- - - - - - - - viii
Chapter One
Introduction
- - - - - - - - 1
Background
to the Study - - - - - - 1
Statement
of the Problem - - - - - - 6
Research
Questions - - - - - - - 9
Purpose
of the Study - - - - - - - 9
Significance
of the Study - - - - - - 10
Scope
of the Study - - - - - - - 10
Limitations
of the Study - - - - - - 10
Definition
of Terms - - - - - - - 11
Chapter Two
Literature
Review - - - - - - - 12
Concept
of Sport - - - - - - - 12
Sport
Participation - - - - - - - 17
Factors
influencing sport participation - - - - 19
Sport
participation among elderly people - - - - 21
Benefit
of sport participation for elderly people - - - 22
Summary
of Review - - - - - - - 25
Chapter Three
Introduction
- - - - - - - - 26
Research
Design - - - - - - - 26
Population
- - - - - - - - 27
Sample/sampling
Technique - - - - - - 27
Instrument
for Data Collection - - - - - 27
Validity
and Reliability of the instrument - - - - 28
Method
of data collection - - - - - - 38
Method
of Data Analysis - - - - - - 29
Chapter Four
Presentation
of Results - - - - - - 30
Discussion
of Findings - - - - - - 36
Chapter Five
Summary,
Conclusion, and Recommendation - - - 40
Summary
- - - - - - - - 40
Conclusion
- - - - - - - - 41
Recommendation
- - - - - - - 42
References
- - - - - - - - 44
Appendix
- - - - - - - - 50
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
Introduction
Sport
is a form of physical activity that can be undertaken as part of a team or
group, or undertaken individually (Fishman, 2016). It refers to organized physical activities that
require participants to adhere to a set of rules, expectations, or behaviours;
have a defined goal; and usually require regular engagement and training (Camboim, 2017). In
these ways, sport differs from exercise and physical activities (PA) more
generally in that exercise and PA does not have defined goals, rules, or,
expectations. However, most sports involve a component of PA and,
therefore, provide a means by which participants can be physically active. Many
people choose to do a combination of both sport and PA or exercise—for example,
training for an upcoming marathon by undertaking a general activity such as
running.
Although
there is sure to be debate as to the merit of these activities from a sporting
perspective, it can be argued that gym and fitness activities are fundamentally
different from sports, and participants who engage in these activities may,
therefore, have different reasons for doing so and may derive different
benefits. Khan, Thompson, Blair, Sallis, Powell, and Bull,
(2012), in a recent systematic review,
identified sports as a major contributor to the health and well-being of
individuals, groups, and entire nations.
Sports is a protective factor for non-communicable diseases such
as cardiovascular disease, stroke, diabetes, and some types of cancer, and is
associated with improved mental health, delay in the onset of dementia, and
improved quality of life and well-being (Hajkowicz, Cook,
Wilhelmseder, & Boughen, 2013). The health
benefits of PA are sufficiently evidenced in research, with higher levels and
greater frequency of PA being associated with reduced risk and improved health
in several key areas. Improvements in mental health, emotional, psychological,
and social well-being, and cognitive function are also associated, in earlier
studies, with regular PA (Baker, Fraser-Thomas, Dionigi, & Horton,
2010).
The dose of PA or exercise is described by the duration,
frequency, intensity, and mode. For optimal effects, the older person must
adhere to the prescribed exercise program and follow the overload principle of
training, i.e., to exercise near the limit of the maximum capacity to challenge
the body systems sufficiently, to induce improvements in physiological
parameters such as VO2 max and muscular strength (Dunsky
& Netz, 2012). Despite these health benefits,
PA levels amongst older adults remain below the recommended 150 minutes/week.
The crude global prevalence of physical inactivity is 21.4%. This translates to
one in every four to five adults being physically inactive, or with activity
levels lower than the current recommendations from WHO (Global Health Watch,
2022).
Physical activities and exercise play an important role in
primary, secondary, and tertiary prevention, in the management of diseases, to
counteract sarcopenia and falls as well as improving physical performance and
activities of daily living (Langhammer,
Bergland, &Rydwik, 2018). Participation in PA and exercise can
contribute to maintaining the quality of life, health, and physical function
and reducing falls among older people in general and older people with
morbidities in particular. The increased attention to the relationship between
exercise and HRQOL in older adults over the last decade is reflected in a
recent review, which showed that a moderate PA level combining multitasking
exercise components had a positive effect on activities in daily living,
highlighting the importance of physical, mental, and social demands.
There
has been a continued decline in sports participation in recent
decades, particularly among older people (World
Health Organization, [WHO] 2018). To this end,
governments have recognized the need to invest in providing opportunities for
people to engage in PA, and, by extension, sport. The concept of sport and
exercise as medicine, as well as a preventative strategy for reducing disease
risk, now forms the basis of many global public health initiatives (Livingston, 2017).
Public
health policy has maintained a focus on engaging older people in
successful ageing, with a significant emphasis on being as physically active as
possible in older age. Older adults are the most sedentary sector of the
population, and even small increases in physical activity (PA)
for those who are least active can provide significant benefits for health and
well-being (Australian Institute for Health and Welfare, 2018). Improvements in PA are associated with reduced
all-cause mortality and can help to reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease,
diabetes, bone disease, mental ill-health, and cognitive decline. Because
population health is expected to decline over the coming decades as our
population ages (United Nations Population Fund, UNFPA, 2021), being as
physically active as possible into older age will become increasingly important
for maintaining population health and well-being. Given the health benefits
gained from engaging in exercise, most health
organizations around the world have guidelines recommending engagement in
PA. This includes the World Health Organisation, which recommends that
older adults engage in 150 min of moderate-intensity PA per week or when health
conditions impact a person's ability to be physically active, to be as active
as one's abilities and health allow (World Health Organisation [WHO], 2011).
One
way that older people can maintain a healthy level of PA is by playing
physically appropriate sports (Jenkin, Eime, Westerbeek,
O’Sullivan, & van Uffelen, 2016). Sports
such as golf, croquet, bowls, and swimming are perhaps less physically
demanding and, therefore, may be better matched to the physical capacity of
many older adults. It is noteworthy that a
recent narrative literature review identified that whilst there can be
numerous psycho-social benefits for some older adults who play sports, sport is
a multi-faceted concept and as such, the sociocultural contexts of older
adults’ participation in sports need to be considered (Khan, 2015).
In
a 2017 study of the importance of factors influencing sports participation
among older men in Australia, Smith, and Storandt (2017) reported categorically
that health-related factors were significant motivators for sports
participation, as were factors related to community, friendship, competition,
and the overall experience of successful ageing. They classified the latter in
their study as socio-cultural factors.
According
to Boulton, Horne, and Todd, (2018),
socio-cultural factors are the larger-scale forces within cultures and
societies such as the traditions, patterns, and beliefs unique to a community
or any other population group that are capable of influencing the thoughts,
feelings, and behaviours of individuals and groups. More specifically they may
include age, gender, ethnicity, religion, and culture. Each of these factors is
very influential in determining human behaviour, what they can or cannot do,
what they perceive as beneficial and what they term as irrelevant, what they
are willing to invest in and what is only a pass-time event. If each of these
factors is that influential, a combination of them all, which is what
constitutes socio-cultural factors can hardly be thought to be less
influential.
Socio-cultural
factors can have a significant impact on sports performance; going a long way
to determine not just participation in sports but the form of participation
(active or passive), specific activity, and rate of involvement (commitment and
consistency) (Idland, Rydwik, Småstuen,
&Bergland, 2013). For instance, social
groupings, family, and friends can influence participation in physical
activity. Children may take up whatever sports their parents were successful
at, and members of a community may only have limited options of sporting
activities to choose from due to their geographical location and the level of
civilization obtainable there (Sjölund, Wimo,
&Engström, 2014). It becomes truly very
difficult at the end of the day, to separate sports participation, whether
among children or older adults, from the sociocultural factors that stare the
participants.
Statement of
Problem
The scholarly
arena of sports medicine is littered with studies, positional and empirical, of
the strong connection between sports, physical activity, and good health (Lopez, 2018). So established has been the link
that The World
Health Organization (WHO) states that substantial health benefits, for CVD risk
reduction, can be achieved by moderate-intensity physical activities of at
least 150 minutes a week, or vigorous-intensity PA of at least 75 minutes a
week (Langhammer,
Bergland, &Rydwik, 2018). From the reduction of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) such as
heart disease, diabetes, and specific cancers, mental health, and cognitive
function to social adjustment and psychological adjustment, the list of health
benefits associated with sports is almost inexhaustible.
However despite the established benefits of
sports (more specifically physical activities), there has been no improvement
in global levels of physical activity since 2001 and the world currently faces
what is, according to Rooney, Gilmartin, & Heron, (2023) an epidemic of physical
inactivity. Not only has there been no improvement in the global level of
sports involvement among non-athletes, but there is a downward spiral of sports
participation among all ages. This however is more of a concern for elderly
people than it is for the younger generation because as people get older they
generally become less active physically than they were at a younger age (Giné-Garriga, 2014).
Sports
participation is important for elderly people as it can have a positive impact
on their physical and mental health. According to a study published in the
European Review of Aging and Physical Activity, sports participation can help
older people maintain their independence, improve their physical and cognitive
function, and reduce the risk of chronic diseases (Baker, Fraser-Thomas,
Dionigi, & Horton, 2010).
Just
as sports participation offers a lot of potential benefits to elderly people,
the lack of it can result in undesirable health conditions as the trend of
inactivity is strongly tied to heightened susceptibility and unhindered
aggression of disease conditions, often associated with ageing (Langhammer, Bergland,
&Rydwik). The obviousness of sports benefits
for elderly people is what makes the continuous decline in level of involvement
a wonder to the academic world. Various factors have been suspected and
identified by researchers as being responsible for the decline or otherwise in
sports participation among the elderly, with socio-cultural
influences becoming very popular on the list in recent years.
The connection
between sports participation and socio-cultural variables is becoming stronger
and certain authors are now predicting the level of sports participation and
physical activeness among the elderly population on socio-cultural influences (Tricco, 2017; Roberts, 2017; Sherrington, 2018). In the
demography of this study (Edo State) however there is yet to be an empirical
study (to the best of the researchers' knowledge) justifying the predictability
of sports participation on socio-cultural determinants and especially what
socio-cultural factors are predominant in predicting participation.
It
is in light of this recent trend in sports medicine research and the absence of
empirical studies validating the situation in Edo State that this study seeks
to examine the Socio-Cultural Factors Influencing
Sports Participation among Elderly People in Ekpoma Edo State, using Esan
Recreation Centre Ekpoma as a case study.
Research
Questions
1. What
are the socio-cultural factors influencing sports participation among elderly
people in Ekpoma Edo state?
2. Does
gender Influence sports participation among elderly People in Ekpoma?
3. Does
peer loyalty influence sports participation among elderly people in Ekpoma Edo
state?
4. Does
religious affiliation influence sports participation among elderly people in
Ekpoma Edo state?
Purpose of the
Study
The purpose of
this study is to investigate the socio-cultural factors influencing sports
participation among elderly people using Esan Recreation Centre Ekpoma Edo
State. Specifically, the study aims to:
· The
Influence of gender on sports participation among elderly People
· Examine
the influence of peer loyalty on sports participation among elderly people
· Influence
of religion on sports participation among elderly people
Significance
of the Study
The findings of this study will be
beneficial to coaches, health practitioners, and exercise instructors as it
will reveal the factors that are likely to influence sports participation among
elderly people and arm them with the necessary knowledge on how to manipulate
these factors to ensure maximum participation in involvement among them.
Finally, this work will serve as a foundation for further studies in the area
of sports performance not just in secondary schools but also in primary and
tertiary institutions.
Scope/Delimitation
of the Study
This research
work is limited to Ekpoma Edo State. The study limits itself to the
investigation of the socio-cultural factors influencing sports participation
among elderly people. Although the demography of this study is Edo State and
the participants are largely indigenes of the state, the findings of the study
may not be generalizable to the whole state due to the variety of ethnic groups
and the consequent differences in cultural practices among the various ethnic groups
that make up the state.
Limitation of
the Study
The researcher
expects to encounter certain problems/challenges in the course of the study
such as failure of respondents to return all administered questionnaires, and
irregular completion of questionnaires. In other to curb these issues the
researcher will wait to help with clarification in areas of the questionnaire
where respondents may need clarification, and retrieve the questionnaire from
them immediately after completion.
Operational
Definition of Terms
Physical Activity is defined as any bodily movement produced by skeletal muscles, that results in energy expenditure. PA encompasses exercise, sports, and
physical activities performed as part of daily living, occupation, leisure, or
active transportation.
Exercise is a
subcategory of PA that is planned, structured, and repetitive, and that has as a
final or intermediate objective for improvement or maintenance of physical
fitness.
Physical function is
the capacity of an individual to perform the physical activities of daily
living. Physical function reflects motor function and control, physical
fitness, and habitual PA.
Sports: Any athletic activity
that uses physical skills is often competitive.
Sports participation: Sports
participation is the act of being actively involved in organized or competitive
sports for skill acquisition and fitness.
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