Elderly on the move Sport participation from a social integration - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Elderly on the move Sport participation from a social integration perspective Hanne Vandermeerschen Department of Human Kinesiology Jeroen Scheerder University of Leuven, Belgium

Sports policy and elderly people • Elderly people increasingly considered as a target group for sports policy • Often: health perspective • Other perspective: what about social integration and involvement in society? Can we assume sports participation is playing a role?

Societal context / policy context • Ageing of society • As a result: changed perception of elderly people • „Active ageing ‟, focus on autonomy, participation “Active ageing is the process of optimising opportunities for health, participation and security in order to enhance quality of life as people age ” (WHO, 2002) • From „deficit‟ to „ competence ‟ model (Jacobs, 2004) • Activity theory (Freysinger & Nevius, 1992; Katz, 2000)  Sports policy fits in this perspective

Societal context / policy context • Changing social relations: (Beck, 1992) – Increased mobility – Destandardisation of family composition – Changed priorities, family  individual biography • Risk of increased vulnerability • Role for society in safeguarding the well-being and integration of elderly people  Sports participation as a way of increasing social integration and participation in society?

Data  Data collected in Flanders (Belgium)  Peer-to-peer interviews conducted with Flemish elderly people, aged 55 to 87  N=939  Representative with respect to age, gender and socio-geographical status

Data  Department of Human Kinesiology, university of Leuven, on behalf of largest socio-cultural association for elderly people (OKRA), and the Flemish Government  Scheerder, J., Boen, F., Vos, S., Pelssers, J., Thibaut, E.; Vandermeerschen, H. (2011 ).Ouderen (in)actie(f)? Sociaalwetenschappelijk onderzoek naar sportdeelname en sportbehoeften van 55-plussers in Vlaanderen [Elderly (in)active/in action? Social-scientific research on sports participation and sporting needs of people aged 55 or elder in Flanders]. Ghent: Academia Press.

Operationalisation  Operationalisation of sport participation  broad definition (incl. walking, cycling, pétanque ,…)  No restrictions imposed in terms of level, intensity ,…  Leisure time  Activities for utility purposes not taken into account  „ Elderly ‟: 55 years and older  Only „direct‟ effect will be considered

Frequency of sports participation among elderly people 60 54,6 52,6 48,6 50 40,1 40 30 24,5 20 10 0 Min. once a year Min. once a Min.once a week Min. twice a week Min. three times month a week Percentage of the total population of elderly people

Social stratification of sports participation? Determinant At least once a week Exp(B) Female 0,797 Age 0,951*** Living situation Living alone 0,855 Living with others 0,227** Living with partner (ref.) Degree of urbanization City centre 1,127 Other centre 1,194 Not in the centre (ref.) - Retired 0,955 Equivalised income 1,000* Self-reported health Weak or very weak 0,085*** Medium 0,167*** Good 0,394*** Very good (ref.) - Feeling addressed/involved with what happens in the neighbourhood Not involved 0,995 In between 1,603* Involved 1,763** Very much involved (ref.) - Constant 3,1**

Sports participation among elderly people • Frequent participation • Large group in percentage of the population • Socially stratified to a certain extent, by age, income, and health (amongst others)  Sports participation as a rather widespread activity, but is it also a social activity , for those who participate?

Popularity of sports Sport Practiced by… % of the population active in sports 1. Cycling 73,6 2. Walking 68,7 3. Petanque 17,0 4. Swimming 12,2 5. Dancing 11,0 Source: Scheerder et al. (2011: 174)

Practicing sports with other people? Is sport a reason/an occasion for meeting with other people? Mentioned by … % of the population With whom? active in sport Partner 44,4 Friends and/or acquaintances 42,7 Socio-cultural organisation 41,8 Alone 28,7 Other 13,1 Children/children-in-law 7,9 Other family-members 6,4 Neighbours 5,6 Grand-children 5,5 Brother/sister 3,9

Practicing sports with other people? Is sport a reason/an occasion for meeting with other people? Mentioned by … % of the With whom? population active in sport Other (friends, neighbours, acquaintances) 75,9 Partner 44,4 Alone 28,6 Family 16,8 Practices sport with family or other people (apart from partner/alone) 79,2

Where to practice sports? Is sport participation a reason for leaving the house or taking part in public life? Practiced by…of the population active in Location sports Street 55,5 Forest 35,7 Park 21,6 Sports hall 20,8 At home 17,9 In the garden 17,3 Open air sport infrastructure 15,5 On a square 13,8 Indoor swimming pool 11,6 Other 9,8 Other outdoor sport infrastructure 9,5 Community centre 6,8 Open air swimming pool 5,5 Other indoor sport infrastructure 4,5 Commercial gym 3,2 Other 'gym' 2,5

Where to practice sports? Is sport participation a reason for leaving the house or taking part in public life? Practiced by…% of the population Location active in sports Public space 73,6 Sport infrastructure 47,5 At home 27,1 Community centre 6,8 Only at home 3,1 Only in public space 31,2 Only in public space, possibly combined with ‘at home’ 42,3

Perceived benefits of sport • Five factors deduced from a list of 25 items: Competition/performance, esthetics, mental well-being, physical health/pleasure and togetherness (Scheerder et al., 2011) • Togetherness ( α =0.90): “ An advantage of sport participation to me is…” – That I get the chance to meet new people – That I get the chance to be together with good friends or family – That I get the chance to be part of a group – That I experience I am being respected by other people – That I can feel interconnected with a group

Perceived benefits of sport Average score among the Advantage/Factor population active in sports Physical health/pleasure 4,2 Togetherness 3,9 Mental well-being 3,5 Esthetics 2,9 Competition/performance 2,6 1=totally disagree, 5=totally agree Source: adapted from Scheerder et al. (2011:204)

Conclusion (1) • Sport participation as a widespread activity, with quite some “ social potential ” • Though the most popular sports are „ individual sports ‟, sport participation is taken as an opportunity to meet with other people (friends, family ,…) – not only the own partner • Sports participation makes virtually all elderly sport participants leaving the home

Conclusion (2) • Public space is the most commonly used sport location  should be considered as such • Also elderly people themselves perceive togetherness/being with other people /… as important benefits of participating in sports