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Sport for Pleasure, Fitness, Medals or Slenderness? Differential Effects of Sports Activities on Well-Being

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Abstract

Based on a theoretical framework informed by Self-Determination Theory, this paper argues that sports activities’ impact on subjective well-being is moderated by the goals and motivations associated with the sport. Precisely, we hypothesize that intrinsic sport motivations like enjoyment, sociality, and relaxation, may enhance subjective well-being, whereas the well-being effect of sport is less pronounced or even negative when sport is functionalized for extrinsic goals, e.g. to control weight or to compete for medals. These hypotheses are tested with a large-scale sample of university students in Germany. The results indicate that students who practice sport regularly and habitually have a higher satisfaction with life compared to non-athletes. Moreover, the type of motivation matters: Sport motivations that refer to intrinsic goals and states (enjoyment, relaxation, sociality, fitness) come along with a surplus of satisfaction with life, whereas motivations aiming at extrinsic goals (competition, weight control, distraction) contribute to a lesser degree to satisfaction with life. Hence, playful forms of exercise and sport, conceived as an end in itself, have more potential to enhance well-being compared to competitive and weight-related sports.

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  1. Institute for Sport and Exercise Sciences, University of Münster, Horstmarer Landweg 62a, D-48149, Münster, Germany

    Malte Jetzke

  2. Institute of Sport Science, Justus-Liebig-Universität Gießen, Kugelberg 62, D-35394, Gießen, Germany

    Michael Mutz

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Jetzke, M., Mutz, M. Sport for Pleasure, Fitness, Medals or Slenderness? Differential Effects of Sports Activities on Well-Being. Applied Research Quality Life 15, 1519–1534 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11482-019-09753-w

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