1. Psychosocial outcomes of sport participation for middle-aged and older adults: A systematic review and meta-analysis
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Sivaramakrishnan, Hamsini, Ntoumanis, Nikos, Quested, Eleanor, and Gucciardi, Daniel
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FOS: Psychology ,Medicine and Health Sciences ,Psychology ,Psychiatry and Psychology ,Social and Behavioral Sciences ,human activities - Abstract
Recent reviews have made an attempt to shed light on the psychosocial outcomes of sport participation for adults (Andersen, Ottesen, & Thing, 2019; Eime et al., 2013; Gayman et al., 2017; Kim et al., 2019). Nevertheless, there is sufficient cause to conduct a meta-analysis examining the psychosocial outcomes of sport participation for middle-aged and older adults. Firstly, the reviews by Andersen et al. (2019) and Eime et al. (2013) have not focused strictly on the middle-aged and older adult population. This presents an issue as the meaning and function of sport participation for middle-aged and older adults is not comparable with that for younger adults (McPherson, 1984). Therefore, it is impossible to isolate the unique psychosocial effects of sport participation for middle-aged and older adults. Secondly, in spite of Kim et al. (2019) and Gayman et al. (2017) focusing solely on older adults, competitive and recreational sports were combined in the reviews. Similarly, both team and individual sports were examined together. This makes it impossible to decipher whether the nature and context of the sport influence these psychosocial outcomes. Thirdly, although Gayman et al. (2017) considered the psychosocial outcomes of older adults’ sport participation, they excluded all cases of recreational and leisure-time sport participation, which accounts for a vast majority of literature in this domain. Further, the studies they included were of mixed quality, and therefore cannot provide complete confidence in their results. Ultimately, it is unclear to what extent these psychosocial benefits are a direct result of sport participation. Presently, there lacks a synthesis of the quantitative literature on the psychosocial outcomes of sport participation for middle-aged and older adults in the form of a meta-analysis. A meta-analysis enables such a quantitative synthesis, providing insight into the magnitude and consistency of the psychosocial outcomes of sport participation (Borenstein et al., 2009). Such inferences cannot be drawn from a systematic review. Hence, a meta-analysis is warranted in order to guide future sport-based interventions targeting this age category.
- Published
- 2022
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