2022, Dissertation The social significance of sport has surged in recent decades, and promoting sport participation have become a priority in governmental policies and campaigns related to sports, physical activity and health. Nonetheless, sport participation is dynamic and generally decreases during the life course. This dissertation investigated to what extend major life events play a role in this. Particularly, it examined sport participation during the transition into adulthood and the impact of life events that mark this transition. The research findings show that leaving full-time education, beginning work, moving out to live on your own, engaging in a relationship, starting to cohabit or getting married, and becoming a parent affect the likelihood of starting and stopping a sport, the sport participation frequency and setting, and/or the number of sports practiced. So, these major live events are game changers, which sports providers and policy makers, among others, should take into account when promoting “lifelong sport participation” and “sports for all”.
2019, Article in monograph or in proceedings (Parallel session of the European Association for Sociology of Sports Conference (EASS2019))Earlier quantitative research shows that major life events that mark the transition to adulthood (emerging adulthood) affect sport participation, mostly in a negative way. However, insight regarding the explanatory mechanisms behind these effects, which is needed to better prevent drop out and stimulate sport participation over the life course, is lacking. This qualitative study aims to fill this gap by investigating why people change their sport behaviour during emerging adulthood, specifically when major life events occur that mark this transition period within two life domains: the professional career (e.g. entering high/secondary school and higher education, leaving fulltime education, beginning to work) and the family domain (e.g. engaging in an intimate relationship, cohabitation, marriage, becoming a parent). Analysis of 45 Dutch adults’ narratives on their sport participation during the transition to adulthood and the role of these life events, revealed that when the life events occurred, new time consuming and physically and/or psychological demanding activities, roles and responsibilities arose that are more obligatory and fixed, and held higher social pay-offs then (existing) sport activities. This altered people’s daily routines and led to a reconfiguration of resources with (new) opportunities and constraints for sport participation. Based on this new resource balance and associated opportunities and constraints for sport participation, people made a deliberate choice on if sport participation fitted in their new life situation or not, and if so, in what way/how it fitted best. However, there was diversity in the choices that people made regarding (changing) their sport participation, based on different trade-offs between their opportunities and constraints for sport participation.
2019, Article / Letter to editor (vol. 16, (2019), pp. 44-63)This article investigates the relationship between major life events and sport participation during the transition to adulthood. Two waves (2009 and 2013) of a Dutch panel study provided information on education, employment, relationship, civil/marital status, and parenthood for 2829 Dutch citizens (ages 15–45) and their sport behaviour. Our analyses indicate that respondents who left full-time education, began to work, entered and/or formalised a relationship, and became a parent participated less frequently in sport than those who did not (between-person differences). Moreover, experiencing these events reduced sport frequency (within-person changes). All events except beginning to work reduced the number of sports practised. Further, those who entered an intimate relationship were more likely to switch from a ‘heavy’ club-sport setting to a ‘lighter’, more individualised setting and to stop practising sport altogether, compared to those who stayed single. Those who left full-time education and started working were more likely to continue sport in a club setting, compared to those who continued education and did not start working. Sport providers, programmes, and policies could use these results to inform efforts to pre-empt impacts of major life events, thus curbing drop out and retaining sport participants, especially during the transition to adulthood.
2017, Article in monograph or in proceedings (Research Network 28 (Society and Sport) at the European Sociological Association Congres (ESA2017))In this study, we investigated changes in and differences between the sport participation of individuals during the transition to adulthood, and the role of major life events that mark this transition. We employ a neo-Weberian theoretical framework related to changes in temporal and social resources to explain how life events marking the more adult statuses of individuals in the transition to adulthood, like leaving fulltime education, beginning to work, engaging in an intimate relationship, formalising a relationship through cohabitation or marriage and becoming a parent affect (1) the number of sports practised by an individual, (2) the frequency of sport participation, and (3) the probability of switching from practising sport (mostly) in a club setting to practising sport in other (non-)organisational settings, or to not practise sport at all. With recent panel data (2009 and 2013) from the Netherlands Longitudinal Lifecourse Study (NELLS) on 2798 individuals, we were able to distinguish between-differences of respondents, from within-developments in respondent’s life courses, and deal with issues of causality and the timing of the events. Our analyses indicate, firstly, that the number of sports practised by an individual and his/her sport frequency decrease when he/she starts cohabiting or gets married, and when he/she becomes a parent. Secondly, individuals with adult educational, civil/marital and parenthood statuses participate in less sports and with a lower frequency than individuals with adolescent statuses. Thirdly, the likelihood of switching from practising sport in a club setting to practising sport in a light setting or to not practising sport at all, is affected by (changes in) an individual’s status within the employment, relationship and civil/marital domain.
2017, Article in monograph or in proceedings (Symposium tijdens de Dag van het Sportonderzoek (DSO2017))Verschillende gebeurtenissen hebben invloed op de sportparticipatie van volwassen, denk aan het beginnen en stoppen met werken, samenwonen, etcetera. Wat is de invloed van deze gebeurtenissen op de sportparticipatie? Wat wil een volwassene in een nieuwe levensfase rondom sport en bewegen? Hoe kunnen we, als sportwereld, inspelen op deze gebeurtenissen ofwel breuklijnen? In het symposium worden de cijfers en inzichten ten aanzien van sportparticipatie en belangrijke levensgebeurtenissen gepresenteerd. Daarna is er aandacht voor het ophalen van de vraag, wat wil een (niet)sporter in een nieuwe levensfase? Hoe verkrijg je deze inzichten? En tot slot, hoe kan je deze kennis in de praktijk inzetten om meer mensen in beweging te brengen.
2017, Article / Letter to editor (vol. 52, (2017), pp. 858-874)This article investigates the relationship between four major life events and stopping sport participation in young adulthood. We employ a neo-Weberian theoretical framework related to changes in temporal and social resources to explain how beginning to work, starting to live on one’s own, starting to cohabit or getting married, and the birth of one’s first child affect the risk to stop practising a sport and to end a sport club membership. We used detailed retrospective life-course data from the Dutch SportersMonitor 2010 on 3540 individuals to examine the sport careers and major life events of young adults (aged 18–35). Our event history analyses indicate that the risk to stop practising a sport increases when young adults begin to work, move out to live on their own, and start cohabiting or get married. The risk of ending a sport club membership rises when young adults start to live on their own and when they cohabit or get married. The birth of the first child increases the risks of both stopping a sport and ending club membership for young women, but not for young men.
2015, Article in monograph or in proceedings (Parallelsessie tijdens de Dag van het Sportonderzoek (DSO2015))Eerder onderzoek laat zien dat de stabiliteit van sportparticipatie onder jongvolwassenen relatief laag is en dat velen in deze levensfase stoppen met het beoefenen van een sport. In deze studie hebben we onderzocht of dit verklaard kan worden door het meemaken van belangrijke levensgebeurtenissen, die de dagelijkse routines en het leefpatroon van een individu veranderen en daarmee zijn/haar (on)mogelijkheden om een sport te beoefenen. De onderzoeksvraag die we hiermee trachten te beantwoorden, luidt: In hoeverre beïnvloeden vier belangrijke levensgebeurtenissen (beginnen met werken, zelfstandig gaan wonen, samenwonen en/of trouwen en de geboorte van het eerste kind) de kans om als jongvolwassene in de leeftijd van 18-35 jaar te stoppen met een sport (in het algemeen en bij een sportvereniging in het bijzonder)? Methode Om deze vraag te beantwoorden, hebben we ten eerste een theoretisch kader opgesteld, gebaseerd op veranderingen in temporele en sociale hulpbronnen die gepaard gaan met het meemaken van deze levensgebeurtenissen. Vervolgens hebben we unieke, gedetailleerde retrospectieve levensloopgegevens van 3540 individuen uit de SportersMonitor 2010 gebruikt om hun levensgebeurtenissen en sportloopbanen tussen het 18e en 35ste levensjaar te reconstrueren en aan elkaar te relateren. Resultaten In lijn met onze verwachtingen vanuit het opgestelde theoretisch kader, laten de uitgevoerde gebeurtenissenanalyses zien dat beginnen met werken, zelfstandig gaan wonen, samenwonen en/of trouwen en de geboorte van het eerste kind de kans vergroten om als jongvolwassene te stoppen met een sport in het algemeen en bij een sportclub. Discussies/conclusies Levensgebeurtenissen spelen een belangrijke rol bij de (niet-)sportparticipatie van jongvolwassenen. Deze rol kan beter begrepen worden door te kijken naar veranderingen in hulpbronnen en restricties die gepaard gaan met het meemaken van die levensgebeurtenissen. Om sportparticipatie onder jongvolwassenen te stimuleren en uitval te voorkomen, zullen sportaanbieders en interventies en zal sportbeleid in moeten spelen op deze specifieke (veranderingen in) hulpbronnen en restricties om te sporten.
2014, Article / Letter to editor (vol. 89, (2014), pp. 195-199)A novel life stage, a fresh new sport? Life course transitions and their effect on starting a sport
In this study we establish the effects of major life course events on the odds to start a sport and on the odds to start a competitive sport. To answer our research question we employ retrospective life course data from the Dutch SportersMonitor2010 on 3.540 individuals. Event history analyses show that the chance to start a sport decreases at the moment people start living together or get married, and they have a first child. The chance to start a sport increases when they start working, start living on their own, their children leave the parental home and when they retire. Finally, being active in competitive sport foremost is stimulated by the transition to paid work and leaving the parental home.
2013, Article / Letter to editor (vol. 33, (2013), pp. 13-26)In this article, we raised the question as to what extent members from higher status groups effectuated social resources, more specifically voluntary association membership, as a possible new compensatory strategy to guarantee a successful intergenerational transmission of their occupational status. For that purpose, we investigated whether voluntary association membership (of parents and their child) mediate the positive effect of parental occupational status on that of their child and whether it has become more important over time as an explanation of social reproduction. In the empirical analysis, we incorporated voluntary association membership into the classic status attainment model and estimated path models using retrospective life course data from the Family Survey Dutch Population 2000. The empirical results showed that voluntary association membership does not play a mediating role in the intergenerational transmission of occupational status for the 1916–1947 birth cohort. However, it does so for the 1948–1960 birth cohort, thereby becoming an effective compensatory strategy in the intergenerational transmission of occupation status.
2012, Article / Letter to editor (vol. 87, (2012), pp. 125-149)In this article, we raised the question as to what extent members from higher status groups effectuated social resources, more specifically voluntary association membership, as a possible new compensating strategy to guarantee a successful intergenerational transmission of their occupational status. For that purpose, we investigated whether voluntary association membership (of parents and their child) mediate the positive effect of parental occupational status on that of their child and whether it has become more important over time as an explanation of the intergenerational transmission of occupational status. In the empirical analysis, we incorporated voluntary association membership into the classic status attainment model and estimated path models using retrospective life course data from the Family Survey Dutch Population 2000. The empirical results showed that voluntary association membership does not play a mediating role in the intergenerational transmission of occupational status for the 1916-1947 birth cohort. However, it does so for the 1948-1960 birth cohort, thereby becoming an effective compensating strategy in the intergenerational transmission of occupation status.
2011, Article / Letter to editor (vol. 86, (2011), pp. 372-394)In this study we include personal war experiences in Duncan's path model of sta-tus attainment to answer the following research question: To what extent can personal war experiences explain the occupational status of Dutch people who experienced World War II? We expect that personal war experiences have a detri-mental effect on the human capital formation, which in turn leads to a lower edu-cational level and a lower occupational status. To test our hypotheses, we use uni-que individual-level data from the 'Onderzoek naar Doorsnee Nederlanders in de oorlog', which was conducted from 2005 to 2010 (N = 346). The results of our path analysis show that people who were forced to work in Germany or the Netherlands during the war obtained a lower educational level and subsequently a lower occu-pational status. Physical destruction of one's house also has a negative effect on occupational status through education. In addition, we found some direct effects of personal war experiences on the occupational status.