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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Psychol.
Sec. Sport Psychology
Volume 15 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1471658
This article is part of the Research Topic Physical Culture for Mental Health View all 29 articles

How watching sports events empowers people's sense of well-being? --The role of chain mediation in social interaction and emotional experience

Provisionally accepted
Xiaoli Zhang Xiaoli Zhang 1*Jiru Guo Jiru Guo 2Hong Yang Hong Yang 1
  • 1 Institute of Physical Education Xi’an Physical Education University, Xi, an, China
  • 2 School of Economics and Management, Shanghai University of Sport, Shanghai, China

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Background: While engaging in sports is widely recognized for enhancing well-being, limited research has examined the effects of watching sports events on individuals' subjective well-being.The mechanisms and pathways underlying this relationship remain unclear.Objectives: This study explores the correlation between watching sports events and the well-being of Chinese individuals, based on the theoretical framework of "spectator behavior → social interaction → emotional experience → happiness." The aim is to investigate the mediating effects of social interaction and emotional experience, providing insights for promoting greater participation in sports events and supporting the healthy development of the sports industry.The study involved 885 participants from five representative provinces and cities in China.Assessment tools included the Physical Activity Rating Scale, Social Interaction Questionnaire, Emotional Experience Questionnaire, and Subjective Well-Being Scale. Data were analyzed using Stata and the PROCESS plug-in of SPSS for comprehensive multivariate statistical analysis.Results: Watching sports events significantly and positively affects subjective well-being, social interaction, and emotional experience (P < 0.001). Three mediating pathways were identified: (1) watching sports events → social interaction → subjective well-being (effect size: 0.024), (2) watching sports events → emotional experience → subjective well-being (effect size: 0.011), and (3) watching sports events → social interaction → emotional experience → subjective well-being (effect size: 0.003).The direct impact of watching sports events on subjective well-being was positive.Indirect effects were facilitated by the mediating roles of social interaction and emotional experience, with the effect of social interaction being more substantial than that of emotional experience.Implications: These findings suggest that watching sports events can serve as a catalyst for enhancing well-being, primarily through fostering social connections and enriching emotional experiences. Practically, this indicates the potential value of encouraging viewership of sports events as a means of promoting community engagement and mental health, thus contributing to the holistic growth of the sports sector and public health initiatives.

    Keywords: watching sports events1, subjective well-being2, social interaction3, emotional experience4, chain mediation5

    Received: 28 Jul 2024; Accepted: 20 Nov 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Zhang, Guo and Yang. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Xiaoli Zhang, Institute of Physical Education Xi’an Physical Education University, Xi, an, China

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.