Social groupings and participation in sport - AQASocio-economic impact of participation in sports
Participation in physical activity is influenced by social factors such as social groupings, family and friends as well as personal factors such as age, gender, disability and ethnicity.
The impact of family, friends and peers in choosing to participate
Over the course of a person's life, they typically take part in a number of different communities such as school, sports club and friendship group. These groups change throughout their life but our family grouping remains very consistent. For this reason, family has a huge impact on how people choose to participate in physical activity.
Parents and siblings, as well as the wider family, can have either a positive or a negative impact, as shown in the following examples:
Positive
Moral support - congratulating a son/daughter for trying hard in an athletics taster session
Financial support - paying a golf club membership fee on behalf of the child
Transport - driving a child to a regional table tennis training two hours away from home every Sunday
Negative
Moral support - never attending the child's school hockey matches due to being too busy
Financial support - not paying for new pointe shoes in dance when the older pair become too small for the child
Transport - relying on a teammates' parent to drive the child to netball practice every Sunday
Friends or peers are also extremely influential and can be either a positive or a negative influence. As young people reach adolescence, their friends might begin to take part in other social pastimes such as partying. It is in the teenage years that many young people tend to drop out of regular participation. Supportive friends might watch their friend play or perform, they will ask about their competitions and will show interest and moral support whether they win or lose.
