Abstract
Despite the positive externalities associated with the participation in sports that individuals can obtain, there is a lack of studies analysing the impact of this participation on life satisfaction of people without disabilities in general, and of people with disabilities in particular. In this study, we analyse the effects of taking part in active sports and its intensity (i.e., never, seldom, monthly, and daily/weekly) on life satisfaction. Particularly, we are interested in testing two different hypotheses: (a) participation in sports increases individuals’ life satisfaction, and (b) the effects of this participation on life satisfaction are different for people without and with disabilities, being greater for this latter group. One of the main advantages of this study is that we have used longitudinal data from the German Socio-Economic Panel (for the period 1984–2011) for a large sample of individuals (with disabilities or not) aged 16 or over. To estimate the life satisfaction equation we have run the model proposed by Van Praag et al. (J Econ Behav Org 51:29–49, 2003) called “Probit Adapted OLS (POLS)”, which allows us to identify the factors affecting life satisfaction reported by people without and with disabilities, taking into account unobserved heterogeneity, and using simple OLS-techniques without any loss of information. Although people with disabilities are less likely to take part in active sports than their counterparts, the results show that they obtain higher levels of life satisfaction than non-disabled people from their participation in sports, especially when this participation is more intense. For example, the life satisfaction premium obtained by individuals with disabilities from their participation in sports “daily/weekly” is almost double that reported by people without disabilities as compared to the reference person. This premium could be explained by the greater difficulties and constraints that people with disabilities face when they demand for sport activities. Policy makers and the sport industry must promote and facilitate full access and participation of people with disabilities in sports by eliminating all barriers, understanding their differential needs and providing an inclusive leisure environment.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Notes
- 1.
We have tried to find the number of sport facilities in Germany by region and for the period 1984–2011 in different databases (e.g., the German Business Registry (Untemehmensregister-System, URS)). However, there is no reliable sport facility register available which covers those years used in this study and at a regional level in Germany.
- 2.
Full text is available at: http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX%3A52007DC0391
References
Addabbo, T., Sarti, E., & Sciulli, D. (2016). Disability and life satisfaction in Italy. Applied Research in Quality of Life, 11(3), 925–954.
Anderson, L., & Heyne, L. (2010). Physical activity for children and adults with disabilities: an issue of amplified importance. Disability and Health Journal, 3, 71–73.
Baltagi, B., & Song, S. (2006). Unbalanced panel data: A survey. Statistical Papers, 47, 493–523.
Becchetti, L., Pelloni, A., & Rossetti, F. (2008). Relational goods, sociability and happiness. Kyklos, 61(3), 343–363.
Becchetti, L., Ricca, E., & Pelloni, A. (2012). The relationship between social leisure and life satisfaction: Causality and policy implications. Social Indicators Research, 108, 453–490.
Biddle, A., Goreley, T., & Stensel, D. (2004). Health-enhancing physical activity and sedentary behaviour in children and adolescents. Journal of Sports Sciences, 22, 679–701.
Bouchard, C., Shephard, J., & Stephens, T. (1994). Physical activity, fitness, and health: International proceedings and consensus statement. Champaign: Hum. Kinet.
Breuer, C., Hoekman, C., Nagel, S., & Van der Werff, H. (2015). Sport clubs in Europe. Cham: Springer.
Buhalis, D., & Darcy, S. (2011). Accessible tourism: Concepts and issues. Bristol: Channel View.
Burkhauser, R., & Schroeder, M. (2007). A method for comparing the economic outcomes of the working-age population with disabilities in Germany and the United States. Journal of Applied Social Science Studies, 127(2), 227–258.
Clark, A. (1997). Job satisfaction and gender: Why are women so happy at work? Labour Economics, 4(4), 341–372.
Clark, A., & Oswald, A. (1996). Satisfaction and comparison income. Journal of Public Economics, 61(3), 359–381.
Clark, A., Oswald, A., & Warr, P. (1996). Is job satisfaction U-shaped in age? Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology, 69(1), 57–81.
Clark, A., Diener, E., Georgellis, Y., & Lucas, R. (2008). Lags and leads in life satisfaction: A test of the baseline hypothesis. The Economic Journal, 118, F222–F243.
Diener, E. (1984). Subjective well-being. Psychological Bulletin, 95(3), 542–575.
Diener, E., Suh, E., Lucas, R., & Smith, H. (1999). Subjective well-being: Three decades of progress. Psychological Bulletin, 125(2), 276–302.
Dimeo, F., Bauer, M., Varahram, I., & Halter, U. (2001). Benefits from aerobic exercise in patients with major depression: A pilot study. British Journal of Sports Medicine, 35(2), 114–117.
Dixon, L., Postrado, L., Delahanty, J., Fischer, P., & Lehman, A. (1999). The association of medical comorbidity in schizophrenia with poor physical and mental health. The Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease, 187, 496–502.
Downward, P., & Rasciute, S. (2011). Does sport make you happy? An analysis of the well-being derived from sports participation. International Review of Applied Economics, 25(3), 331–348.
Ferrer-i-Carbonell, A., & Frijters, P. (2004). How important is methodology for the estimates of the determinants of happiness? The Economic Journal, 114(July), 641–659.
Freedman, V., Stafford, F., Schwarz, N., Conrad, F., & Cornman, J. (2012). Disability, participation, and subjective wellbeing among older couples. Social Science and Medicine, 74(4), 588–596.
Gatab, T., & Pirhayti, S. (2012). The Effect of the selected exercise on male students’ happiness and mental health. Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, 46, 2702–2705.
Gauvin, L., & Spence, J. (1996). Physical activity and psychological well-being: Knowledge base, current issues, and caveats. Nutrition Reviews, 54(4), S53–S65.
Goñi, E., & Infante, G. (2010). Actividad físico-deportiva, autoconcepto físico y satisfacción con la vida. European Journal of Education and Psychology, 3(2), 199–208.
Gui, B. (1987). Éléments pour une Definition d’ Economie Communautaire, Notes et Documents de l’Institut International Jacques Maritain Rome, Institut Internationale Jacques Maritain, n° 19/20, pp 32–42.
Heinemann, K. (1999). Sport clubs in various European countries. Stuttgart: Schattauer Verlag.
Helliwell, J., & Putman, R. (2004). The social context of well-being. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological Sciences, 359(1449), 1435–1446.
Huang, H., & Humphreys, B. (2012). Sports participation and happiness: Evidence from U.S. micro data. Journal of Economic Psychology, 33, 776–793.
International Sport and Culture Association. (2015). The economic cost of physical inactivity in Europe. Available at: http://inactivity-time-bomb.nowwemove.com/download-report/The%20Economic%20Costs%20of%20Physical%20Inactivity%20in%20Europe%20(June%202015).pdf
Iwasaki, Y., & Mannell, R. (2000). Hierarchical dimensions of leisure stress coping. Leisure Sciences, 22, 163–181.
Kim, J., Lee, S., Chun, S., Han, A., & Heo, J. (2016). The effects of leisure-time physical activity for optimism, life satisfaction, psychological well-being, and positive affect among older adults with loneliness. Annals of Leisure Research, 20(2), 1–10. https://doi.org/10.1080/11745398.2016.1238308.
Klostermann, C., & Nagel, S. (2014). Changes in German sport participation: Historical trends in individual sports. International Review for the Sociology of Sport, 49(5), 609–634.
Lazarus, S., Kanner, A., & Folkman, S. (1980). Emotions: A cognitive-phenomenological analysis. In R. Plutchik & H. Kellerman (Eds.), Theories of emotion (pp. 189–210). New York: Academic.
Lechner, M. (2009). Long-run labour market and health effects of individual sports activities. Journal of Health Economics, 28(4), 839–854.
Lee, Y., & Park, I. (2010). Happiness and physical activity in special populations: Evidence from Korean survey data. Journal of Sports Economics, 11, 136–156.
Levinson, L., & Reid, G. (1991). Patterns of physical activity among youngsters with developmental disabilities. Canadian Association of Health, Physical Education and Recreation Journal, 3, 24–28.
Lloyd, K., & Auld, C. (2002). The role of leisure in determining quality of life: Issues of content and measurement. Social Indicators Research, 57(1), 43–71.
Lloyd, C., King, R., Lampe, J., & McDougall, S. (2001). The leisure satisfaction of people with psychiatric disabilities. Psychiatric Rehabilitation Journal, 25(2), 107–113.
Lucas, R. (2007). Long-term disability is associated with lasting changes in subjective well-being: Evidence from two national representative longitudinal studies. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 92(4), 717–780.
Lucas-Carrasco, R., & Salvador-Carulla, R. (2012). Life satisfaction in persons with intellectual disabilities. Research in Developmental Disabilities, 33(4), 1103–1109.
Maddala, G. (1983). Limited-dependent and qualitative variables in economics. New York: Cambridge University Press.
Martin, J. (2013). Benefits and barriers to physical activity for individuals with disabilities: A social-relational model of disability perspective. Disability and Rehabilitation, 35(24), 2030–2037.
McDevitt, J., Snyder, M., Miller, A., & Wilbur, J. (2006). Perceptions of barriers and benefits to physical activity among outpatients in psychiatric rehabilitation. Journal of Nursing Scholarship, 38(1), 50–55.
Mockevicienè, D., & Savenkovienè, A. (2012). Aspects of life quality of persons with physical disabilities. Social Welfare Interdisciplinary Approach, 2(2), 84–93.
Nagler, M. (1992). The disabled: The acquisition of power. In M. Nagler (Ed.), Perspectives on disability. Health Markets Research: Palo Alto.
National Center for Health Statistics. (2015). Fast stats A to Z. Available at http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/
Newman, D., Tay, L., & Diener, E. (2014). Leisure and subjective well-being: A model of psychological mechanisms as mediating factors. Journal of Happiness Studies, 15(3), 555–578.
Ng, Y. (1997). A Case of Happiness, Cardinalism, and Interpersonal Comparability. Economic Journal, 107(445), 1848–1858.
Nussbaum, M. (1986). The fragility of goodness: Luck and ethics in Greek tragedy and philosophy. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Oswald, A., & Powdthavee, N. (2008). Does happiness adapt? A longitudinal study of disability with implications for economists and judges. Journal of Public Economics, 92, 1061–1077.
Pagan, R. (2010). Onset of disability and life satisfaction: Evidence from the German socio-economic panel. The European Journal of Health Economics, 11, 471–485.
Pagan, R. (2012). Longitudinal analysis of the domains of satisfaction before and after disability: Evidence from the German socio-economic panel. Social Indicators Research, 108(3), 365–385.
Pagan, R. (2015). How do leisure activities impact on life satisfaction: Evidence for German people with disabilities? Applied Research in Quality of Life, 10(4), 557–572.
Pagan, R. (2016). Are relational goods important for people with disabilities? Applied Research in Quality of Life., 11(7), 1117–1135. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11482-015-9423-x.
Pan, H. (2011). Research on sports industry system in Germany. In Y. Wang (Ed.), Education management, education theory & education application. Advances in intelligent and soft computing, 109, 93–100.
Pawlowski, T., Downward, P., & Rasciute, S. (2011). Subjective well-being in European countries-on the age-specific impact of physical activity. European Review of Aging and Physical Activity, 8, 93–102.
Phillips, S., Wójicki, T., & McAuley, E. (2013). Physical activity and quality of life in older adults: An 18-month panel analysis. Quality of Life Research, 22, 1647–1654.
Powdthavee, N. (2009). What happens to people before and after disability? Focusing effects, lead effects, and adaptation in different areas of life. Social Science and Medicine, 69, 1834–1844.
Pressman, S., Matthews, K., Cohen, S., Martire, L., Scheier, M., Baum, A., & Schulz, R. (2009). Association of enjoyable leisure activities with psychological and physical well-being. Psychosomatic Medicine, 71, 725–732.
Preuss, H, Alfs, C, & Ahlert, G. (2012). Economic dimensions of sport consumption in Germany. Institute of Sport Science. http://www.sport.uni-mainz.de/Preuss/site_eng/p_09_economic_dimension_sport.shtml
Rasciute, S., & Downward, P. (2010). Health or happiness? What is the impact of physical activity on the individual. Kyklos, 63(2), 256–270.
Richards, G. (1999). Vacations and the quality of life: Patterns and structures. Journal of Business Research, 44(3), 189–198. 16.
Rimmer, J., Rubin, S., & Braddock, D. (2000). Barriers to exercise in African American women with physical disabilities. Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, 81, 182–188.
Rimmer, J., Riley, B., Wang, E., Rauworth, A., & Jurkowski, J. (2004). Physical activity participation among persons with disabilities: Barriers and facilitators. American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 26(5), 419–425.
Rimmer, J., Wang, E., & Smith, D. (2008). Barriers associated with exercise and community access for individuals with stroke. Journal of Rehabilitation Research and Development, 45(2), 315–322.
Ruseski, J., Humphreys, B., Hallman, K., Wicker, P., & Breuer, C. (2014). Sport participation and subjective well-being: Instrumental variable results from German survey data. Journal of Physical Activity and Health, 11, 396–403.
Santiago, M., & Coyle, C. (2004). Leisure-time physical activity and secondary conditions in women with physical disabilities. Disability and Rehabilitation, 26(8), 485–494.
Schmiedeberg, C., & Schröder, J. (2016). Leisure activities and life satisfaction: An analysis with German panel data. Applied Research of Quality of Life., 12(1), 137–151. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11482-016-9458-7.
Schwartz, N. (1995). What respondents learn from questionnaires: The survey interview and the logic of conversation. International Statistical Review, 63, 153–177.
Sherwood, N., & Jeffery, R. (2000). The behavioral determinants of exercise: Implications for physical activity interventions. Annual Review of Nutrition, 20(1), 21–44.
Sirgy, M. (2001). Handbook of quality-of-life research. Dordrecht: Kluwer Academic.
Sirgy, M. (2002). The psychology of quality of life. Dordrecht: Kluwer Academic.
Tasiemski, T., Kennedy, P., & Gardner, B. (2006). Examining the continuity of recreation engagement in individuals with spinal cord injuries. Therapeutic Recreation Journal, 40(2), 77–93.
Tenenbaum, G., & Eklund, C. (2007). Exercise adherence. In G. Tenenbaum & R. Eklund (Eds.), Handbook of sport psychology (pp. 516–518). Hoboken: Wiley.
Terza, J. (1987). Estimating linear models with ordinal qualitative regressors. Journal of Econometrics, 34, 275–291.
Toepoel, V. (2013). Ageing, leisure and social connectedness: How could leisure help reduce social isolation of older people? Social Indicators Research, 113, 355–372.
Uhlaner, C. (1989). Relational goods and participation: Incorporating sociability into a theory of rational action. Public Choice, 62, 253–285.
Van Praag, B. (1991). Ordinal and cardinal utility: An integration of the two dimensions of the welfare concept. Journal of Econometrics, 50, 69–89.
Van Praag, B., & Ferrer-i-Carbonell, A. (2008). Quantified happiness: A satisfaction calculus approach. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Van Praag, B., Frijters, P., & Ferrer-i-Carbonell, A. (2003). The anatomy of subjective well-being. Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, 51, 29–49.
Veenhoven, R. (1995). The cross-national pattern of happiness: Test of predictions implied in three theories of happiness. Social Indicators Research, 34, 33–68.
Verbeek, M., & Nijman, T. (1992). Non-response in panel data: The impact on estimates of a life cycle consumption function. Journal of Applied Econometrics, 7(3), 243–257.
Wagner, G., Frick, J., & Schupp, J. (2007). The German Socio-Economic Panel Study (SOEP): Scope, evolution and enhancements. Journal of Applied Social Science Studies, 127(1), 139–169.
Wang, M., & Wong, M. (2014). Happiness and leisure across countries: Evidence from international survey data. Journal of Happiness Studies, 15, 85–118.
Yazicioglu, K., Yavuz, F., Goktepe, A., & Tan, A. (2012). Influence of adapted sports on quality of life and life satisfaction in sport participants and non-sport participants with physical disabilities. Disability and Health Journal, 5, 249–253.
Zajadacz, A. (2014). Sources of tourist information used by deaf people. Case study: The polish deaf community. Current Issues in Tourism, 17(5), 434–454.
Zimmermann, A., & Easterlin, R. (2006). Happily ever after? Cohabitation, marriage, divorce and happiness in Germany? Population and Development Review, 32(3), 511–528.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2018 Springer International Publishing AG, part of Springer Nature
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Pagan, R. (2018). Disability, Life Satisfaction and Participation in Sports. In: Rodriguez de la Vega, L., Toscano, W. (eds) Handbook of Leisure, Physical Activity, Sports, Recreation and Quality of Life. International Handbooks of Quality-of-Life. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-75529-8_20
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-75529-8_20
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-75528-1
Online ISBN: 978-3-319-75529-8
eBook Packages: Social SciencesSocial Sciences (R0)