Social Capital as a Mediator in the Link between Women’s Participation in Team Sports and Health-Related Outcomes

Yuval Paldi, Daniel S. Moran, Orna Baron-Epel, Shiran Bord, Elisheva Benartzi and Riki Tesler
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Yuval Paldi: Department of Health Systems Management, Faculty of Health Science, Ariel University, Ariel 40700, Israel
Daniel S. Moran: Department of Health Systems Management, Faculty of Health Science, Ariel University, Ariel 40700, Israel
Orna Baron-Epel: Faculty of Social Welfare and Health Sciences, School of Public Health, University of Haifa, Haifa 31905, Israel
Shiran Bord: Department of Health Systems Management, The Max Stern Yezreel Valley College, Yezreel Valley 1930600, Israel
Elisheva Benartzi: College of Law and Business, Bar Ilan University, Ramat Gan 5290002, Israel
Riki Tesler: Department of Health Systems Management, Faculty of Health Science, Ariel University, Ariel 40700, Israel

IJERPH, 2021, vol. 18, issue 17, 1-15

Abstract: The role of social capital in the association between team sports and health-related outcomes has not been well established in the literature. The purpose of this study was to explore whether social capital components (social support, trust, and social involvement) mediate the association between team sports and health-related outcomes (self-reported health, psychosomatic symptoms, and depressive symptoms). In a cross-sectional research design, we obtained data from 759 participants in the Mamanet Cachibol League, a community team sports model for women in Israel, as well as a comparison group of 308 women who did not participate in any team sports. Team captains were sent a link with an online questionnaire, which were then delivered to team members via text message. Using three parallel mediation models, we found that social support mediated the association between team sports and self-reported health, psychosomatic symptoms, and depressive symptoms. Trust mediated the association between team sports and both psychosomatic symptoms and depressive symptoms. Social involvement was not found to be a mediator in the association between team sports and any of the health-related outcomes. Our findings reveal the important role of social capital, specifically social support and trust, in promoting the health of women who participate in team sports.

Keywords: team sports; women; social capital; parallel mediation model; self-reported health; psychosomatic symptoms; depressive symptoms (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
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