The Relationship between Social Support Correlates and Feelings of Loneliness among Male UK Recreational Anglers

Mike Trott (), Mark Tully, Andy Torrance and Lee Smith
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Mike Trott: Centre for Public Health, Queen’s University Belfast, Belfast BT12 6BA, UK
Mark Tully: School of Medicine, Ulster University, Belfast BT15 1AP, UK
Andy Torrance: Angling Direct, Norwich NR136LH, UK
Lee Smith: Centre for Health, Performance and Wellbeing, Anglia Ruskin University, Cambridge CB1 1PT, UK

IJERPH, 2023, vol. 20, issue 11, 1-6

Abstract: The benefits of access to blue spaces (exposure to aquatic environments) have been well reported. One common activity conducted in these spaces is recreational angling. Studies have shown that several correlates are associated with recreational angling, including a lower incidence of anxiety disorders compared to non-anglers. What is currently unknown is how measures of social support relate to feelings of loneliness in this population. The aim of this study, therefore, is to examine experiences of loneliness and social support in male UK anglers. In total, 1752 participants completed an online survey. The results of this study showed that the higher the number of friends or family that anglers hear from and feel close to, the less likely they are to report a lack of companionship, the less likely they are to report feeling left out, and the less likely they are to report feelings of isolation. Furthermore, more than half of the sample reported hardly ever or never having feelings of loneliness, suggesting that recreational angling does not affect feelings of loneliness.

Keywords: angling; fishing; loneliness; friend; relative (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
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