The Influence of Climate on Flourishing and Motivational Outcomes for U.S. Masters Swimmers

The climate in which older adults exercise and participate in sport may play a role in promoting a lifetime commitment to exercising. However, little research has examined the relationship of caring (C) and task-involving (TI) climates, motivation, and well-being with respect to older adult athletes...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:International journal of environmental research and public health 2023-01, Vol.20 (3), p.1990
Main Authors: Fry, Mary D, Wineinger, Troy O, Long, Haiying, Guivernau, Marta, Gano-Overway, Lori A, Iwasaki, Susumu
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Aged
Athletes
Climate
Energy consumption
Exercise
Humans
Middle Aged
Motivation
Multivariate statistical analysis
Older people
Physical activity
Physical fitness
Pleasure
Quality of life
Surveys and Questionnaires
Swimming
Well being
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Summary:The climate in which older adults exercise and participate in sport may play a role in promoting a lifetime commitment to exercising. However, little research has examined the relationship of caring (C) and task-involving (TI) climates, motivation, and well-being with respect to older adult athletes. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between Masters swimmers' perceptions of the climate, effort, enjoyment, and flourishing as well as explore the mediating effects of effort and enjoyment on the relationship between climate and flourishing. U.S. Masters swimmers ( = 294; = 63.57 years; 84.40% White) with 1-80 years of swimming experience ( = 34.54 years) participating in coach-led programs completed an online survey. The results of latent variable, multiple-mediator analyses via structural equation modeling revealed two important contributions to the literature: (1) when Masters swimmers perceived that they were in C and TI climates, they were more likely to report higher levels of effort and greater enjoyment and flourishing; (2) the Masters swimmers' effort levels directly influenced their flourishing, mediating the relationship between climates and flourishing. This research has important implications for practice and policy, as U.S. Masters Swimming appears to be a fruitful avenue for promoting an enjoyable physical activity that can be experienced throughout a lifetime.
ISSN:1660-4601
1661-7827
1660-4601
DOI:10.3390/ijerph20031990