The effect of sports participation on the social identity of Chinese university students

ObjectiveStrengthening youth sports and comprehensively promoting the participation of Chinese university students in sports to enhance their social acceptance are key initiatives for delivering high-quality talent for China’s economic and social development.MethodsUsing the China Comprehensive Soci...

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Main Authors: Shuyu Ji, Shuwei Chen, Xiannan Yang, Tongshang Liu, Xiaolin Wang
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Frontiers Media S.A. 2024-11-01
Series:Frontiers in Psychology
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1511807/full
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author Shuyu Ji
Shuwei Chen
Xiannan Yang
Tongshang Liu
Xiaolin Wang
author_facet Shuyu Ji
Shuwei Chen
Xiannan Yang
Tongshang Liu
Xiaolin Wang
author_sort Shuyu Ji
collection DOAJ
description ObjectiveStrengthening youth sports and comprehensively promoting the participation of Chinese university students in sports to enhance their social acceptance are key initiatives for delivering high-quality talent for China’s economic and social development.MethodsUsing the China Comprehensive Social Survey as the data source and considering social mentality and social identity, we constructed corresponding statistical models to explore how sports participation influences the social identity (class identity, economic status, and emotional belonging) of Chinese university students.ResultsRegarded from a holistic perspective, sports participation can enhance the social identity of college students in all its aspects, and the benefits of sports participation are positively related to its frequency. Under the condition of social mentality, sports participation has a positive effect on the social identity of college students in general and a nonsignificant effect only on certain dimensions. Under the social identity condition, the significance of sports participation for college students’ social identity decreases from lower to higher levels of education.ConclusionSports participation significantly enhances the social identity of Chinese university students, and the specific mechanism of the enhancement varies across the social mentality and social identity conditions. In this context, strengthening the role of sports participation in promoting the social identity of college students in the new era is necessary. Deepening the ideological content of physical education courses should be taken as the starting point to enhance the effectiveness of sports participation on the social identity of college students under the condition of social mentality. The effectiveness of sports participation on the social identity of college students with different social identities should be differentiated and enhanced.
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spelling doaj-art-d002ba3eb6f845e4942c19e9dbcf1d112025-08-20T01:54:25ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Psychology1664-10782024-11-011510.3389/fpsyg.2024.15118071511807The effect of sports participation on the social identity of Chinese university studentsShuyu Ji0Shuwei Chen1Xiannan Yang2Tongshang Liu3Xiaolin Wang4College of Physical Education and Sports, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, ChinaInstitute of Athletic Training Science, Capital University of Physical Education and Sports, Beijing, ChinaCollege of Physical Education and Sports, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, ChinaCollege of Physical Education and Sports, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, ChinaDepartment of Sport Studies, Faculty of Educational Studies, University Putra Malaysia, Serdang, MalaysiaObjectiveStrengthening youth sports and comprehensively promoting the participation of Chinese university students in sports to enhance their social acceptance are key initiatives for delivering high-quality talent for China’s economic and social development.MethodsUsing the China Comprehensive Social Survey as the data source and considering social mentality and social identity, we constructed corresponding statistical models to explore how sports participation influences the social identity (class identity, economic status, and emotional belonging) of Chinese university students.ResultsRegarded from a holistic perspective, sports participation can enhance the social identity of college students in all its aspects, and the benefits of sports participation are positively related to its frequency. Under the condition of social mentality, sports participation has a positive effect on the social identity of college students in general and a nonsignificant effect only on certain dimensions. Under the social identity condition, the significance of sports participation for college students’ social identity decreases from lower to higher levels of education.ConclusionSports participation significantly enhances the social identity of Chinese university students, and the specific mechanism of the enhancement varies across the social mentality and social identity conditions. In this context, strengthening the role of sports participation in promoting the social identity of college students in the new era is necessary. Deepening the ideological content of physical education courses should be taken as the starting point to enhance the effectiveness of sports participation on the social identity of college students under the condition of social mentality. The effectiveness of sports participation on the social identity of college students with different social identities should be differentiated and enhanced.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1511807/fullsports participationsocial identitysocial mindsetChineseuniversity students
spellingShingle Shuyu Ji
Shuwei Chen
Xiannan Yang
Tongshang Liu
Xiaolin Wang
The effect of sports participation on the social identity of Chinese university students
Frontiers in Psychology
sports participation
social identity
social mindset
Chinese
university students
title The effect of sports participation on the social identity of Chinese university students
title_full The effect of sports participation on the social identity of Chinese university students
title_fullStr The effect of sports participation on the social identity of Chinese university students
title_full_unstemmed The effect of sports participation on the social identity of Chinese university students
title_short The effect of sports participation on the social identity of Chinese university students
title_sort effect of sports participation on the social identity of chinese university students
topic sports participation
social identity
social mindset
Chinese
university students
url https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1511807/full
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