Intergenerational transfer of a sports-related lifestyle within the family

Abstract

The intergenerational transfer of a sports-related lifestyle within the family is a potential way to explain the social differences in sports participation that are displayed by young people. In this article, the importance of a sports-related lifestyle within the family, as well as parents’ educational background and sports participation in childhood, in the sports participation of adolescents and young adults is examined from the perspective of socialisation theory. Structural equation modelling was used to demonstrate that all of the examined predictors have significant positive effects on the current sports participation of individuals between the ages of 15 and 30 years (N = 4028; M = 21.48; SD = 4.64). The most pronounced effect on sports participation was observed for a sports-related lifestyle in the family.