Scheduled for Research Consortium Poster Social: Representative Research in HPERD, Wednesday, March 14, 2007, 4:30 PM - 6:00 PM, Convention Center: Exhibit Hall Poster Area I


Active Sport Tourism: Senior Olympic Games

Jinmoo Heo, Indiana University - Indianapolis, Indianapolis, IN and Carina King, Stetson University, Deland, FL

Sport tourism is a type of special interest tourism trend that is gaining in popularity. According to Gibson (1998), active sport tourism involves people who travel in order to actively participate in sporting events. An example of active sport tourism is the Senior Olympics and Masters Games. Based on US demographics the proportion of the elderly is expected to rise significantly, and research on senior citizens' participation in sport event tourism is key. In older adult active sport tourism studies, Kavussanu and McAuley (1995) reported that high active individuals are more optimistic than low active individuals. Optimism had a tendency to influence physical and psychological well-being (Mroczek, Spiro, Aldwin, Ozer, & Bosse,1993; Scheier & Carver, 1985). While research has found a positive association between dispositional optimism and subjective well-being among older adults (Mroczek et al, 1993; Scheier & Carver, 1985), the relationship between depth of involvement, dispositional optimism, and perceived health among older adults has not been examined. This quantitative study sought to identify the factors that explain the perceived health of Senior Olympic Games participants. Adults aged 50 and over, from the 2005 Michigan Senior Olympic Games, completed onsite surveys. Using convenience sampling, subjects (N = 117) were recruited at various sport venues such as the track, basketball court, and swimming pool, before the start of their events. Subjects took approximately 15 minutes to complete the questionnaire. The dependent variable was perceived health assessed by two items (Cronbach's Alpha was .78). These items asked subjects to rate their perception of health status as well as health condition compared to their age cohorts. Predictor variables included behavior consistency, affective attachment (Goff, Fick, & Oppliger, 1997), and dispositional optimism (Scheier & Carver, 1987). Cronbach 's Alpha for the predictor variables were .68, .72, and .82 respectively. Pearson correlation coefficients showed that there were a number of statistically significant relationships among variables. For example, there was a significant positive correlation between perceived health and behavior consistency (r = .199, p < .05). Regression analysis was used to predict perceived health. Results suggested that behavioral consistency (beta= .231, p < .05) was a significant predictor of perceived health. The total R squared for the model was .049.
Keyword(s): aging/older adult issues, exercise/fitness/physical activity, recreation

Back to the 2007 AAHPERD National Convention and Exposition (March 13 -- 17, 2007)