Soziale Determinanten der Aufnahme und Aufrechterhaltung der Sportteilnahme im mittleren und späten Erwachsenenalter

The discussion on social disparity seems to be an appropriate approach to analyse the influence of these factors. It is assumed that disparity structure, interaction context and habitus are relevant determinants of the development of sports activity in middle and late adulthood. In this longitudinal study the sports participation of 481 persons aged between 33 and 56 years (M = 45.0; SD = 7.5) at four measurement occasions (1992, 1997, 2002 and 2010) was analysed. In the process of adoption, women are more than three times as likely to become active compared to men. This increased sports participation among women is mediated by family variables (number of children and number of persons living in a shared household), and points to the relevance of the interaction context as a mediator. In the process of maintenance, social status plays an important role, where its influence is not mediated by the workload.