Psychological processes connecting team identification and social well-being for middle-aged and older adults: moderated mediation of subjective and objective on-field performance

To cultivate the potential of sport spectatorship to enhance social well-being, a greater understanding of underlying psychological processes is essential. Using the social identity approach as a theoretical framework, we investigate how identification with a sport team interacts with subjective and objective measures of on-field team performance to affect social well-being. Data from 790 U.S. middle-aged and older adults were analysed through a path model combining mediation and moderation. The results indicate that the relationship between team identification and social life satisfaction - a measure of social well-being - is fully mediated by subjective perceptions of a favourite team's on-field performance. In addition, this mediating effect increases as the objective on-field performance decreases. These findings reveal that team identification drives spectators to subjectively judge their favourite team's performance, which serves as a coping strategy to enhance their social well-being when the team is performing poorly. Our evidence implies that sport organisations with middling to poor performance records may leverage social and community events to promote consumer social well-being.

Automated summary

Our research found that team identification affects social life satisfaction, and this relationship is fully mediated by subjective perceptions. Additionally, this mediating effect increases as the objective performance decreases.