Beyond Health and Happiness: An Exploratory Study Into the Relationship Between Craftsmanship and Meaningfulness of Sport

Citation

Ronkainen NJ, McDougall M, Tikkanen O, Feddersen N & Tahtinen R (2021) Beyond Health and Happiness: An Exploratory Study Into the Relationship Between Craftsmanship and Meaningfulness of Sport. Sociology of Sport Journal, 38 (4), pp. 345-354. https://doi.org/10.1123/ssj.2020-0047

Abstract
Meaning in movement is an enduring topic in sport social sciences, but few studies have explored how sport is meaningful and for whom. The authors examined the relationships between demographic variables, meaningfulness of sport, and craftsmanship. Athletes (N = 258, 61.6% male, age ≥18) from the United Kingdom completed a demographic questionnaire, the Work and Meaning Inventory modified for sport, and the Craftsmanship Scale. Older age and individual sport significantly correlated with higher craftsmanship. Craftsmanship and religion were two independent predictors of meaningfulness, but emphasized somewhat different meaning dimensions. Meaningfulness in sport seems to be related to how athletes approach their craft, as well as their overall framework of life meaning. A breathtakingly broad variety of other common goals and strivings—as examples, the desires to be healthy, to be loved, to succeed at work, to raise children, and to serve one’s religion or country—can be subsumed under either or both of those broad wishes. (Baumeister et al., 2013, p. 505)

Journal
Sociology of Sport Journal: Volume 38, Issue 4