Designing a Structural Model of the Effects of Using Sports Brand on Children’s Sports Participation: Mediating Role of Appearance Attractiveness, Enjoyment, and Social Identity

Background: It has been well documented that participating in regular sport activities can promote physical and mental health in children. However, recent data revealed that most children worldwide tend to be less physically active and do not participate in regular sport activities. Therefore, it is important to find the factors affecting participation of children in regular sport activities. Hence, in this study, the effects of the use of sports brands on children’s participation in sports activities has been investigated, considering the mediating role of appearance, attractiveness, enjoyment, and social identity.Method: Sample of the study included ۳۸۴ boys and girls aged ۱۰ to ۱۲ years old. The children were selected by the use of convenience sampling. Data was collected using standard and self-made questionnaires. Structural Equation Modeling (SEM), using Lisrel software, was used to examine structural relationships between research variables.Results: SEM results revealed that sport brands had significant and direct effects on sports participation. Appearance, attractiveness, enjoyment, and social identity had also significant and direct effects on sports participation. In addition, appearance, attractiveness, enjoyment, and social identity significantly and directly mediated the association between sport brand and sports participation. Results of model fit showed that our model has a good fit (RMSEA=۰.۰۷).Conclusion: This study shows that using sport brands may play a significant role in the participation of children in sport activities, confirming the importance of sport brands on sports participation among children.

Keywords:

Sport brand , Sports Participation , attractiveness , enjoyment , Social identity