ECSS Paris 2023: OP-SH07
Introduction Social connection is critical to the health and wellbeing of individuals, communities, and societies. Within walking football (WF), a modified format for middle-aged and older adults, social connection is frequently reported as a central outcome of participation. However, despite its prominence within the WF literature, there remains a paucity of theoretically informed qualitative research examining how social connections are formed, experienced, maintained, and sometimes constrained. This study addresses this gap by examining how WF activates and develops social connection and social wellbeing among its participants. Methods This study adopted a qualitative research design. One-to-one semi-structured interviews were conducted with twelve current WF players, generating 17 hours of data. Transcripts were analysed using a thematic, iterative approach, with sociological theories of identity, social ties, and social support acting as primary sensemaking frameworks. Results Preliminary analysis identified five key, interrelated mechanisms through which WF promotes social connection and social wellbeing. Participants described how WF facilitated: (1) the development of a role-based identity that provided purpose, meaning, and behavioural guidance; (2) access to emotional, practical, and informational support from similar others; (3) opportunities for passive social comparison that positively influenced sustained engagement; (4) a sense of belonging; and (5) positive self-esteem and confidence. Discussion This study makes an original contribution by moving beyond descriptive accounts of social benefits to provide a theoretically informed explanation of the identity- and social-based mechanisms underpinning the formation and maintenance of social connection and social wellbeing. These findings have important implications for the design of WF and other sports-based programmes aimed at improving health and quality of life. They highlight the need to deliberately cultivate inclusive and supportive cultures that affirm participants’ identities, facilitate meaningful and supportive relationships, and promote self-worth, belonging, and embeddedness.
Read CV Egan GoodisonECSS Paris 2023: OP-SH07
Introduction University sports facilities play a key role in supporting the wellbeing of staff, students, and the broader community. This is especially relevant in regional Australian communities where sports participation is a key cultural experience. Community members from migrant and refugee backgrounds are less likely to be involved in regular sport and physical activity or receive their associated health benefits. This study evaluated a two-year program in regional Australia that used university sports facilities and programs to build community partnerships that aimed to assist a cohort of Ezidi people with refugee backgrounds to become more physically active. Methods The Diffusion of Innovation (Rogers, 2003) theory for health promotion and a qualitative approach were used to obtain the perspectives of community stakeholders, including university sports staff and Ezidi participants. Semi-structured interviews and focus groups were the main source of data collection involving twenty people (14 Ezidi people, 6 community stakeholders). These were audio-recorded, transcribed and analysed thematically. The research questions that guided the study were: RQ1-How does physical activity drive social inclusion for newly arrived Ezidi people in a regional city? RQ2-What characterises best practice for supporting migrants and refugees transition to a regional Australian community for holistic health benefits? Results: Analysis of semi-structured interviews and focus groups identified five key themes: 1) Opportunity for cross-cultural understanding; 2) Opportunities to be social; 3) A sense of belonging; 4) Health benefits (Physical, mental and emotional) following the experience of trauma; 5) Challenging gender stereotypes. The findings demonstrated that the university-based sports program benefitted the holistic wellbeing of Ezidi community members, promoted intercultural understanding, and even challenged gender stereotypes. Mental and social health especially were positively impacted following the experience of trauma, with young Ezidi people, in particular, having opportunity to engage with ‘Australian’ university students and community members of similar age. The findings indicate that early intervention of intersectoral sporting programs for newly arrived migrants and refugees in regional Australia can be a powerful mechanism for physical activity promotion and enhancing settlement outcomes. Young people, from older adolescence to early adulthood, appeared to experience the most positive outcomes. Discussion The program has exemplified the power of university-community networks to benefit holistic community wellbeing and physical activity promotion. This study has potential to support future best-practice transition models for other diaspora groups globally. This study demonstrated the power of interagency collaborations, and the benefits of low-cost group activities. Reference Rogers, E. (2003). Diffusion of Innovations. Simon and Schuster.
Read CV Kristy ONeillECSS Paris 2023: OP-SH07
Incarceration imposes structural constraints that deeply affect individuals' relationships with their bodies. To better understand how male inmates’ experience and talk about their bodies while incarcerated, a study in a low security prison setting in Norway was carried out. The body, within a prison environment, is described as a focal point of institutional control and surveillance, but it simultaneously serves as a medium for resistance, identity construction, and emotional regulation (de la Tierra, A. 2023; Hervik et al. 2025; Liguori, F., & Calella, P. 2021). On this backdrop, this study explores how male inmates narrate their experiences of embodiment, identity and anabolic-androgenic steroid (AAS) use. Further, it investigates how physical activity, bodily transformation and substance use function as strategies of resistance and identity construction in a carceral setting. The study analyzes qualitative interview data collected from 19 inmates in a low security Forest Prison in Norway. Thematic analysis was used to identify patterns in how inmates experience and articulate embodiment. The body emerges as a central site for agency, coping and social positioning. Inmates also experience institutional deterioration, often referred to as wear and tear and confinement trauma. Physical activity is used as a tool to reclaim self-control and facilitate emotional regulation. Also, AAS (anabolic androgenic steroids) use is prevalent as a performance enhancer and is mostly a well-known drug amongst inmates. Some inmates also report that they are introduced to AAS for the first time while incarcerated. This may reflect a shifting ideal of masculinity, moving away from "huge" 90s bodybuilder type to the modern "fit" and more "defined “aesthetic”, often involving growth hormones. The findings reveal the complex relationship between the experienced need for physical transformation, doping as part of this picture, desire to change social status and identity work in a prison setting. The narratives strongly express how the body functions as a critical medium through which incarcerated individuals negotiate power, identity, and survival. While the open prison system offers greater bodily freedom, limitations within the prison setting in health support and personalized follow-up undermine the potential for healthy lifestyle changes. Inmates who actively pursue physical transformation, whether through intense training or the use of doping agents is employing forms of embodied agency to counteract the disempowerment and psychological deterioration inherent in the carceral environment. Supporting bodily autonomy is crucial, as inmates report greater well-being and a stronger sense of self when it is prioritized.
Read CV Trine ThoresenECSS Paris 2023: OP-SH07