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From Their Perspective: A Qualitative Examination of Physical Activity and Sport Programming for Working Mothers

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  • Marlene A. Dixon

Abstract

Research has long demonstrated the benefits of participation in sport, exercise, and physical activity, which include lower mortality and morbidity (National Heart Foundation of Australia, 2001; U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 1996). Still, research demonstrates that 60-80% of adults are not active at a level sufficient to derive health benefits (Armstrong, Bauman, & Davies, 2000; Bowles, Morrow, Leonard, Hawkins, & Couzelis, 2002; Pate et al., 1995), and working mothers may face particular challenges in pursuing physical activity and sport (Jackson & Henderson, 1995). Utilizing the exercise psychology and women's leisure literatures, this study examines not only the barriers or constraints to participation, but also the ways that working mothers negotiate these barriers and, very practically, the ways that sport managers can better structure program offerings to increase access for this group (Bauman, Smith, Maibach, & Reger-Nash, 2006; Jackson & Henderson, 1995; Shaw, 1994). Forty-four working mothers from a university in the Southwestern United States participated in focus group inquiry regarding their physical activity and sport participation, barriers to participation, ways that they negotiated those barriers, and recommendations for change. Results indicated that rigid scheduling, guilt, and narrow programming constrained activity participation, and those constraints varied by marital status and social class. Negotiations included reframing entitlement to participation, garnering social support, and combating rigid work structures. Specific programming recommendations for sport managers as well as implications for social change are also discussed.

Suggested Citation

  • Marlene A. Dixon, 2009. "From Their Perspective: A Qualitative Examination of Physical Activity and Sport Programming for Working Mothers," Sport Management Review, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 12(1), pages 34-48, January.
  • Handle: RePEc:taf:rsmrxx:v:12:y:2009:i:1:p:34-48
    DOI: 10.1016/j.smr.2008.09.002
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    Cited by:

    1. Hidde Bekhuis & Jasper van Houten & Femke van Abswoude, 2024. "Why Do New Parents Stop Practising Sport? A Retrospective Study towards the Determinants of Dropping Out after Becoming a Parent," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 21(3), pages 1-14, March.
    2. Corliss N. Bean & Michelle Fortier & Courtney Post & Karam Chima, 2014. "Understanding How Organized Youth Sport May Be Harming Individual Players within the Family Unit: A Literature Review," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 11(10), pages 1-43, October.
    3. Evren Agyar, 2014. "Contribution of Perceived Freedom and Leisure Satisfaction to Life Satisfaction in a Sample of Turkish Women," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 116(1), pages 1-15, March.
    4. Sawrikar, Pooja & Muir, Kristy, 2010. "The myth of a 'fair go': Barriers to sport and recreational participation among Indian and other ethnic minority women in Australia," Sport Management Review, Elsevier, vol. 13(4), pages 355-367, November.
    5. Warner, Stacy, 2019. "Sport as medicine: How F3 is building healthier men and communities," Sport Management Review, Elsevier, vol. 22(1), pages 38-52.
    6. Jorge Rojo-Ramos & Antonio Castillo-Paredes & María Mendoza-Muñoz & José Carmelo Adsuar & Irene Polo-Campos & Santiago Gomez-Paniagua & Carmen Galán-Arroyo, 2023. "Children’s Influence on Their Parents’ Satisfaction with Physical Activity in Nature: An Exploratory Study," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(6), pages 1-10, March.

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