A Study about the Relationship between Social Capital and Sports Participation Case Study: Adolescents of Babol

Social capital is a new concept which has greatly attracted social scientists especially sociologists’ attention. Social capital can have different functions and consequences. It is generally considered as a public good because social capital as a result of social relationship is advantageous to both the person and the others. Therefore, its advantages can not be restricted to one party. The present study sought to examine the relationship between the components of social capital and sports participation. It also identified which component was the best predictor of sports participation. For this purpose, 382 adolescents from Babol were selected by multi-stage sampling method.
The Pearson correlation analysis revealed a significant relationship between friendship, trust in friends, trust in neighbors, neighborhood relationship, volunteering, and sports participation. Multiple regression analysis and path analysis showed that voluntary membership, trust in friends, socio-economic status of family and friendship were the best predictors of sports participation. The findings were consistent with Putnam’s theory regarding the importance of volunteering