Effect of negative social capital on exercise participation in the non-face-to-face era: The case of South Korea
Main Article Content
Lack of access to social bonding sessions owing to the COVID-19 pandemic has had negative effects on older adults’ exercise participation. This study examined the relationships between bridging capital, bonding capital, relationship commitment, and exercise participation intention. We surveyed 740 adults aged 50 years or over who visited welfare, health, and senior centers in South Korea. The results showed that bridging capital and bonding capital were positively associated with relationship commitment and exercise participation intention, and that the effect of bridging capital on exercise participation intention was mediated by relationship commitment. Thus, it is necessary to find ways to develop programs that can connect older adults and help them form small networks, in order to promote their exercise participation.
Article Highlights
- This study validated the concept of social capital among older adults during the COVID-19 pandemic using a two-dimensional framework.
- We found that bridging capital and bonding capital directly and positively affected the exercise participation intention of older adults.
- Relationship commitment played a mediating role in the link between bridging capital and intention to participate in exercise; however, no such mediating role was found for bonding capital and exercise participation intention.
Method
Participants and Procedure
This study targeted individuals aged 50 years and over in South Korea and utilized online survey distribution and collection methods through the research institutes Panel Marketing Interactive and EMBRAIN for 11 days, from March 10–21, 2022. The participants provided informed consent through electronic signatures. The sample consisted of older adults who attended welfare, public health, and senior centers for sports club activities. A nonprobabilistic sampling method was used to distribute the questionnaires, and 581 completed surveys were included in the analysis.
Recognizing the impact of social capital on engagement in sports may pose methodological difficulties. The primary challenge lies in assessing how certain aspects of social capital are connected to participation in sports clubs while accounting for various influencing factors (Liang et al., 2020). Thus, we asked participants to report whether they participated in regular exercise and which facilities (if any) they used for this purpose. These and other demographic characteristics are shown in Table 1.
Table 1. General Characteristics of the Participants
Note. N = 581.
Measures
We adopted six bridging capital items and four bonding capital items from the Social Capital Scale developed by Grootaert and Van Bastelaer (2001). To assess relationship commitment we used six items from the Relationship Commitment Scale by Meyer et al. (1993), revised by Gruen et al. (2000). Four items from Funk et al. (2011) were used for measuring exercise participation intention.
Data Analysis
We used SPSS 25.0 and the PROCESS macro (Model 4) for data analysis. A frequency analysis was conducted to determine the demographic characteristics of the participants, and the internal consistency between items was calculated through Cronbach’s alpha coefficient. Confirmatory factor analysis was conducted to validate the composition of the survey, and correlations and multicollinearity between factors were assessed using correlation analysis. The PROCESS macro (Model 4) was used to examine the mediating effect of social capital factors on behavioral intention through relationship commitment.
Results
Validity and Reliability
The content validity of the questionnaire produced for this study was verified by a professor majoring in the sports industry and a researcher majoring in sports sociology. Confirmatory factor analysis was conducted using Anderson and Gerbing’s (1988) two-step approach, which measures the validity of the type coefficient and indicates the suitability of the structural model. The results of the confirmatory factor and reliability analyses were as follows: chi square = 754.40, degrees of freedom = 164, Tucker–Lewis index (TLI) = .91, comparative fit index (CFI) = .92, root mean square error of approximation (RMSEA) = .07. CFI and TLI were above the standard threshold of .90 and RMSEA was below the standard threshold of .08 (Lin et al., 2019). In addition, for composite reliability (CR) the sum of the total standardized loadings and variance of the measurement error for each item were added to the sum of the total standardized loadings, yielding values ranging between .90 and .93. Average variance extracted (AVE) values ranged between .60 and .78. These met the reference values of .70 and .50 for CR and AVE, respectively; therefore, the model provided a good fit to the data (Galanti et al., 2021).
Finally, a reliability analysis using Cronbach’s alpha coefficient was conducted to ensure the internal consistency of the measurement tool. Values ranged between .77 and .88 for all reference points, which are above the threshold of .70 (Sürücü & Maslakci, 2020). The results are summarized in Table 2.
Table 2. Results of Confirmatory Factor and Reliability Analyses of the Overall Concept
Note. AVE = average variance extracted; CR = composite reliability.
Correlation Analysis
Correlations among bridging capital, bonding capital, relationship commitment, and exercise participation intention were analyzed using Pearson correlation coefficients. The analysis confirmed no multicollinearity problem, as the correlations between the variables were statistically significant and were less than .80 (see Table 3).
Table 3. Results of Correlation Analysis
Note. ** p < .01.
Verification of the Mediating Effect of Relationship Commitment on the Link Between Bridging Capital and Exercise Participation Intention
Table 4 shows the effects of older adults’ social capital and relationship commitment on their exercise participation intention. First, in Model 1, bridging capital had a significant effect on relationship commitment (p < .001). Next, in Model 2, bridging capital had a significant effect on exercise participation intention (p < .001). Finally, in Model 3, both bridging capital and relationship commitment had a significant effect on exercise participation intention (p < .05). Therefore, Hypotheses 1 and 2 were supported.
Table 4. Relationships Between Bridging Capital, Relationship Commitment, and Exercise Participation Intention
Table 5 presents the results of a bootstrapping test used to confirm the specific mediating effects. First, the total effect of bridging capital on exercise participation intention was significant (p < .001). In bootstrapping tests the mediation effect is significant when zero is not included between the lower and upper confidence interval (CI) limits (Nakagawa & Cuthill, 2007). We found that bridging capital affected exercise participation intention through relationship commitment and that the bias-corrected 95% CI [0.003, 0.103] did not contain zero. Therefore, Hypothesis 3 was supported.
Table 5. The Mediating Effect of Relationship Commitment on the Link Between Bridging Capital and Exercise Participation Intention
Verification of the Mediating Effect of Relationship Commitment on the Link Between Bonding Capital and Exercise Participation Intention
Table 6 presents the results of the effects test of bonding capital and relationship commitment on exercise participation intention among older adults. First, Model 1 revealed a significant effect of bonding capital on relationship commitment (p < .001). Next, Model 2 revealed a significant effect of bonding capital on exercise participation intention (p < .001). Finally, in examining the effect of the independent variable and parameters on the dependent variables, Model 3 showed that bonding capital had a significant effect on exercise participation intention (p < .001) and that relationship commitment did not significantly affect exercise participation intention. Thus, Hypotheses 4 and 5 were supported.
Table 6. Relationships Between Bonding Capital, Relationship Commitment, and Exercise Participation Intention
As shown in Table 7, the path from bonding capital to exercise participation intention through relationship commitment (α = .02) exhibited a significant bias-corrected 95% CI [0.05, 0.09]; however, overall, bonding capital did not significantly affect exercise participation intention through relationship commitment. Thus, Hypothesis 6 was not supported.
Table 7. Verification of the Mediating Effect of Relationship Commitment on the Link Between Bonding Capital and Exercise Participation Intention
Verification of the Link Between Relationship Commitment and Exercise Participation Intention
Table 8 shows the effect analysis of relationship commitment on exercise participation intention among older adults. Model 1 revealed that relationship commitment had a significant effect on exercise participation intention (p < .001). Therefore, Hypothesis 7 was supported.
Table 8. Link Between Relationship Commitment and Exercise Participation Intention
Discussion
The social problems faced by older adults in South Korea are caused by rapid social change, economic role loss, and the dissolution of traditional families (B. J. Kim & Kihl, 2021). Social capital has been studied as a major factor in solving social problems occurring in special circumstances, such as COVID-19. However, few researchers have examined the impact of social capital in sports clubs on the intention to participate in exercise, even though sports club usage has significantly decreased since the COVID-19 outbreak. To address this gap in the literature, the main purpose of this study was to investigate exercise participation intention in older adults through social capital (bridging and bonding capital) and relationship commitment.
We found that both bridging capital and bonding capital significantly influence relationship commitment and exercise participation intention, which is consistent with the findings of previous studies (Cao et al., 2022; Tjahjono et al., 2019; Vollmer et al., 2019). Notably, bridging capital plays a stronger role than does bonding capital in influencing relationship commitment. This suggests that older adults who participate in sports clubs tend to have weak but broad social networks, and that relationship commitment and actual exercise participation decrease when this capital is damaged. In other words, the bridging capital experienced in sports clubs is more likely to have a greater impact than do the bonding resources measured by personal emotional support, because these clubs offer a high frequency of social contact with people from different backgrounds in terms of socioeconomic status (Yeo & Lee, 2019).
In this study we found a mediating effect of relationship commitment on the link between bridging capital and exercise participation intention. Mutz and Gerke (2021) stated that during the COVID-19 period, closed infrastructure reduced leisure sports and exercise participation by interrupting the exchange of exercise-related information and instructions on exercise methods. Furthermore, Wen (2020) asserted that networks with weak ties have a high capacity for information transmission and that sharing and diffusion are relatively facilitated. In this context our results indicate that sports club members who are connected through weak ties, as represented by bridging capital, perceive less value in their relationships as the exchange of information and sharing of exercise methods diminishes. Consequently, their participation in exercise decreases.
Public institutions, such as welfare centers and district office exercise programs, are the main means by which older adults with limited social capital can access exercise opportunities. Therefore, community managers should encourage the exchange of exercise information, techniques, and methods within sports clubs to sustain relationships and promote exercise participation among older adults. In particular, activities such as peer-led sessions and buddy systems, which involve forming self-help groups for information sharing and exchange, facilitate the establishment of social capital (Im & Rosenberg, 2016).
Furthermore, Eydi (2016) indicated that enhanced organizational performance is linked to improved work outcomes when relationship commitment mediates the social capital of organizational members. Simons et al. (2020) argued that people tend to be more selective in their social relationships in old age as a strategy for maintaining their well-being; specifically, they prefer emotionally important and reliable social relationships. Therefore, our findings suggest that older adults who have had less contact with relatives or neighbors due to COVID-19 may look for quasicommunities as substitutes for bonding capital in everyday interactions. Thus, to increase exercise participation among older adults, sports clubs must actively leverage quasicommunity participation. For example, enabling members to connect with individuals from other sports clubs or related groups can enhance their interactions. Facilitating connections between different generations within a quasicommunity can also enhance relationships through the exchange of diverse perspectives and experiences, thus promoting a sustained commitment to relationships.
Furthermore, we found a significant link between relationship commitment and exercise participation intention. These results are consistent with those of previous studies that examined the relationship between organizational commitment and behavior (Ekhsan, 2019; Grego-Planer, 2019; Redondo et al., 2021). Emotional and calculative commitment have also been shown to be critical factors in promoting exercise participation intention (Huang & Kim, 2023). This study found that older adult exercise participants who receive fewer incentives from sports clubs have a lower exercise participation intention.
The lack of relationship commitment in sports clubs can lead older adults to stop exercising. To address this, managers should promote social interaction and build trust to encourage more frequent participation in sports club activities. This can be achieved by creating small groups and promoting community functioning.
Limitations and Future Research Directions
This study has several limitations. First, we did not consider the exercise history of our participants. Older adults who have exercised for a long time may have higher social capital than those whose exercise habits are less established. Therefore, future studies could examine differences in exercise duration. Second, this study used self-report questionnaires for data collection, which could have led to recall bias. Future studies could employ a mixed research method, using interviews and questionnaires. Third, this study did not include all areas of social capital. Future studies could use additional variables with diverse social capital constructs to derive richer results.
Conclusion
This study investigated the impact of the non-face-to-face era on sports club activities and exercise participation intention among older adults. Given that older adults require more social interaction than any other age group (Palmer et al., 2016), this study focused on the role of social capital and relationship commitment in older adults’ participation in sports clubs. We identified a mediating effect of relationship commitment on social capital and behavioral intention in older adults. The results indicate that a decrease in sports club activities negatively affects exercise participation intention.
On the basis of these findings, exercise programs that foster communication among older adults should be developed. Small networks and sports activity leaders who support older adults’ physical activities may enhance their relationship commitment and motivate their continuous participation in sports. Furthermore, this study used the PROCESS macro (Model 4) to investigate the direct, indirect, and total effects between each variable, and derived detailed path coefficients for the mediating effect of relationship commitment. This approach supplements the limitations of the structural equation modeling approach used in previous studies.
Table 1. General Characteristics of the Participants
Note. N = 581.
Table 2. Results of Confirmatory Factor and Reliability Analyses of the Overall Concept
Note. AVE = average variance extracted; CR = composite reliability.
Table 3. Results of Correlation Analysis
Note. ** p < .01.
Table 4. Relationships Between Bridging Capital, Relationship Commitment, and Exercise Participation Intention
Table 5. The Mediating Effect of Relationship Commitment on the Link Between Bridging Capital and Exercise Participation Intention
Table 6. Relationships Between Bonding Capital, Relationship Commitment, and Exercise Participation Intention
Table 7. Verification of the Mediating Effect of Relationship Commitment on the Link Between Bonding Capital and Exercise Participation Intention
Table 8. Link Between Relationship Commitment and Exercise Participation Intention
Hyun Byun was responsible for securing resources and review and editing of the paper. Sangwan Jeon was responsible for conducting the investigation and visualization. Hyun Byun and Sangwan Jeon were jointly responsible for the research methodology, validation, formal analysis, and original draft preparation. Eun Surk Yi was responsible for the study conceptualization, supervision, project administration, and funding acquisition.
This work was supported by the Ministry of Education of the Republic of Korea and the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF-2021S1A5C2A02089245).
The data that support the findings of this study are available on request from the corresponding author.
Eun Surk Yi, Department of Exercise Rehabilitation, Gachon University, 191 Hambakmoe-ro, Yeonsu-gu, Incheon 21936, Republic of Korea. Email: [email protected]