Designing a Model for the Impact of Enjoyment, Happiness, and Social Needs on Mental Health with the Moderating Role of Sports Fandom

Abstract

The aim of the present study is to design a model for the impact of enjoyment, happiness, and social needs on mental health with the moderating role of sports fandom. This research is applied in terms of its goal and correlational in terms of its execution path. The statistical population of this study consists of spectators of sporting events who follow these events through the media. In this research, individuals who watched the 2019 AFC Asian Cup were selected as the sample population using a convenience sampling method. To estimate the sample size, SPSS Sample Power software was used, which estimated the sample size to be 370 participants. For data collection, the 21-item questionnaire by Kim et al. (2018) was used. This questionnaire includes: enjoyment derived from watching sports events (6 items), happiness derived from watching sports events (5 items), fulfillment of social needs from the broadcast of sports events (3 items), mental health (4 items), and sports fandom (3 items). Confirmatory factor analysis was conducted using Smart PLS 2.3.6 software. The results showed that enjoyment, happiness, and social needs have an impact on mental health, and sports fandom plays a moderating role between happiness and mental health. Based on the findings, it is suggested that officials, by taking examples from foreign countries such as Japan, can create football parks or a football day alongside family activities, allowing individuals to spend a recreational day with their families and enjoy watching football together.