Multiple Identities in Sport Fandom: Balance, Conflict, & Negotiation

Mansfield, Aaron

Publication:
Multiple Identities in Sport Fandom: Balance, Conflict, & Negotiation

dc.contributor.advisor	Matthew Katz
dc.contributor.author	Mansfield, Aaron
dc.contributor.department	University of Massachusetts Amherst
dc.date	2024-03-27T17:18:35.000
dc.date.accessioned	2024-04-26T15:43:49Z
dc.date.available	2024-04-26T15:43:49Z
dc.date.submitted	February
dc.date.submitted	2021
dc.description.abstract	Simultaneous to the sport industry’s ascent, obesity has become an issue of growing societal concern. Scholars have explored the role of social-psychological identification in both fandom and physical health, but have not yet explored the intersection of the two. Throughout life, individuals must negotiate all of their identities, including their attachment to sport teams, yet understanding of role identity within sport management is limited. Likewise, scholars have noted the need for greater illumination of the relationship between fandom and physical well-being. I address these gaps through three studies. In Study One, I completed semi-structured interviews with individuals who consider both role identities central to their self-concept. Some interviewees suggested the two identities compete for salience, yet others explained that they view the roles as mutually supportive pieces of self. In Study Two, I examined experiences of relevant ‘identity work’ through autoethnography. I found that I often struggled to balance and integrate my fan identity and health-consciousness, but other central identities and social contexts played lynchpin roles in my experiences. Finally, in Study Three, I surveyed health-conscious sport fans to understand their experiences through a more generalizable lens. I found fandom is correlated with positive physical health outcomes, yet health-conscious sport fans perceive identity conflict while consuming sport. In sum, the findings of this dissertation indicate health-conscious sport fans often perceive conflict between these two identities, sensing they are not harmonious – yet this experience is nuanced and contextual, hinging on both individual (i.e., psychological) characteristics and social (i.e., sociological) forces. Directions for sport scholars and the industry are unpacked.
dc.description.degree	Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
dc.description.department	Management
dc.identifier.doi	https://doi.org/10.7275/20373656
dc.identifier.orcid	https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0189-4785
dc.identifier.uri	https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14394/18418
dc.relation.url	https://scholarworks.umass.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=3178&context=dissertations_2&unstamped=1
dc.source.status	published
dc.subject	Consumer behavior
dc.subject	identity theory
dc.subject	fan identification
dc.subject	sport fandom
dc.subject	physical health
dc.subject	identity work
dc.subject	Business Administration, Management, and Operations
dc.subject	Health Psychology
dc.subject	Marketing
dc.subject	Psychology
dc.subject	Social Psychology
dc.subject	Sociology
dc.subject	Sports Management
dc.subject	Sports Studies
dc.title	Multiple Identities in Sport Fandom: Balance, Conflict, & Negotiation
dc.type	openaccess
dc.type	article
dc.type	dissertation
digcom.contributor.author	isAuthorOfPublication\|email:amansfield@umass.edu\|institution:University of Massachusetts Amherst\|Mansfield, Aaron
digcom.identifier	dissertations_2/2123
digcom.identifier.contextkey	20373656
digcom.identifier.submissionpath	dissertations_2/2123
dspace.entity.type	Publication