Article
Amateur runners’ commitment: an analysis of sociodemographic and sports habit profiles
El compromiso de los corredores aficionados: un análisis de los perfiles sociodemográficos y de hábitos deportivos
Registro en:
Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2020, 17, 925
1660-4601
Autor
Parra-Camacho, David
Alonso Dos Santos, Manuel
Huertas González-Serrano, María
Resumen
The aim of this work is to analyse the commitment to running among urban runners by
identifying groups regarding commitment to this sport and by defining their sociodemographic profile
and their sports habits. A sample of 1806 participants in popular urban races in the city of Valencia
was interviewed using an 11-item questionnaire on commitment to running, sociodemographic
characteristics, and sports habits. The psychometric properties of the running-commitment scale
allowed for the identification of two factors in commitment to running: enthusiasm for running
(6 items) and affliction from running (5 items). Subsequently, a cluster analysis combining hierarchical
and non-hierarchical methods was performed, identifying three groups of runners: highly committed
(n = 650), moderately committed (n = 749), and slightly committed (n = 407). Highly committed
runners positively rate all aspects of running enthusiasm (M = 4.15), while moderately committed
runners show a more neutral attitude (M = 3.41) and slightly committed runners disagree on these
aspects (M = 2.41). Both highly (M = 1.32) and moderately (M = 2.04) committed runners disagree
on the affliction-related aspects of running, while slightly committed runners show a trend towards
neutrality on some affliction indicators. The variables referring to age, level of studies, sports habits,
and running addiction contributed to differentiating the identified groups.