Participation in sports as a source of meaning in successful aging

Personal life meaning is necessary to successful aging, and meaning has been found to derive from many potential sources. This qualitative study asked if active participation in sports can be a source of meaning for older adults, and how that meaning is experienced. It further asked how older adults would describe meaning from sports participation as contributing to successful aging. The research was performed qualitatively using a generic approach. The sample was purposive and the data collected through personal interviews. The research found that sports participation is a significant source of meaning for those older adults who engage in it, and that the meaning is experienced in a number of ways. Themes abstracted from participant-provided data that speak affirmatively to these research questions were positive physical and emotional experiences; health and fitness, physical and mental; personal challenge; social aspects of participation in sports; lessons learned in sports transfer to other areas of life; compensation for inevitable aging deficits; and must be active for as long as possible. Further, the research findings are discussed in relation to prominent models of successful aging and other research pertinent to it. Additional research is recommended in the area of successful aging, particularly study into the sources of meaning experienced by physically challenged individuals who nevertheless exhibit all the other aspects of aging well.