Social determinants of sports participation revisited. The role of socialization and symbolic trajectories

Abstract

This paper discusses the sociological debate of detraditionalization in the case of sports participation in Flanders. Sports participation remains to a great extent predictable by means of social characteristics. Traditional position-bound stratification mechanisms, based on age and gender identities, remain important determinants of sports participation behaviour. But more intentional socialization mechanisms such as the educational level, the formal social participation as well as the respondents’ media preferences and TV viewing habits, appear to be important in explaining sports participation.