**Abstract**

Sport is a social phenomenon. The positive influence of sport helps improve the quality of life of a person. Subjective dimensions of quality of life can be perceived as person's individual perception of his/her life experience with all the influences he/she encounters and how they affect him or her. The aim of this chapter will be to broaden the knowledge with regards to effects of sport on subjective dimensions of quality of life. 196 (sport active) and 149 (sport inactive) adolescents were the research sample for questionnaire research (Q-LES-Q, SWLS). Two subjective dimensions of quality of life gave evidence that sporting activity positively influenced the perception of dimension of quality of life enjoyment and satisfaction and the dimension of global satisfaction with life among adolescents. Sport active boys are statistically significantly more satisfied with the domain quality of life enjoyment and satisfaction in comparison to sport inactive boys (p = 0.027). No statistical difference was found in domain quality of life enjoyment and satisfaction between sport active girls and sport inactive girls. In the global satisfaction with life we found out the statistical difference between sport active boys and sport inactive boys (p < 0.001) and sport active girls and sport inactive girls (p = 0.026).

**Keywords:** sporting activity, boys, girls, adolescents, quality of life enjoyment, satisfaction with life

## **1. Introduction**

Sociology of sport focuses on the research in the regularity of human social behavior, and sport is such a regular behavior, when applied. Sporting activities and exercising are significant factors for a person's development and his/her integration in the society. Sport, in this way of meaning, is the phenomenon that influences the society. The positive effects of sport improve the quality of life of an individual and fulfill all the human needs on the five-stage pyramid of needs. When sport behavior will convert into practicing sport activities, then the sport will benefit the physical and psychological health, as it is known. We were interested in the topic of how sport can benefit the subjective dimensions of the quality of life. We focus on the dimension of the quality of life enjoyment and satisfaction and the dimension of the global satisfaction with life. We present a general subject area, quality of life, and we lead the context of the research to the topic of the research—subjective dimensions of the quality of life in dependence of gender and activity in sport and exercising. With the help of selected research papers from this field of study, we summarize the background knowledge about the research topic (subjective

dimensions of the quality of life) and topic areas, which was created within the quality of life enjoyment and satisfaction (physical health and physical activities, leisure time activities, school environment and school duties, emotions and feelings, taking care of yourself) and global satisfaction with life (satisfaction with life and subjective well-being), for understanding the research problem and offering the readers the introduction to this topic. We know about the lack and insufficient amount of the research papers upon this topic, and we want that our study widens the existing knowledge and brings the results from the small country in the middle of the Europe—the Slovak Republic. We used the quality of life enjoyment and satisfaction questionnaire not for psychiatric patients, as it used to be common, but for the intact school sport active and sport inactive adolescent boys and girls.

The purpose of this chapter was to broaden the knowledge in this area of research. And the following research questions arose:

What effect do sporting activity and exercising have on the perception of the selected areas of quality of life enjoyment and satisfaction (physical health and physical activity, leisure time activities, school environment and school duties, feelings) as part of the subjective dimension of the quality of life in adolescent girls and boys?

What effect do sporting activity and exercising have on the perception of the global satisfaction with life in adolescent girls and boys?

The beginning of adolescence is associated with the first signs of sexual maturity until complete maturation. Adolescence is a period of transition from childhood to adulthood. Adolescence is also associated with complete mental and physical development, which varies for everyone. An adolescent can recognize and can decide if he/she wants to participate in some kinds of sports. Adolescents possess well-developed physical and motor capabilities. The movements of the adolescents are well coordinated, harmonious, and graceful, and they are at the top of their physical performance. They are in a developed cognitive, social, and emotional state. With adolescence increasing the levels of independence, adolescents are capable of taking responsibility for themselves and presenting the solution of ideas as the results of critical thinking. Some may finish their maturation before 18 years of age, but others may not. The statutory maturity is in 18 years of age, but this does not mean that the individual has reached maturity even mentally.

The research about the organization of the adolescents in some forms of sporting activity in the Slovak Republic [1] presented the sample, which consists of 5300 secondary school students of which 2154 were boys and 3146 were girls. A total of 597 male students are said to be organized in some form of exercising or sporting activity (27.7%), and the rest of 1557 male students were not organized in any form of exercising or sporting activity (72.3%) except the school subject physical and sport education. Among female students there were 459 (14.6%) organized, and 2687 (85.4%) were not organized in any extracurricular form of exercising or sporting activity. This research of [1] shows that the organization of male students in some form of exercising activity in Bratislava reached 38%, and 62% male students (n = 1990) were not organized. Among female secondary school students from Bratislava (n = 2646), 21% were organized in some form of exercising or sporting activity, and 79% were not organized.

In this research, which we write on these pages, we realized the questionnaire research in Slovak secondary school, mostly from the capital city Bratislava. The questionnaire for this research content consists of several sample introduction questions (4) and then 50 items from quality of life enjoyment and satisfaction questionnaire (Q-LES-Q ) and 5 items from satisfaction with life scale (SWLS). The findings revealed that making and playing sports, realizing sporting activities, and exercising bring benefits to the subjective dimensions of quality of life—the dimension of the global satisfaction with life and the dimension of the quality of life enjoyment

**111**

the question concerning satisfaction."

*Sport for the Subjective Dimensions of Quality of Life DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.88209*

**1.1 Quality of life**

and satisfaction, where physical health and physical activities, leisure time activities, social relations, feelings, school environment and school duties, and taking care of yourself were considered. In the introduction part, we present the background of the selected areas of quality of life from the literature review, and then we described the school system in Slovak Republic that concerns physical and sport education, which is for somebody only one possible sporting activity or exercising in a week. The importance of this research is that we present our research ideas and opinions and we find out new information about life enjoyment and satisfaction and global satisfaction with life among sport active and sport inactive male and female high school students. We feel the shortage of such kind of research, and we present

the findings from Slovakia, which can be useful for future scholarly works.

the research, and sport involvement and participation can be those issues.

There are many definitions and conceptualization of the quality of life (QOL). "Quality of life is multidimensional and influenced by personal and environmental factors and their interaction, and has the same components for all people, and is enhanced by self-determination, resources, purpose in life and a sense of belonging" [2]. The quality of life of an individual depends on many factors. In several explanations of quality of life, we found the emphasis on satisfaction with life [3–8]. According to this understanding, one who is satisfied with his/her life lives better quality of life. The higher the quality of life, the higher is the life satisfaction of the person. The study of [9] has given a theory, which suggests that happiness is primarily a product of the positive assessments of life situations and favorable comparisons of these life situations with those of others and in the past. The concept of quality of life is used in all areas of human existence and all fields of knowledge, including the sport sciences. The quality of life is an open concept, and it changes with the society development. Three rounds of proposals, comments, and drafts were conducted, to adopt 14 criteria for evaluating quality of life by the policy makers. The criteria for evaluating quality of life indexes for use in public policy are presented [10]. It is worth mentioning the seventh index, which talks that "the domains in aggregate must encompass the totality of life experience." The ninth index presents the requirement that "each domain must have the potential to be measured in both objective and subjective dimension." And the 14th index presents that "the subjective dimension of each domains has both a cognitive and affective component and are measured by

Main debates at the core of quality of life definitions are presented [11]. Definitions varied a lot, but they found some consensus within the literature reviews. There are two main approaches to quality of life: objective and subjective. Both subjective and objective information [12] are necessary to assess when considering the quality of life (QOL) even if subjective and objective data are distinct types of information. The authors [13] reported correlation coefficients ranging from 0.04 to 0.57 between objective and subjective indicators suggesting

Quality of life is a social indicator, which affects the whole life of a man. The importance of this field of study is given with the establishment of the global organization International Society for Quality of Life Studies in 1995, with the mission to promote and encourage research in the field of quality of life (QOL), happiness, and well-being studies. Quality of life is the field of study of sociology, and how sport can influence the quality of life is part of the study for sport sociology. Quality of life is a valued societal outcome, and its growing recognition is for the subjective dimensions of the quality of life. An intensive progress of research on quality of life can be observed, not only in health-related issues but in other very specific areas of

*Sport for the Subjective Dimensions of Quality of Life DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.88209*

and satisfaction, where physical health and physical activities, leisure time activities, social relations, feelings, school environment and school duties, and taking care of yourself were considered. In the introduction part, we present the background of the selected areas of quality of life from the literature review, and then we described the school system in Slovak Republic that concerns physical and sport education, which is for somebody only one possible sporting activity or exercising in a week.

The importance of this research is that we present our research ideas and opinions and we find out new information about life enjoyment and satisfaction and global satisfaction with life among sport active and sport inactive male and female high school students. We feel the shortage of such kind of research, and we present the findings from Slovakia, which can be useful for future scholarly works.

#### **1.1 Quality of life**

*Quality of Life - Biopsychosocial Perspectives*

research. And the following research questions arose:

global satisfaction with life in adolescent girls and boys?

not mean that the individual has reached maturity even mentally.

The research about the organization of the adolescents in some forms of sporting activity in the Slovak Republic [1] presented the sample, which consists of 5300 secondary school students of which 2154 were boys and 3146 were girls. A total of 597 male students are said to be organized in some form of exercising or sporting activity (27.7%), and the rest of 1557 male students were not organized in any form of exercising or sporting activity (72.3%) except the school subject physical and sport education. Among female students there were 459 (14.6%) organized, and 2687 (85.4%) were not organized in any extracurricular form of exercising or sporting activity. This research of [1] shows that the organization of male students in some form of exercising activity in Bratislava reached 38%, and 62% male students (n = 1990) were not organized. Among female secondary school students from Bratislava (n = 2646), 21% were organized in some form of exercising or sporting activity, and 79% were not organized. In this research, which we write on these pages, we realized the questionnaire research in Slovak secondary school, mostly from the capital city Bratislava. The questionnaire for this research content consists of several sample introduction questions (4) and then 50 items from quality of life enjoyment and satisfaction questionnaire (Q-LES-Q ) and 5 items from satisfaction with life scale (SWLS). The findings revealed that making and playing sports, realizing sporting activities, and exercising bring benefits to the subjective dimensions of quality of life—the dimension of the global satisfaction with life and the dimension of the quality of life enjoyment

dimensions of the quality of life) and topic areas, which was created within the quality of life enjoyment and satisfaction (physical health and physical activities, leisure time activities, school environment and school duties, emotions and feelings, taking care of yourself) and global satisfaction with life (satisfaction with life and subjective well-being), for understanding the research problem and offering the readers the introduction to this topic. We know about the lack and insufficient amount of the research papers upon this topic, and we want that our study widens the existing knowledge and brings the results from the small country in the middle of the Europe—the Slovak Republic. We used the quality of life enjoyment and satisfaction questionnaire not for psychiatric patients, as it used to be common, but for the intact school sport active and sport inactive adolescent boys and girls. The purpose of this chapter was to broaden the knowledge in this area of

What effect do sporting activity and exercising have on the perception of the selected areas of quality of life enjoyment and satisfaction (physical health and physical activity, leisure time activities, school environment and school duties, feelings) as part of the subjective dimension of the quality of life in adolescent girls

What effect do sporting activity and exercising have on the perception of the

The beginning of adolescence is associated with the first signs of sexual maturity until complete maturation. Adolescence is a period of transition from childhood to adulthood. Adolescence is also associated with complete mental and physical development, which varies for everyone. An adolescent can recognize and can decide if he/she wants to participate in some kinds of sports. Adolescents possess well-developed physical and motor capabilities. The movements of the adolescents are well coordinated, harmonious, and graceful, and they are at the top of their physical performance. They are in a developed cognitive, social, and emotional state. With adolescence increasing the levels of independence, adolescents are capable of taking responsibility for themselves and presenting the solution of ideas as the results of critical thinking. Some may finish their maturation before 18 years of age, but others may not. The statutory maturity is in 18 years of age, but this does

**110**

and boys?

Quality of life is a social indicator, which affects the whole life of a man. The importance of this field of study is given with the establishment of the global organization International Society for Quality of Life Studies in 1995, with the mission to promote and encourage research in the field of quality of life (QOL), happiness, and well-being studies. Quality of life is the field of study of sociology, and how sport can influence the quality of life is part of the study for sport sociology. Quality of life is a valued societal outcome, and its growing recognition is for the subjective dimensions of the quality of life. An intensive progress of research on quality of life can be observed, not only in health-related issues but in other very specific areas of the research, and sport involvement and participation can be those issues.

There are many definitions and conceptualization of the quality of life (QOL). "Quality of life is multidimensional and influenced by personal and environmental factors and their interaction, and has the same components for all people, and is enhanced by self-determination, resources, purpose in life and a sense of belonging" [2]. The quality of life of an individual depends on many factors. In several explanations of quality of life, we found the emphasis on satisfaction with life [3–8]. According to this understanding, one who is satisfied with his/her life lives better quality of life. The higher the quality of life, the higher is the life satisfaction of the person. The study of [9] has given a theory, which suggests that happiness is primarily a product of the positive assessments of life situations and favorable comparisons of these life situations with those of others and in the past. The concept of quality of life is used in all areas of human existence and all fields of knowledge, including the sport sciences. The quality of life is an open concept, and it changes with the society development.

Three rounds of proposals, comments, and drafts were conducted, to adopt 14 criteria for evaluating quality of life by the policy makers. The criteria for evaluating quality of life indexes for use in public policy are presented [10]. It is worth mentioning the seventh index, which talks that "the domains in aggregate must encompass the totality of life experience." The ninth index presents the requirement that "each domain must have the potential to be measured in both objective and subjective dimension." And the 14th index presents that "the subjective dimension of each domains has both a cognitive and affective component and are measured by the question concerning satisfaction."

Main debates at the core of quality of life definitions are presented [11]. Definitions varied a lot, but they found some consensus within the literature reviews. There are two main approaches to quality of life: objective and subjective. Both subjective and objective information [12] are necessary to assess when considering the quality of life (QOL) even if subjective and objective data are distinct types of information. The authors [13] reported correlation coefficients ranging from 0.04 to 0.57 between objective and subjective indicators suggesting to, although associated, measure different aspects of quality of life. It depends on researchers which perspective (domains, dimensions, aspects, indicators) he/ she considers in his/her research and from which point of view he/she looks at the investigated problem. When he/she writes a study only from one side of the problem, it does not mean that he/she does not accept the other side of the problem. The question is also on how many domains can the quality of life concept be divided. The [14] produces a multidimensional profile of scores across 6 domains and 24 sub-domains of quality of life. The main six domains can be listed as physical domain, environmental domain, domain of social relationships, psychological domain, domain for level of independence, and spiritual domain. Based on 16 reviewed publications [15], 19 domains are presented, with the most referenced domain, interpersonal relations (15 times), and the least referenced domain, civic responsibility (once). In the same study [15], core quality of life domains are presented: emotional well-being, interpersonal relations, material well-being, personal development, physical well-being, self-determination, social inclusion, and rights. And accordingly, among all core quality of life domains, indicators and descriptors are presented too. The Eurostat quality of life framework focuses on quality of life and [16] presented the following dimensions: material living conditions (income, wealth, and consumption), education, natural and living environment, productive and valued activities (including work), health, leisure and social interactions (inclusion, exclusion), overall experience of life, governance and basic rights, and economic and physical insecurity. All supposed domains are very close each to other and may be the same, because they are presented with synonyms.

The authors [17] subsequently propose a new definition in which quality of life is defined as "the gap between what a person is capable of doing and being, and what they would like to do and be; in essence it is the gap between capability reality and expectations." Quality of life is enhanced when the distance between the individual's attained and desired goals is less [18]. For [19], a person's well-being can be assessed in terms of his/her capability to achieve personally and socially valued functioning. Quality of life has become the crucial determination of the life cycle [11]. The quality of life is perceived differently in a different life stage of age. The quality of life is taken as the degree of satisfaction in life. The term quality of life [20] is a manifestation of self-realization within the framework of contemporary civilizational development. Quality of life from the psychological side is, according to [21], "an expression of the feeling of life happiness."

The concept of quality of life records the growing interest in the recent time. It questions what quality of life is. For some scholars it is the measure of subjective well-being; for some others, it is the indicator of physical health. The statement of [7] is that quality of life takes under the umbrella a variety of concepts such as life conditions, health status, lifestyle, happiness, or behavior. The quality of life, as [4] said, reflects the harmonious satisfaction of personal goals and desires. The subjective side of quality of life has important dimensions of happiness and life satisfaction. Someone gives the equal mark between quality of life and life satisfaction.

The quality of life should be measured in physical function, mental status, and ability to engage in normative social interaction, wrote [22].

The quality of life presents several dimensions of physical, psychological, social, and cultural identifications. Quality of life is a complex, multifaceted construct that requires multiple approaches from different theoretical angles [23]. The attributes of quality of life acquired increased importance in research of psychologists, sociologists, educators, physicians, mental coaches, architects, environmentalists, and many others. Authors [24] integrated the multidisciplinary fields of quality of life and viewed quality of life as a multidimensional rather than unidimensional

**113**

groups when needed.

and happiness) [29].

quality of life.

*Sport for the Subjective Dimensions of Quality of Life DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.88209*

definition must include both dimensions.

concept. The model of quality of life integrates objective and subjective indicators of several life domains and individual values of that [25]. An overall understanding of subjective well-being requires knowledge of how objective conditions can influence the individual's evaluation of the people's lives, values, experience, and wisdom. The consideration of [7] thought about the quality of life as a subjective evaluation of one's personal life and satisfaction with life. Quality of life seems to be subjective and that it can only be understood from an individual perspective. It would have been easier if researchers could have agreed that the quality of life is taken into consideration and refers only to subjective well-being, said [8]. Strong formulation of [26] is the request of a comprehensive definition with the acknowledgement of the strengths of each position and the agreement that any general

If quality of life had to comprehend whole human life, then both objective and subjective dimensions must surely be included. Objective dimension refers to resources of included objective external life conditions, and subjective dimension refers to individual's subjective assessment of life. The significance of objective or subjective evaluation of life domain is in relationship to the value that an individual gives to it. The individual with relatively the same objective domains of quality of

A team of authors [6] suggest their own definition of quality of life. "Quality of life is the extent to which objective human needs are fulfilled in relation to personal or group perceptions of subjective well-being. Subjective well-being is assessed by responses to questions about happiness, life satisfaction, utility, or welfare, and the relation between specific human needs and perceived satisfaction is influenced by mental capacity, cultural context, information, education, temperament. In addition, the relation between the fulfilment of human needs and overall subjective well-being is affected by the weights that individuals, groups, and cultures give to

The definition stated by the World Health Organization [14] said that the "quality of life is an individuals' perception of their position in life in the context of the culture and value systems in which they live and in relation to their goals, expectations, standards and concerns. It is a broad ranging concept affected in a complex way by the person's physical health, psychological state, personal beliefs, level of independence, social relationships, and their relationship to salient features of their environment." In the social area of researching the quality of life, the quality of life takes the increasingly acknowledged place for measurement as a valid and appropriate indicator of social needs and possible interventions for the individuals and the

Although the quality of life is the socioeconomic concept, it has been given increasing importance to the individual subjective side of quality of life. Authors [27] present evidence suggesting that subjective dimension of quality of life is a cherished societal goal worthy of attention and has utility as a predictor of important life outcomes such as health and longevity, social relationships, and positive work outcomes. Quality of life is the term, which is analyzed in the literature as two major dimensions—objective and subjective dimension [28]. Objective dimension of quality of life focuses on external, quantifiable conditions of life, such as housing, economic situation of a person or a family, access to medical resources, family income level, living environment, climate and subjective approaches, and focus on individual internal evaluations of life conditions (degree of problems, satisfaction,

We agree with this statement, and these will be the content of our research in this chapter, in which we focus how sport can affect the subjective dimensions of

life can report the different subjective perceptions of quality of life.

fulfilling each of the human needs relative to the others."

#### *Sport for the Subjective Dimensions of Quality of Life DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.88209*

*Quality of Life - Biopsychosocial Perspectives*

to, although associated, measure different aspects of quality of life. It depends on researchers which perspective (domains, dimensions, aspects, indicators) he/ she considers in his/her research and from which point of view he/she looks at the investigated problem. When he/she writes a study only from one side of the problem, it does not mean that he/she does not accept the other side of the problem. The question is also on how many domains can the quality of life concept be divided. The [14] produces a multidimensional profile of scores across 6 domains and 24 sub-domains of quality of life. The main six domains can be listed as physical domain, environmental domain, domain of social relationships, psychological domain, domain for level of independence, and spiritual domain. Based on 16 reviewed publications [15], 19 domains are presented, with the most referenced domain, interpersonal relations (15 times), and the least referenced domain, civic responsibility (once). In the same study [15], core quality of life domains are presented: emotional well-being, interpersonal relations, material well-being, personal development, physical well-being, self-determination, social inclusion, and rights. And accordingly, among all core quality of life domains, indicators and descriptors are presented too. The Eurostat quality of life framework focuses on quality of life and [16] presented the following dimensions: material living conditions (income, wealth, and consumption), education, natural and living environment, productive and valued activities (including work), health, leisure and social interactions (inclusion, exclusion), overall experience of life, governance and basic rights, and economic and physical insecurity. All supposed domains are very close each to other

and may be the same, because they are presented with synonyms.

to [21], "an expression of the feeling of life happiness."

ability to engage in normative social interaction, wrote [22].

The authors [17] subsequently propose a new definition in which quality of life is defined as "the gap between what a person is capable of doing and being, and what they would like to do and be; in essence it is the gap between capability reality and expectations." Quality of life is enhanced when the distance between the individual's attained and desired goals is less [18]. For [19], a person's well-being can be assessed in terms of his/her capability to achieve personally and socially valued functioning. Quality of life has become the crucial determination of the life cycle [11]. The quality of life is perceived differently in a different life stage of age. The quality of life is taken as the degree of satisfaction in life. The term quality of life [20] is a manifestation of self-realization within the framework of contemporary civilizational development. Quality of life from the psychological side is, according

The concept of quality of life records the growing interest in the recent time. It questions what quality of life is. For some scholars it is the measure of subjective well-being; for some others, it is the indicator of physical health. The statement of [7] is that quality of life takes under the umbrella a variety of concepts such as life conditions, health status, lifestyle, happiness, or behavior. The quality of life, as [4] said, reflects the harmonious satisfaction of personal goals and desires. The subjective side of quality of life has important dimensions of happiness and life satisfaction. Someone gives the equal mark between quality of life and life

The quality of life should be measured in physical function, mental status, and

The quality of life presents several dimensions of physical, psychological, social, and cultural identifications. Quality of life is a complex, multifaceted construct that requires multiple approaches from different theoretical angles [23]. The attributes of quality of life acquired increased importance in research of psychologists, sociologists, educators, physicians, mental coaches, architects, environmentalists, and many others. Authors [24] integrated the multidisciplinary fields of quality of life and viewed quality of life as a multidimensional rather than unidimensional

**112**

satisfaction.

concept. The model of quality of life integrates objective and subjective indicators of several life domains and individual values of that [25]. An overall understanding of subjective well-being requires knowledge of how objective conditions can influence the individual's evaluation of the people's lives, values, experience, and wisdom. The consideration of [7] thought about the quality of life as a subjective evaluation of one's personal life and satisfaction with life. Quality of life seems to be subjective and that it can only be understood from an individual perspective. It would have been easier if researchers could have agreed that the quality of life is taken into consideration and refers only to subjective well-being, said [8]. Strong formulation of [26] is the request of a comprehensive definition with the acknowledgement of the strengths of each position and the agreement that any general definition must include both dimensions.

If quality of life had to comprehend whole human life, then both objective and subjective dimensions must surely be included. Objective dimension refers to resources of included objective external life conditions, and subjective dimension refers to individual's subjective assessment of life. The significance of objective or subjective evaluation of life domain is in relationship to the value that an individual gives to it. The individual with relatively the same objective domains of quality of life can report the different subjective perceptions of quality of life.

A team of authors [6] suggest their own definition of quality of life. "Quality of life is the extent to which objective human needs are fulfilled in relation to personal or group perceptions of subjective well-being. Subjective well-being is assessed by responses to questions about happiness, life satisfaction, utility, or welfare, and the relation between specific human needs and perceived satisfaction is influenced by mental capacity, cultural context, information, education, temperament. In addition, the relation between the fulfilment of human needs and overall subjective well-being is affected by the weights that individuals, groups, and cultures give to fulfilling each of the human needs relative to the others."

The definition stated by the World Health Organization [14] said that the "quality of life is an individuals' perception of their position in life in the context of the culture and value systems in which they live and in relation to their goals, expectations, standards and concerns. It is a broad ranging concept affected in a complex way by the person's physical health, psychological state, personal beliefs, level of independence, social relationships, and their relationship to salient features of their environment." In the social area of researching the quality of life, the quality of life takes the increasingly acknowledged place for measurement as a valid and appropriate indicator of social needs and possible interventions for the individuals and the groups when needed.

Although the quality of life is the socioeconomic concept, it has been given increasing importance to the individual subjective side of quality of life. Authors [27] present evidence suggesting that subjective dimension of quality of life is a cherished societal goal worthy of attention and has utility as a predictor of important life outcomes such as health and longevity, social relationships, and positive work outcomes. Quality of life is the term, which is analyzed in the literature as two major dimensions—objective and subjective dimension [28]. Objective dimension of quality of life focuses on external, quantifiable conditions of life, such as housing, economic situation of a person or a family, access to medical resources, family income level, living environment, climate and subjective approaches, and focus on individual internal evaluations of life conditions (degree of problems, satisfaction, and happiness) [29].

We agree with this statement, and these will be the content of our research in this chapter, in which we focus how sport can affect the subjective dimensions of quality of life.

#### **1.2 Sport for the quality of life**

We have recorded that there is a lack of the research unifying people involved in sport, physical activity, exercise with the measurements of their enjoyment, life satisfaction, and the quality of life.

The [30] defines sport as "a game, competition, or activity needing physical effort and skill that is played or done according to the rules, for enjoyment and/or as a job, or all types of physical activity that people do to keep healthy or for enjoyment. Reasons for engagement in sport differ by participants in it. It should to be health, pleasure, competition, challenge, weight management, motor performance, skills acquiring, motor ability and capability and some societal motives, and/or financial reward."

Movement determines life, develops physical fitness, but also has a positive impact on the psychological well-being of a man and hence the quality of his/her life. Sport as an important part of quality of life can bring people the feeling of selffulfillment. There are few social influences in the world that can equal sports. Sport can be a unifying or sharing power, which reflects development of society, and, in the case where there will be changes in society development, there will be changes in sport too. Sport is an indispensable and universal element of life improvement. The growth of leisure time will offer the occasions for spending time with exercise and sport to secure the positive health.

Sport and exercise are important contributors to the quality of life for everyone. Exercise can be associated with a wide variety of benefits related to the quality of life [31]. In another research of [32], they set the idea that the exercise can influence the participants' quality of life in desirable and undesirable ways: enhanced physical functioning, subjective well-being, exercise enjoyment and peak moments, exercise taxonomy, diverse personal meaning, stress management, opportunities for socialization, delaying the aging process, and enhancement of self-esteem and self-efficacy.

Sporting activities play a crucial role in subjective well-being. Sporting activities provide occasion to meet values and needs of an individual. The thoughts of [11] noted that, if they accept that exercise is a key part of sport and that psychological well-being is a key part of quality of life, then it can be argued that sport has a role to play in the concept of quality of life, and they highlight the lack of research on the benefits of sport and exercise to the quality of life and well-being.

Physical functioning is a main component of the quality of life. Physical functioning is the essence of all daily human activities. Movement is the life. Sport can be performed collectively or individually. Sport can be performed regularly or irregularly. Sport can be performed with or without club membership (professionally or recreationally). Performance and top elite sports are rule-defined activities that are acquired and learned in the training process led by a trainer, coach, or instructor (an authorized person), conducted in competitions and organized on a voluntary basis. Sport for all—recreational or amateur sport—is a recreational activity carried out by various forms of physical exercise, and other movement activities of interest can be sometimes be also as a competition. Sport is the phenomenon of sociocultural life. Sport affects all the social areas, and sport has grown into a phenomenon in the business too, and that is why we can say that it creates the sport sector [33].

In various parts of the world, the authors have shown significantly higher life satisfaction in people participating in physical and sporting activities than in people who did not practice physical and sporting activities [in Turkey and in Germany [34]; in Turkey [35]; in Slovakia [36, 37]; in Sweden [38]; in Taiwan [39]; in America [40, 41]; in Poland [42]; in Spain [43]].

In the research of [44], the quality of life of sporting individuals was investigated. They investigated quantitative and qualitative analysis of overall quality of life according to gender and sport practiced (individual or team sport) for the 16

**115**

*Sport for the Subjective Dimensions of Quality of Life DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.88209*

relation to quality of life and good health.

consistent predictors of subjective well-being.

satisfaction among 4025 persons in the study of [40].

**1.3 Sport for the subjective dimensions of quality of life**

the person it is related to the extent of which the life aims are reached.

life domains. The intrinsic value of exercising and sporting activities presents the

The importance of subjectivity in the definition of what quality of life is emerges as a key aspect [45]. The personal and subjective dimension of quality of life could be the basis for a more understanding of person's evaluation of quality of life. For

For us, each person is individuality and each is different in what he/she considers important and what he/she considers to be an influence on its subjective quality of life. In our opinion the subjective quality of life is the individual's perception followed by the assessment of things, situations, relations, and all the positive, neutral, and negative matters that affect a person's life. Subjective well-being is an appreciation of these matters in a positive way when expectations are fulfilled or achievements are better than expectations. The measurable domains of subjective quality of life are directly proportional to life satisfaction, and when the level of satisfaction is in a positive manner, then it is presented in the happiness of a person. Bear in the mind is needed when thinking about the weight of the importance of life domains in accordance with the person's own values and standards. The personal perception of life values differs a lot among people. Some positive subjective experiences of well-being could be assessed as neutral or even negative for another one person. It depends mainly on personality dispositions, recognition of the inner state of emotions, self-perception of emotions, and then their display in the external world. The aspects of the model of emotion continuance are perception, regulation, and expression of emotions. The emotions play a crucial role in the life of all of us. It is how people feel and how they can function in the family and society; in terms of emotions, a man evaluates his/her life and transforms them into living through subjective well-being. The subjective meaning of good living is a person's own experience of his/her positive feelings, and [46] spoke about perceptual aspects of quality of life. The report of [47] presents the subjective well-being as a broad category of phenomena that includes people's emotional responses, domain satisfactions, global judgment of life satisfaction, and the personality considered as one of the strongest and most

Given the concern for improving subjective dimension of quality of life, many researchers turn the attention to the benefits of physical activity. The research of quality of life with the physical activity are evident in many investigations [48, 49, 32, 36, 37, 50–53]. Sports are the happiest experience of active leisure category reported in the research of [54], where 828 students were participating. Relative declines in physical activity were found to be associated with low life

Our opinion is that satisfaction in individual areas of life is also closely related to overall person's satisfaction. The quality of life is the result of the interaction of social, health, economic, and environmental conditions relating to personal and social development. Although quality of life (life satisfaction) may be satisfactory in one area, it may be insufficient in other areas. The components of quality of life change over time. The quality of life is also influenced by subjective well-being, which is strongly dependent on the actual emotional state and can fluctuate rapidly. Sport has positive effects on psychological and physical characteristics of a man. Sport, exercise, and physical activity are central to health and serve as the prevention to illness. Over the past 40–50 years, the young people have become increasingly less physically active, and this behavior can cause some irreversible outcomes. The evidences brought with the Institute of Medicine [55] show that regular physical activity *Quality of Life - Biopsychosocial Perspectives*

We have recorded that there is a lack of the research unifying people involved in sport, physical activity, exercise with the measurements of their enjoyment, life

The [30] defines sport as "a game, competition, or activity needing physical effort and skill that is played or done according to the rules, for enjoyment and/or as a job, or all types of physical activity that people do to keep healthy or for enjoyment. Reasons for engagement in sport differ by participants in it. It should to be health, pleasure, competition, challenge, weight management, motor performance, skills acquiring, motor ability and capability and some societal motives, and/or financial reward." Movement determines life, develops physical fitness, but also has a positive impact on the psychological well-being of a man and hence the quality of his/her life. Sport as an important part of quality of life can bring people the feeling of selffulfillment. There are few social influences in the world that can equal sports. Sport can be a unifying or sharing power, which reflects development of society, and, in the case where there will be changes in society development, there will be changes in sport too. Sport is an indispensable and universal element of life improvement. The growth of leisure time will offer the occasions for spending time with exercise

Sport and exercise are important contributors to the quality of life for everyone. Exercise can be associated with a wide variety of benefits related to the quality of life [31]. In another research of [32], they set the idea that the exercise can influence the participants' quality of life in desirable and undesirable ways: enhanced physical functioning, subjective well-being, exercise enjoyment and peak moments, exercise taxonomy, diverse personal meaning, stress management, opportunities for socialization, delaying the aging process, and enhancement of self-esteem and self-efficacy. Sporting activities play a crucial role in subjective well-being. Sporting activities provide occasion to meet values and needs of an individual. The thoughts of [11] noted that, if they accept that exercise is a key part of sport and that psychological well-being is a key part of quality of life, then it can be argued that sport has a role to play in the concept of quality of life, and they highlight the lack of research on

Physical functioning is a main component of the quality of life. Physical functioning is the essence of all daily human activities. Movement is the life. Sport can be performed collectively or individually. Sport can be performed regularly or irregularly. Sport can be performed with or without club membership (professionally or recreationally). Performance and top elite sports are rule-defined activities that are acquired and learned in the training process led by a trainer, coach, or instructor (an authorized person), conducted in competitions and organized on a voluntary basis. Sport for all—recreational or amateur sport—is a recreational activity carried out by various forms of physical exercise, and other movement activities of interest can be sometimes be also as a competition. Sport is the phenomenon of sociocultural life. Sport affects all the social areas, and sport has grown into a phenomenon in the business too, and that is why we can say that it creates the sport sector [33]. In various parts of the world, the authors have shown significantly higher life satisfaction in people participating in physical and sporting activities than in people who did not practice physical and sporting activities [in Turkey and in Germany [34]; in Turkey [35]; in Slovakia [36, 37]; in Sweden [38]; in Taiwan [39]; in

In the research of [44], the quality of life of sporting individuals was investigated. They investigated quantitative and qualitative analysis of overall quality of life according to gender and sport practiced (individual or team sport) for the 16

the benefits of sport and exercise to the quality of life and well-being.

America [40, 41]; in Poland [42]; in Spain [43]].

**1.2 Sport for the quality of life**

satisfaction, and the quality of life.

and sport to secure the positive health.

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life domains. The intrinsic value of exercising and sporting activities presents the relation to quality of life and good health.
