The Relationship Between Sports YouTube Engagement, Psychosocial Functions of Sport, and Well-Being: Moderating Effect of Kinesiology and Non-Kinesiology University Students

With the rapid expansion of social media, sports YouTube programs have become increasingly ubiquitous. The aim of this study is to investigate the association among college students’ participation in sports YouTube engagement, psychosocial functions of sport, and well-being. In the spring semester of 2023, we recruited 243 Korean college students enrolled in university. The research participants completed scales measuring psychosocial functions of sport, well-being, and sports YouTube engagement scales. We employed the SPSS PROCESS Macro program (Model no. 5) to test our research hypotheses. Our findings demonstrated that engagement in sports YouTube engagement had a significant positive effect on both well-being and psychosocial functions of sport. Furthermore, psychosocial functions of sport had a significant positive effect on well-being. Additionally, the interaction between sports YouTube engagement and kinesiology/non-kinesiology students had a significant positive effect on well-being, but solely among kinesiology major students. To enhance sports values and well-being among non-kinesiology major students, universities should actively integrate sports YouTube engagement into their general kinesiology courses. For future research, it is recommended to conduct comparative analyses of psychosocial functions of sport among university students, both within Korea and in comparison with students from other countries. This will provide a deeper insight into sports society and culture.