EXPLORING THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN SOCIAL SUPPORT AND SOCIAL IDENTITY IN MEN AND WOMEN MOUNTAIN BIKERS

There is currently limited research linking social support and social identity within physical activity and few studies investigating social factors in action sports. Mountain biking is a growing sport and an avenue for the promotion of physical activity. This study explored the provision and receipt of social support and social identity in men and women mountain bikers. Mountain bikers (250 men, 170 women) completed an online survey about the social support they receive and provide within the sport, and their social identity within the mountain bike community. Multiple regressions were performed to test the association between social identity and social support provision and receipt. Five subscales of social support were included: emotional, validation, informational, companionship, and instrumental support. Gender differences were also explored using MANOVAs. Social support receipt and provision were found to be associated with social identity (R2 = 0.54, p < .001). Of these, the receipt of validation (β = 0.103, p = .019), companionship (β = 0.539, p < .001), and instrumental support (β = -0.120, p = .014) and the provision of emotional support (β = 0.123, p = .029) were significantly associated with social identity. In men, the receipt of companionship support (β = 0.487, p < .001) was the only variable associated with social identity. In women, the receipt of validation (β = 0.177, p = .024), informational (β = 0.251, p = .003), companionship support (β = 0.422, p < .001), and instrumental support (β = -0.187, p = .022) were associated with social identity. Women had higher scores for social identity (p = .002), social support receipt (p < .001), and social support provision (p < .001) than men. These findings highlight the importance of social factors in mountain biking and demonstrate differences between men and women in these areas.