A Study on the Difference of Social Capital among the Youth Emphasizing on Sport Participation

Concerning about the social relationship is an important issue in classic and contemporary sociology. The contemporary sociologists employ the concept of social capital to study  the quality and quantity of social relationship within the society. Social capital refers to the capital and resources which people can gain by having ties with each others. For this reason, researchers seek to identify and strengthen social phenomenon which have positive impact on social capital. Given the positive consequences of sport for people's social life, the present study seeks to examine the difference of social capital among youth with emphasis upon sport participation. That is to compare the stocks of social capital among athletic university students and non-athletic ones. The present study employed the theories of Putnam, Coleman, Bourdieau, and also functionalism, conflict and symbolic interactionism as its theoretical framework.From the methodology standpoint, it used the survey method and a questionnaire was administered among 387 students of Mazandaran University. For data gathering purpose, a multi-stage proportional stratified sampling method was employed. Face validity and high reliability through alpha Cronbach's coefficient were gained by a pre-test.The findings revealed a significant difference between athletic university students and non-athletic ones in terms of social capital. In other words, athletic students enjoyed higher level of social capital than the non-athletic students.