What Do Their Partners Say?
An Examination of Fan-Family Conflict Through the Lens of Sports Fans’ Significant Others
Keywords:
Fan-Family Conflict, Sport Fans, Family, Inter-role ConflictAbstract
To date, much of the literature examining inter-role conflict between sport fan and family roles (i.e., fan-family conflict) has focused on this phenomenon from the perspective of the sport fan. Yet prior research has identified a clear spillover effect of fandom affecting significant others in the form of increased household responsibilities and emotional withdrawal from the family (Simmons et al., 2018; Tinson et al., 2017), and has the potential to put a strain on relationships (Vallerand et al., 2008). The current study sought to expand our understanding of fan-family conflict by adding the perspectives of significant others of highly identified sport fans. Interviews were conducted with 12 such participants to gain insights into the types of fan-family conflict experienced within their households, as well as the contributors to conflict. Three types of fan-family conflict were prevalent among those interviewed: time-based, strain-based, and behavior-based. Contributors to conflict included value incongruity, fan partner role identity, time devoted to the fan role, fan role support, stage in family life cycle, and the adherence to traditional gender roles.
References
Bauer, M., & Auer-Srnka, K. J. (2012). The life cycle concepts in marketing research. Journal of Historical Research in Marketing, 4(1), 68-96.
Bhattacharya, K. (2017). Fundamentals of qualitative research: A practical guide. Routledge.
Creswell, J., & Poth, C. (2018). Qualitative inquiry & research design: Choosing among five approaches (4th ed). Sage.
Dixon, M. A., & Bruening, J. E. (2005). Perspectives on work-family conflict in sport: An integrated approach. Sport Management Review, 8(3), 227-253.
Dixon, M. A., & Bruening, J. E. (2007). Work-family conflict in coaching I: A top-down perspective. Journal of Sport Management, 21(3), 377-406.
Elliott, V. (2018). Thinking about the coding process in qualitative data analysis. The Qualitative Report, 23(11), 2850-2861.
End, C. M., Worthman, S. S., Foster, N. J., & Vandemark, A. P. (2009). Sports and relationships: The influence of game outcome on romantic relationships. North American Journal of Psychology, 11(1), 37-48.
Fletcher, T. (2020). Family sport and the sport widow. In Negotiating Fatherhood (pp. 211-238). Palgrave Macmillan.
Fodness, D. (1992). The impact of family life cycle on the vacation-decision-making process. Journal of Travel Research, 31(2), 8-13.
Fuwa, M., & Cohen, P. (2007). Housework and social policy. Social Science Research, 36(2), 512-530.
Gantz, W. (2012). Reflections on communication and sport: On fanship and social relationships. Communication in Sport, 1(1/2), 176-187.
Gantz, W., Wenner, L. A., Carrico, C., & Knorr, M. (1995a). Assessing the football widow hypothesis: A co-orientation study of the role of televised sports in long-standing relationships. Journal of Sport and Social Issues, 19(4), 352-376.
Gantz, W., Wenner, L. A., Carrico, C., & Knorr, M. (1995b). Televised sports and marital relationships. Sociology of Sport Journal, 12, 306-323.
Goff, S. J., Fick, D. S., & Oppliger, R. A. (1997). The moderating effect of spouse support on the relation between serious leisure and spouses’ perceived leisure-family conflict. Journal of Leisure Research, 29(1), 47-60.
Goode, W. J. (1960). A theory of role strain. American Sociological Review, 25(4), 483-496.
Greenhaus, J. H., & Beutell, N. J. (1985). Sources of conflict between work and family roles. Academy of Management Review, 10(1), 76-88.
Hambrick, M. E., Simmons, J. M., & Mahoney, T. Q. (2013). An inquiry into the perceptions of leisure-work-family conflict among female Ironman participants. International Journal of Sport Management and Marketing, 13(3-4), 173-199.
Hennink, M. M., Kaiser, B. N., & Marconi, V. C. (2017). Code saturation versus meaning saturation: How many interviews are enough? Qualitative Health Research, 27(4), 591-608.
Hoeber, L., & Kerwin, S. (2013). Exploring the experiences of female sport fans: A collaborative self-ethnography. Sport Management Review, 16(3), 326-336.
Kahn, R. L., Wolfe, D. M., Quinn, R. P., Snoek, J., & Rosenthal, R. A. (1964). Organizational stress: Studies in role conflict and ambiguity. Wiley.
Khan, S. (2011). Gendered leisure: Are women more constrained in travel for leisure. Tourismos: An International Multidisciplinary Journal of Tourism, 6(1), 105-121.
Kosinski, M., Matz, S. C., Gosling, S. D., Popov, V., & Stillwell, D. (2015). Facebook as a research tool for the social sciences: Opportunities, challenges, ethical considerations, and practical guidelines. The American Psychologist, 70(6), 543-56.
Madsen, S. R., & Hammond, S. C. (2005). The complexification of work-family conflict theory: A critical analysis. Tamara Journal, 4(4), 151-179.
Maxwell, J. (2013). Qualitative research design: An interactive approach (3rd ed.). Sage.
Merriam, S., & Tisdell, E. (2016). Qualitative research: A guide to design and implementation (4th ed). Jossey-Bass.
Miles, M. B., Huberman, A. M., & Saldaña, J. (2014). Qualitative data analysis: A methods sourcebook (4th ed.).: Sage
Moustakas, C. (1994). Phenomenological research methods. Sage.
Patton, M. (2014). Qualitative research & evaluation methods. Sage.
Peachman, R. R. (2013, September 10). ‘I’m a football widow’: Discover the silver lining of having a sports-obsessed spouse. Woman’s Day. Retrieved from https://www.womansday.com/relationships/dating-marriage/advice/a7058/football-widow/
Polkinghorne, D. E. (1989). Phenomenological research methods. In R. S. Valle & S. Halling (Eds.). Existential phenomenological perspectives in psychology (pp. 41–60). Plenum.
Saldaña, J. (2013). The coding manual for qualitative researchers. Sage.
Smalley, G. (2015, September 29). Get through this year’s football season with your spouse. Focus on the Family. Retrieved from https://www.focusonthefamily.com/marriage/get-through-this-years-football-season-with-your-spouse/.
Saltz, G. (2007, March 15). Are you a sports widow? Here’s help. Today. Retrieved from https://www.today.com/health/are-you-sports-widow-heres-help-wbna17629186
Simmons, J., Grappendorf, H., & Hancock, M. (2018). Exploring perceptions of fan-family conflict: New insights into typologies, directionality, and contributors. International Journal of Sport Management, 19(2), 163-185.
Simmons, J. M., Grappendorf, H., & Hancock, M. (2020). How do sport fans cope with the consequences of fan-family conflict? Journal of Sport Behavior, 43(1), 120-143.
Simmons, J. M., & Greenwell, T. C. (2014). Differences in fan-family conflict based on an individual’s level of identification with a team. Journal of Sport Behavior 31(1), 94-114.
Simmons, J. M., Greenwell, T. C., & Aicher, T. J. (2016). Assessing the effect of family structure on perceptions of fan-family conflict. Global Sport Business Journal.
Simmons, J. M., Mahoney, T. Q., & Hambrick, M. E. (2016). Leisure, work, and family: How IronMEN balance the demands of three resource intensive roles. Leisure Sciences, 38(3), 232-248.
Such, E. (2006). Leisure and fatherhood in dual-earner families. Leisure Studies, 25(2), 185-199.
Sveinson, K., & Hoeber, L. (2016). Female sports fans’ experiences of marginalization and empowerment. Journal of Sport Management, 30(1), 8-21.
Tade, O. (2017). ‘He is Father Christmas when Man-U win’: EUFA league and the dynamics of spousal relations in Nigeria. Soccer & Society, 18(1), 1-15.
Teherani, A., Martimianakis, T., Stenfors-Hayes, T., Wadhwa, A., & Varpio, L. (2015). Choosing a qualitative research approach. Journal of Graduate Medical Education, 7(4), 669–670.
Thompson, S. (1999). Mother’s Taxi: Sport and Women’s Labor. State University of New York Press.
Tinson, J., Sinclair, G., & Kolyperas, D. (2017). Sport fandom and parenthood. European Sport Management Quarterly, 17(3), 370-391.
Vallerand, R. J., Ntoumanis, N., Philippe, F. L., Lavigne, G. L., Carbonneau, N., Bonneville, A., & Maliha, G. (2008). On passion and sports fans: A look at football. Journal of Sports Sciences, 26(12), 1279-1293.
Wann, D. L., & Branscombe, N. R. (1993). Sports fans: Measuring degree of identification with their team. International Journal of Psychology, 24, 1-17.
Wann, D. L., Friedman, K., McHale, M., & Jaffe, A. (2003). The Norelco sports fanatics survey: Examining behaviors of sports fans. Psychology Reports, 92(3), 930-936.
Wells, W. D., & Gubar, G. (1966). Life cycle concept in marketing research. Journal of Marketing Research, 3(4), 355-363.
Whitbourne, S. K. (2013, January 12). Five tips for living with an avid sports fan: Dating and relationship advice for the sports fan widow (or widower). Psychology Today. Retrieved from https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/fulfillment-any-age/201301/five-tips-living-avid-sports-fan
