Abstract
Sport is a reflection of society and depends on the nature and the behaviour of the persons going in for sport. These persons belong usually to a family, the basic cell of the social circle. A fundamental question is the relation existing between social and status characteristics, the culture level and the promotion chances of the family, which as a whole are characteristic for the behaviour of the members of the family and the sports they go in for.
The present investigation is part of a national population and family inquiry, known under the name of "Performance and Talent''. The information was gath ered by interviewing, 2,000 mothers of 12 year-old pupils of 107 representative schools spread over the whole territory of Belgium.
Among other facts it became evident, from the results of a two-dimensional and multivalent investigation, that:
— members of a family influence each other by the practice of sport;
— the relation between social status, culture and promotion factors in the family on the one hand, and sport practice on the other hand, may not be considered as really determinant;
— the justificatory social factors are not the same for both man and woman. Indeed, for both the educational level of the man is the most important predictor whether sport is practised or not.
This fact is established as well in combination with status and culture factors, as in connection with information concerning promotion chances.
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