Life Satisfaction and the UEFA EURO 2016: Findings from a Nation-Wide Longitudinal Study in Germany

Abstract

Research on sport events and well-being yield inconclusive results with some studies suggesting that well-being is increasing during major sport events while other studies fail to establish such a relationship. The present study aims at investigating the relationship between sport events and life satisfaction more closely, while at the same time avoiding some methodical pitfalls of prior research. The study uses a representative sample from Germany and had a longitudinal design, covering the time before, during and after the UEFA EURO 2016. Findings demonstrate a significant increase in life satisfaction in Germany during the football competition (d =.17). Further analyses reveal that satisfaction with life is elevated particularly among subjects with a genuine interest in football in general and in the EURO in particular, whereas for those respondents uninterested in football, changes in life satisfaction were mostly insignificant and marginal in size. However, two months after the EURO life satisfaction was already on the decline and drifted towards the baseline level. Hence, the EURO did not produce a persistent change, but rather a short peak in life satisfaction among football affine groups.