Socio-cultural characteristics of sport activity among students in central and eastern Europe: Comparative empirical analysis

Abstract

In our study we analysed the factors that influence and determine sport activity of students studying in higher education institutions in the North-Eastern Plains Region of Hungary and the adjacent cross-border regions. In the research we included students studying in three Hungarian five Romanian two Slovakian three Ukrainian and one Serbian Higher Education institutions (N=2017). Our findings indicate that students in Hungary as well as ethnic Hungarian students in Romania Serbia and Slovakia do little sport in the entire region students do some sport once a week only. An analysis of the social and individual factors influencing sports activities in a single model shows powerful differences in terms of gender and financial background in Hungary Ukraine and Romania (the differences are the biggest in the latter). If we include attitudes based on subjective choice and way of life in our model the gender differences vanish.