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Consistent with the predictions of the Team Identification - Social Psychological Health Model (Wann, 2006b), a number of studies have highlighted the positive relationship between identification and social well-being. However, this body of literature was limited to adult samples and the relationship had yet to be confirmed with adolescents. The current investigation was designed to fill this research void by examining the relationships among team identification with a winning team, sport fandom, social well-being, and personal well-being among a sample of high school students (n = 88). The participants completed a questionnaire packet assessing identification with their high school s football team, fandom, social isolation and emotional isolation. Consistent with predictions, the data revealed that (a) identification with a winning team was a significant predictor of social well-being, (b) fandom was not, and (c) identification was unrelated to personal well-being.
Team identification, defined as the extent to which a fan feels a psychological connection to a team (Wann & Branscombe, 1993; Wann, Melnick, Russell, & Pease, 2001), has been found to impact a wide array of responses among sport followers (Dietz-Uhler & Lanter, 2008; Wann, 2006a). For example, team identification is related to evaluations of players (Wann et al., 2006), level of aggression (Dimmock & Grove, 2005), affective responses to competitions (Bizman & Yinon, 2002; Kwon, Lee, & Lee, 2008), physiological reactions to team-relevant stimuli (Hillman, Cuthbert, Bradley, & Lang, 2004), and attendance (Bodet & Bemache-Assollant, 2009; Wakefield & Sloan, 1995).
One of the more extensive lines of research involving team identification concerns the relationship between this variable and psychological well-being. According to the Team Identification - Social Psychological Health Model (TI-SPHM; Warm, 2006b), identification and well-being should be positively related when the identification results in increased connections with others. Two circumstances are predicted to lead to such connections. First, fans who live in or near the geographic location of the team should receive enduring connections via their interest in the team (e.g., a Boston Red Sox baseball fan residing in Boston will frequently find herself in the company of other Red Sox fans). In addition, fans not living near their team may receive temporary connections when they find themselves within the company of other fans of the team (e.g., a Red Sox fan...