Who participates? Who frequents? Exploring the correlates of sports participation among Chinese adults: evidence from national survey.

Background: Although the benefits of sports participation (SP)-such as reduced anxiety and depression and improved physical health-are well-established, physical inactivity continues to rise globally. In China, the proportion of adults regularly participating in sports remains low, underscoring the need for targeted interventions. However, research on the correlates of SP among Chinese adults is scarce. Given that correlates may differ across countries and between specific participation behaviors, it is essential to differentiate between types of participation to conduct a comprehensive analysis of the correlates of SP among Chinese adults. The objective of this study is to incorporate a broad range of independent variables validated in prior literature to conduct a comprehensive analysis of sports participation among Chinese adults, thereby providing empirical evidence for precise intervention strategies and future research directions. Methods: Using data from the 2021 China General Social Survey (CGSS), this study included 22 independent variables previously validated as significantly associated with SP. Three outcome variables of SP among Chinese adults were analyzed in this study: (1) whether participation, (2) participation frequency, and (3) frequent participation. The full dataset (n = 5,581) was used to examine the correlates of whether to participate, while a subsample of sports participants (n = 3,491) was used for the other two outcomes. Analyses involved descriptive statistics, univariate analysis, and backward stepwise regression. Results: Twelve variables-including provincial economies, settlement type, education, BMI, health issues influence, depression, internet access, watch competition, social class, economic status, car ownership, and age-were significantly associated with whether participation (all p < 0.05 across all regression models). Seven variables, including provincial economies, settlement type, health issues influence, depression, migration, children, and age, were significantly associated with both participation frequency and frequent participation (all p < 0.05 across all regression models). Conclusion: This study provides innovative insights into the correlates of SP among Chinese adults, with age, gender, depression, and migration showing patterns that differ from existing literature. While participation frequency and frequent participation show similar correlates, they differ significantly from the correlates of whether participation, highlighting the need for differentiated intervention strategies.