Football and mental health

It is thought that watching football may play a cathartic role in that it provides an opportunity to express and release internalised emotion which men in particular may find difficult to express in other ways.  It has been suggested that the carnivalesque atmosphere of a live football match is socially inclusive.  Carnival involves everyone.  Fans step into their team identity by wearing clothes and using language they would not usually use in their everyday lives.  In a carnival environment, they can behave in ways which encourage ‘a cathartic release of tension’ through shouting, screaming, gesturing and chanting, pent up internalised feelings and intense emotion such as frustration annoyance or sadness can be vented in a socially acceptable way. (4)

Young Men

For young men in particular, the opportunity to externalise tension and emotion is important to maintaining health. One in four experience a mental health problem in any one year and suicide is the most common form of death for young men under the age of 35. (5)   This age group is one of the most dominant in football crowds across the country. (6)

Cutting off reflected failure

Sometimes fans feel a sense of pessimism prior to a match.  But this can also have a positive overall impact in that it can unite fans in the face of the possibility that it can all go wrong.   A refusal to believe that things might go well is thought to protect against disappointment as a result of failure.  This has been referred to as ‘CORF’ or cutting off reflected failure. (7)   Having a shared moan after a defeat is also another way of bonding.

World Cup

The World Cup in particular may have a positive effect on mental health according to one Scottish study.  The study found that around the time of one world cup tournament, there was a reduction in numbers of emergency psychiatric admissions during and after the World Cup finals. (8)

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Identity

Watching and supporting football provides an opportunity for connection and belonging where there are fewer and fewer opportunities for direct physical interaction in today’s technological age. The fragmentation of community and changing nature of work also mean people are no longer defined in these ways, but there is still a yearning for social identity.

According to ‘social identity theory’, fans separate groups and teams into social categories and identify with the group/team which they see themselves belonging to. (9) Geographic or familial connection usually informs which team someone supports.

Supporting a football club, watching a live game or gathering together with others to watch a match on television are all ways of participating in group activity with others who share the same values and interests. This provides a sense of belonging, identification and inclusion within a larger group. It creates a tangible social identity. Identification with both the players as people and the club are also factors that promote a sense of belonging. The defining characteristic that marks out a fan is the ‘formation of alliances whereby fans perceive themselves as members of a tacitly existing group to which the objects of their fandom belong'. (10)

Because the team is often a key part of their identity, people will continue to support their team even if the team lets them down. This would suggest that the psychological value derived from identity is greater than that derived from a good or bad performance. (11)

Social identity theory suggests that maintenance of a positive self-identity entails developing comparisons between the ‘in-group’ and ‘out-group’. (12) A fan’s team is the in-group and the opposing team is the out-group. These rivalries strengthen a sense of identity and the sense of ‘sticking together’ through thick and thin. Supporting your team is a commitment to the team and to the other fans. Fans have stated that they want and expect a ‘loud and partisan’ crowd when they attend a match.

It has also been found that people perceive fellow fans to be superior to other fans. They are thought to be more committed, enthusiastic, objective an analytical. By association, this ‘superiority’ enhances one’s own self-esteem, if you belong to this group, you must also be more committed, enthusiastic and have greater powers of objectivity and analysis. (13) Football provides an opportunity for every fan to be the ‘expert’ pundit.

However, the stronger the identification with the team, the stronger the emotional reaction to wins and losses and the more extreme highs and lows.

High identifiers

For most fans, football is a part of their lives, however, for some it can become the main focus. In the US, these people are referred to as ‘high identifiers’, people whose identity is intertwined with a team and who will have extreme emotions in the face of defeat. Because identification with the team is a central component of the self-identify of high-identified fans, the team’s performances have strong implications for their self-worth, they are ‘part’ of the team. (14)

In a study of two major Scottish football teams it was found that after a series of defeats, some fans on the losing side experienced significant psychological problems. They reported being anxious and irritable, experienced sleep problems and headaches. Some fans were also found to be extremely withdrawn and anti-social after a loss. The fans on the winning side however had virtually non-existent stress levels. (15)

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Violence

Commentators have suggested that for some fans, supporting football provides an opportunity to re-enact the ritual of battle and defeat the other side. However this can be taken too far and lead to serious acts of violence, differentiating the fan from the ‘football hooligan’. The available evidence on hooligan offenders suggest that they are generally young, in their late teens or 20s, however some ‘leaders’ are older. It has been suggested that initially much behaviour is simply ritualistic and non-violent which nevertheless involves verbally abusing rival fans and threatening attack. However, ‘core hooligans’ are more interested in fighting or ‘running’ rival groups.

Club football can be an attractive venue for testing masculinity. It is thought by some that particular groups of young men may be socialised into a set of standards that value and publicly reward assertive and openly aggressive expressions of masculinity. They are expected to be ‘manly’ and able to ‘look after themselves’. They ‘defend’ their own, their gang’s, and their town’s reputation against the intruders. (16)

Boredom and limited opportunity for fulfillment in other areas may also play a role. The ‘social drama’ of the fight and the opportunity it provides for competition, achieving ‘honour’ and inflicting shame on opponents may motivate violent behaviour. Former hooligans have indicated that fights can be anticipated and enjoyed because of the challenge and they way it makes them feel. Some fighters describe the football action as being ‘better than sex’. (17)

This has been termed as a ‘flow’ or ‘peak’ experience, an intense, emotional experience not usually encountered in everyday life. Flow experiences allow for an open expression of shared, collective emotionality: an outpouring of joy or sadness, and a strengthening of a common social identity. However unlike non-violent fans, the hooligan rejects the vicarious role of football supporter for the more active and ‘satisfying’ role of direct participant in confrontations.

Heavy drinking too is often a key element in a ‘good day out’. Many violent offences by football fans are related to alcohol. In 2000/2001 27% of all arrests at league football in England and Wales were for drink-related offences. (18)

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Primal urges

Hunting

There is a view that football is a replacement for pack hunting. This theory says that being an active football fan may be an attempt to compensate for the ‘psychological vacuum’ felt by hunter-gatherers ‘lost’ in 21st century life. According to this theory, football becomes a substitute for the hunt,…”the essence of the ancient hunting pattern was that it involved a great deal of physical exercise combined with risk and excitement. It involved a long sequence with a build-up, with strategy and planning, with skill and daring and ultimately with a grand climax an a moment of triumph”. (19)

Testosterone

Research carried out in the US also shows that watching sports such as football have an impact on hormone levels. One study conducted during the 1994 World Cup found that testosterone levels rise and fall according to wins and losses. Saliva samples taken from both Brazilian and Italian fans after Brazil’s victory showed that the Brazilians testosterone levels rose an average 28% while the Italian’s fell an average 27%. Other studies indicate that fans experience the same hormonal surges and physiological ebbs and flows during a game almost as if they were also on the field. (20)

Relationships

Having strong relationships is known to be a key factor in the maintenance of positive mental health. Football plays an important role in the formation and maintenance of social and familial relationships. Over 90% of people who attend matches go with friends, family or colleagues. (21)

Friendship

It provides a platform to communicate with others, gossip (known to be protect mental well-being) exchange views, and bond through celebration and commiseration. It helps people maintain relationships as the routine and structure throughout the season provide a ‘reason’ for people to see each other. Football is a social leveller which allows people from different social and cultural backgrounds to connect. There is always something to talk about or have a view on. It is particularly helpful for people who are shy or who find it difficult to connect with people on other levels.

Family

On a familial level, it has been found that football strengthens bonds between family members, most notably between fathers and sons. Many parents see football as an important part of their relationship with their children. In one study it was found that almost every fan was taken to their first match by their father.

Time set aside to watch football is done so deliberately and becomes an expected part of routine. It generates conversation and provides an opportunity for parent and child to catch up, in short it creates and protects quality time. This quality time often continues long after children have grown up and so allows a way of maintaining parent child relationships throughout life. (22)

Keep it in perspective

Football only has a positive effect however when it is enjoyed in relation to all the other aspects of a successful relationship. An over-reliance on or obsession with football can limit the development of other interests and have a negative impact on male female relationships and may divert attention away from other familial responsibilities.

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Watching or playing?

While in excess of 30 million people regularly watch football, figures from the Football Association show that 7 million adults regularly play football. (23) Football might have an even more beneficial impact on mental health if more fans took to the field as exercise is known to have a positive effect on our mental well-being.

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References

1. Football Association 

2. Sir Norman Chester Centre for Football Research, University of Leicester

3. Branscombe N R and Wann D N (1991) The positive social and self concept consequences of sports team identificaton. Journal of sport and social issues 15(2) 115 - 127

4. Pringle, A. (2004) Can watching football be a component of developing a state of mental health for men?, Vol. 124, No 3

5. Mental Health Foundation

6. Sir Norman Chester Centre for Football Research, Factsheets 3 and 13, University of Leicester

7. Branscombe N R and Wann D N (1991) The positive social and self concept consequences of sports team identificaton. Journal of sport and social issues 15(2) 115 - 127

8. Masterton G and Mander J A (1990) Psychiatric emergencies, Scotland and the World Cup finals. The British Journal of Psychiatry (156) 475-478

9. Jacobson B (2003) The Social Psychology of the Creation of a Sports Fan Identity: A Theoretical Review of the Literature, Athletic Insight – The Online Journal of Sport Psychology Vol 5, Iss. 2

10. Jacobson B (2003) The Social Psychology of the Creation of a Sports Fan Identity: A Theoretical Review of the Literature, Athletic Insight – The Online Journal of Sport Psychology Vol 5, Iss. 2

11. Interview with Dr. Sandy Wolfson – Head of Psychology – University of Northumbria

12. Wann, D., and Thomas, J. (1994). Spectators’ evaluations of rival and fellow fans. The Psychology Record, 44 (3), 351 - 357

13. Interview with Dr. Sandy Wolfson – Head of Psychology – University of Northumbria

14. Palazzolo, Rose (2003) The Crowd Goes Wild, Psychology Today, Aug. 2003, Vol. 36 Issue 4, p14

15. Jones M V, Sheffield, David (2004) The Impact of Game Outcome on the Mood State and Health of Sport Participants, Int J Sports Psychology

16. Sir Norman Chester Centre for Football Research, Factsheet 1, University of Leicester

17. Sir Norman Chester Centre for Football Research, Factsheet 1, University of Leicester

18. Sir Norman Chester Centre for Football Research, Factsheet 1, University of Leicester

19. Desmond Morris – Manwatching: A Field Guide to Human Behaviour (Triad/Granada, London, 1978)

20. Dabbs, James (1996) Georgia State University, Research measuring pre and post game testosterone levels in Brazilian and Italian fans during the 1994 World Cup.

21. Sir Norman Chester Centre for Football Research, Factsheets 3, University of Leicester

22. Pringle, A. (2004) Alive and Kicking, Openmind, March/April, vol. 126, p. 7 

23. Football Association
    

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Written in 2005