Social capital status among students participating in 13th Students Sports Olympiad

Social capital is the networks of relationships among people who live and work in a particular society, enabling that society to function effectively. This concept covers the different economic, social, political and cultural aspects of life. It consists of all the interactions, relationships, involvement, commitments and passion that unites people in the society. The aim of this research was to study social capital status among students participating in the Thirteenth Student Sports Olympiad. The sample included 615 students selected by a stratified random method. The research tool was Ghoshal Nahabyt standard questionnaire. Its validity was verified by a group of experts using Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA). A Cronbach s alpha of 0.88 also showed that internal consistency of test items is acceptable. Results of the study showed that social capital was high in both male and female athletes (T = 3.84, Sig= 0.0001). Female athletes were better than their male counterparts in communication, cognitive and structural dimensions. According to this study, positive effects of exercise in increasing social capital can be confirmed.