1 | 17 Synthesis in sport as well (Farrell & Shields, 2002; Nomaguchi & Bianchi, 2004; Ruseski et al., 2011), whereas (Humphreys & Ruseski, 2009) did not find this effect. In contrast, Lee and Bhargava (2004) found that married people participate more in sport activities than unwed people. Furthermore, Nomaguchi and Bianchi (2004) showed that paid work is negatively associated with time spent on sport. Results of the studies by Schönbach et al. (2017) and Sjösten et al. (2012) revealed that the transition to retirement led to an increase in sport participation, and Sjösten et al. (2012) also found that both men and women were more likely of engaging in sport activities in groups than alone after retirement. The state of research regarding the impact of major life events on sport participation is not only limited by the lack of studies specifically investigating the relationship between life events and sport participation. Another notable drawback is that most prior studies are cross-sectional. Generally, sport participation research with a life-course approach has focused on differences between age groups and sometimes on people with different household compositions and employment statuses. Few studies deal with the dynamics in individual sport careers (i.e., when exactly people start, stop or change sport participation) by employing life course data. This generally hindered the investigation of individual changes over time and the drawing of conclusions in terms of causes and effects (Kraaykamp et al., 2013; Lunn, 2010; Pilgaard, 2013; Pulles &Wendel-Vos, 2018). In addition, many studies had limited sample sizes and the potential of nonresponse bias, limiting the generalisation to larger populations (Richards et al., 2019). Further, few studies have examined multiple life events (Engberg et al., 2012). It has thus remained unclear which life events are most important (Hirvensalo & Lintunen, 2011). With this dissertation, I attempt to overcome these limitations. Firstly, by utilising a life course perspective and employing high-quality Dutch life course data. Secondly, by investigating the effects of multiple major life events in different life domains, namely: becoming a student, leaving full-time education, beginning work, moving out to live on one’s own, engaging in an intimate relationship starting to cohabit or getting married, becoming a parent, children leaving the parental home, and retirement. Thirdly, by employing a resource approach to develop a concrete theoretical framework for the impact of these life events. Lastly, by focussing on sport participation, in particular on the likelihood of starting (Chapter 2) and stopping (Chapter 3) a sport in general and in a club setting, differences and changes in sport frequency, number of
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