The role of sport involvement on residents’ evaluation of Youth Olympic Games benefits, quality of life, and event support

The study aimed to examine how host city residents’ sport involvement influences certain psychological concepts such as involvement with mega-events, evaluation of event benefits, community quality of life (CQoL), and ultimately event support. Data were collected from an online resident panel from the two host cities of the 2016 Youth Olympic Games (YOG) using a web survey with 294 subjects. Structural equation modeling was used to test the study's six hypotheses. The results supported the proposed model indicating the influential role of sport involvement on the psychological involvement with the YOG, which subsequently positively influenced the evaluation of YOG benefits, which in turn increased residents’ CQoL and event support. YOG involvement fully mediated the relationship between general sport involvement and YOG benefits. The findings contribute to involvement and social exchange theories by shedding light on the variables that enhance mega-event resident support and quality of life.