BGHS.NEWS

Linie 4: Making friends through sport

Simon Lütkewitte (Foto: Stefan Knauff)

Sport is very popular among young people. It offers opportunities to make new friends and maintain existing friendships. Different sports offer different options when it comes to friendships between the sexes: many team sports, such as football, handball or basketball, are practised separated by gender, while in other sports, such as judo, dance or karate, boys and girls train together.

In his presentation "Friendships in sport: How boys and girls make different friends in sport" at Linie 4, the public lecture series of the BGHS in cooperation with the vhs Bielefeld, Simon Lütkewitte addresses the question of whether there is a connection between participation in team sports or other forms of organised sport and the proportion of same-sex friendships. Do young people who are active in team sports have more same-sex friendships, while young people who participate in other sports are more likely to form friendships across gender boundaries? And does this change during puberty?

Simon Lütkewitte analyses these questions using statistical data from the "Friendship and Identity at School" (FIS) study and is looking forward to discussing his findings and their significance for society with the audience.

Simon Lütkewitte works as a research associate in the working area "Methods of empirical social research with a focus on quantitative methods" at the Faculty of Sociology at Bielefeld University. He is also doing his doctorate at the BGHS. In his doctoral thesis, he uses statistical methods to analyse the extent to which participation in sport is linked to gender-related attitudes and behaviour. He is also interested in the significance of social values and political attitudes.

The presentation will take place on Monday, 3 June 2024 at 6.15 pm in room 240 at the vhs Bielefeld, Ravensberger Park 1. The event will be held in German.