Understanding the Developmental Experiences that Promote Prolonged Engagement in Adolescent Sporting Activities

• In Event: Poster Session 14
  In Poster Session: PS 14 Topic - Education, Schooling

Abstract

Sport participation in adolescence is demonstrated to improve well-being and physical health (Farb & Matjasko, 2012). The positive outcomes attributable to sport participation suggests that long-term engagement in athletic activities contributes to public health. Developmental theories, such as the stage-environment fit, assert that adolescents will seek out contexts that facilitate healthy development. Accordingly, adolescents should be motivated to remain in sporting activities that provide enriching developmental experiences. By their nature, structured sporting contexts are well-suited to provide these experiences. Sport facilitates assessments of talents, values, and interests allowing identity exploration (Eccles & Barber, 1999). Sport also presents adolescents with opportunities to contribute meaningfully towards a goal and have a positive impact on those around them, thus creating a sense that they matter. Athletes who feel that sport facilitates these developmental tasks should be motivated to continue sport participation. The current study considers the role of sport-based developmental experiences in addition to established predictors of sport participation status, including liking sport (Gardner, Magee, & Vella, 2016), and the formation of positive peer relations (Ullrich-French & Smith, 2009).
Sport participants (N =1026, 58.8% Female) in Grades 8 and 10 were recruited from 29 high schools in Western Australia as part of a larger project (Youth Activity Participation Study). Participants nominated the sport in which they spent the most time and responded to questions measuring their identity exploration, enjoyment, mattering, and positive peer relations in that sport. One year later, these same athletes listed the sports in which they participated, and were coded as dropping out (14.8%), swapping to a new sport (14.1%), or remaining in their main sporting activity (71.1%).
A multinominal logistic regression was conducted to predict the likelihood of staying in or changing sporting activities. Control variables included socioeconomic status, gender, year level, urban or regional school location, and depressed mood. Participants who enjoyed participating in their sport were more likely to continue participating in the same sport one year later compared to both swapping and dropping out. Additionally, those who thought what they did in sport mattered or made a difference, and who formed positive relationships in their sport were more likely to continue participating compared to dropping out. Identity exploration experiences significantly increased the likelihood of swapping into a different sport compared to both remaining in their previous activity and dropping out.
Consistent with theory, adolescents who had developmentally enriching experiences in their sporting context were more likely to remain one year later. These results suggest fostering supportive connections and meaningful experiences in sporting activities could ensure prolonged participation. Adolescents who were able to explore their identity were more likely to swap into a different sport. Sampling a novel sport may facilitate greater exploration of talents and interests as one seeks to explore who they are and encouraged prolonged engagement, albeit in a different sport. The long-term positive outcomes attributable to sport participation during adolescence ensures identifying factors which prolong participation in the same or other sporting environments can be instrumental in fostering healthy development.

Authors

• Alexander William O'Donnell, Flinders University
  Presenting Author

• Bonnie Lee Barber, Griffith University
  Non-Presenting Author

• Jacquelynne S. Eccles, University of California, Irvine
  Non-Presenting Author