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A study out of the US and published on 26^th June in the Sociology of Sport Journal, showed that adults who continuously played organised sport through their youth have fewer symptoms of anxiety and depression than those who never played or those who dropped out.

The study is based on data extracted from the US National Sports and Society Survey, conducted in 2018 and 2019 by Ohio State University with Chris Knoester, senior author of the study and professor of sociology at The Ohio State University and lead author Laura Upenieks, assistant professor of sociology at Baylor University.

The study included a sample of 3,931 adults from across the country who answered questions about their sport participation as children and their current anxiety and depression symptoms.

Upenieks told Ohio State News that “most people dropped out of sports because they weren’t having fun or felt they weren’t good enough. That suggests ways youth sports can be improved to help kids.

“Our findings about why kids drop out of organised sports suggests that the current environment is less than ideal for everyone, and that the barriers to participation need to be given greater attention.

“The longer that youth are exposed to a positive and encouraging sporting environment, the more likely they are to develop habits that are conducive to long-term mental well-being, such as a commitment to regular exercise and collaborating with others as part of a team.”

Also reported in Ohio State News, Knoester noted “many more people drop out of youth sports than play continuously until they are 18.

“If you play and stick with sports, it’s a positive for your mental health, but if you play and drop out it seems to be negative – and most kids drop out.”

Many previous studies have focused on the impact of either playing or not playing sport on adult outcomes. However Knoester highlights this study is one of the first to look at what happens when youth quit sport and it shows that persistence in playing is an important issue.

Knoester told Ohio State News “unfortunately, it is not a simple story of playing sports is good for kids. It is complicated by whether kids stick to playing sports and the reasons why they do stick to it or quit.”

The study revealed that 35% of the participants did not play organised sport at all, 41% participated and dropped out and 24% participated continuously until age 18.

Knoester emphasised that most participants didn’t have clinical levels of depression or anxiety, and the differences between the three groups were relatively modest. But the differences still mattered.

The most common reason cited for dropping out was “not having fun,” which nearly half of respondents (45%) identified. The next most common reason was feeling like they were not a good player (31%). Other reasons for dropping out were wanting to focus on grades (16%), having a health problem or injury (16%), not being able to afford sport (16%), having an issue with team members (15%) and having an interest in other clubs and activities (14%).

Notably, 8% said they dropped out because they had been abused by a coach.

With so many youth quitting, the researchers suggest that organised sport doesn’t always provide a positive environment, noting adults need to take more positive steps to improve that environment.

The researchers emphasise that sport should be safe for children. The fact that 8% said they were abused by coaches is particularly alarming.

No fun and lack of self esteem also contribute to the high dropout rate in youth sport.

Knoester told Ohio State News “the finding that nearly half of kids quit because they weren’t having fun and about a third dropped out because they felt they weren’t good enough should also be a wake-up call.

“We need to improve youth sports so that it supports positive experiences for everyone and makes it more enjoyable.

“While winning is part of sports, it may be that adults overemphasize that aspect and ruin the experience for many young people.

“Our results suggest that by taking away the fun and making kids feel they aren’t good enough, there could be cascading effects in terms of hurting self-esteem and confidence that could reverberate through to adulthood.”

Upenieks added “most kids are looking to have fun with their friends and support and encourage each other. It doesn’t have to be all serious.”

First reported in Ohio State News 

Access the study ‘Better to Have Played Than Not Played? Childhood Sport Participation, Dropout Frequencies and Reasons, and Mental Health in Adulthood’ in Sociology of Sport Journal

Image. Youth football being played on Sydney's Northern Beaches. Credit: Karen Sweaney

Keeping Youth Engaged in Sport
A 2017 Australian Sports Commission report identified several barriers to secondary students playing sport, including parents being unable to provide the time and money required, increasing time demand for extracurricular activities (such as a part-time job, or additional social activities), and adolescents feeling less able to join a community team when others their age had more experience.

Commenting on this issue, Dr Katherine Owen from University of Sydney stated “there are so many barriers and reasons for kids dropping out. But a lot of the research we have done has shown kids drop out because it gets too competitive. The sports themselves need to work at providing more social games for kids of that age.”

The Australian Sports Foundation notes “Sport's impact on the Australian way of life is underestimated. It's at the very heart of every community impacting our culture, society and economy. Sport has the ability to improve the health and wellbeing of all that participate regardless of age, ability, background or gender.

The Australian Sports Foundation has raised almost $700 million for grassroots sports, schools, athletes and national sports since 1986 through online fundraising and community sport grant rounds. To find out more about the Australian Sports Foundation visit www.asf.org.au

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