Suchergebnisse

This study examined (a) growth curves of youth participation in sports, performance and fine arts, and youth clubs throughout the high school years and (b) the associations between a series of predictors and the initial participation rates and growth over time. The predictors included individual, friend, and family factors. The moderating effect of youths' gender was also examined. Study participants were 272 youths (55% girls,Mage=12.4 years) and their parents. The predictors were assessed in Grade 6 and were based on reports by youths, parents, teachers, and classmates. Participation in organized activities was assessed annually from Grades 7 to 10. Altogether, the findings revealed that participation in sports, performance and fine arts, and youth clubs remains stable across the high school years. However, interindividual differences were found in the participation growth curves. This variation was predicted by individual, friend, and family factors, mostly with respect to sports activities.

The impact of the changes in the gender composition of friendship networks during early adolescence on substance use in late adolescence was examined. The hypothesis was that initial level and increase in the proportion of other‐sex friends in the network would be associated with higher levels of substance use among girls, but not among boys. Girls and boys (n=390) were interviewed annually from ages 12 to 18 (79% retention). For both boys and girls, initial level in the proportion of other‐sex friends predicted alcohol use in late adolescence, whereas it was predictive of drug use in girls only. Moreover, for girls only, a faster increase in the proportion of other‐sex friends in the network predicted later use of alcohol and drugs.

AbstractOrganized activities can provide a conducive context for various social processes that may prevent internalizing problems. Some types of organized activities, such as team sports, seem particularly favorable to these positive experiences. The aim of this 4‐year longitudinal study is to describe the changes in the feeling of social integration into the organized activity peer group and to examine whether this social process predicts depressive symptoms in adolescence. Team sports also are proposed to promote a high sense of social integration. A total of 292 adolescents (62% female) were followed annually from ages 14 to 17. The type of main organized activity practiced and the feeling of social integration into the activity peer group was measured each year. Depressive symptoms were self‐reported at the beginning and end of this period. Latent growth analyses showed that social integration into the organized activity peer group was high and decreasing during adolescence. Social integration was higher in team sports compared to individual sports and non‐sport activities as a whole. Finally, a high and sustained level of social integration during adolescence was associated with a low level of depressive symptoms at the end of adolescence, controlling for important covariates. These results suggest that organized activities, particularly team sports, provide a favorable context for developing a feeling of social integration, and that this may protect against depressive symptoms.

AbstractThe purpose of this 5‐year longitudinal study is to identify trajectories of team and individual sports participation in childhood, and to compare these trajectories on different types of internalizing problems. Parents reported their children's annual sports participation from the ages of 6–10 (n = 785) and teachers reported internalizing problems (depression, anxiety, social withdrawal) at the beginning and at the end of this period. The study used latent class growth analyses to identify two trajectories of team sports and two trajectories of individual sports participation were identified: (1) high participation, and (2) low participation. Considering baseline level of internalizing problems and gender, children in the high participation team sports trajectory show significantly fewer depression, anxiety, and social withdrawal behaviors at age 10 than those in the low participation team sports trajectory. No differences between individual sports trajectories were observed. Comparison with joint trajectory groups partially confirmed these results but also showed that sustained participation in multiple individual sports could also be linked to decreased anxiety. Our findings suggest that participation in team sports should be encouraged to promote certain aspects of children's mental health.