Social influences in sports activity among adolescents

Aims: Habits of leisure time sports activity, similar to other health behaviours, are established during late childhood and early adolescence. While regular leisure time sports activity is a natural part of children's lifestyle, it starts to decrease during adolescence, particularly among girls...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Perspectives in public health 2008-01, Vol.128 (1), p.21-25
Main Authors: Keresztes, Noémi, Piko, Bettina F., Pluhar, Zsuzsanna F., Page, Randy M.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adolescent
Adolescent Behavior
Adolescent girls
Adolescents
Alcohol use
Boys
Child
Children & youth
Chronic illnesses
Confidence intervals
Data collection
Families & family life
Female
Gender differences
Health Behavior
Health promotion
Humans
Influence
Leisure activities
Male
Middle school students
Mortality
Parents
Peer Group
Public health
Role models
School districts
Social Environment
Sports
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Summary:Aims: Habits of leisure time sports activity, similar to other health behaviours, are established during late childhood and early adolescence. While regular leisure time sports activity is a natural part of children's lifestyle, it starts to decrease during adolescence, particularly among girls. Among the factors influencing children's sports activity, the role of parents, peers, and other members of children's social networks seem to be crucial. The purpose of this study was to determine the role of social influences in early adolescents' leisure time sports activity and to examine gender differences. Methods: Data were collected from middle school students using randomly selected classes from four schools in distinct school districts in Szeged, Hungary, using a self-administered questionnaire (n = 548) in which a response rate of 91% was achieved. Respondents were 10—15 years of age (mean = 12.2 years, SD = 1.2 years) with 54.9% of the sample male and 45.1% female. Results: Results show significant others as an important influence on sport-related behaviours and suggest that during early adolescence girls' sports participation is particularly influenced by the social influence of peers (e.g. friends, classmates, boy/girlfriend). Conclusions: Our findings suggest that health promotion programmes should build on possible social influences, i.e. the role of peers, parents and significant others in general, in fostering adolescents' physical activity.
ISSN:1466-4240
1757-9139
1476-9042
1757-9147
DOI:10.1177/1466424007085228