Factors Related to Adolescents’ Participation in Organized Sports

Gwennyth E. Spruijtenburg, Femke van Abswoude (), Sebastiaan Platvoet, Mark de Niet, Hidde Bekhuis and Bert Steenbergen
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Gwennyth E. Spruijtenburg: Behavioural Science Institute (BSI), Radboud University, 6525 GD Nijmegen, The Netherlands
Femke van Abswoude: Behavioural Science Institute (BSI), Radboud University, 6525 GD Nijmegen, The Netherlands
Sebastiaan Platvoet: Institute for Studies in Sports and Exercise, HAN University of Applied Sciences, 6525 GD Nijmegen, The Netherlands
Mark de Niet: Institute for Studies in Sports and Exercise, HAN University of Applied Sciences, 6525 GD Nijmegen, The Netherlands
Hidde Bekhuis: Behavioural Science Institute (BSI), Radboud University, 6525 GD Nijmegen, The Netherlands
Bert Steenbergen: Behavioural Science Institute (BSI), Radboud University, 6525 GD Nijmegen, The Netherlands

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 23, 1-10

Abstract: Participation in organized sports has important health benefits in adolescence, yet participation rates are concerning. A better understanding of factors influencing adolescents’ participation in organized sports offers opportunities to improve participation rates. The aim of this study was to examine to what extent motives, perceived competence, encouragement and motor skills were associated with participation in organized sports in a sample of first-year secondary school students. In this cross-sectional study, data were collected from 386 Dutch adolescents (11–14 years) in October and November 2020. A series of multilevel logistic regression models estimated the likelihood of adolescents’ participating in organized sports. First, we examined whether motives, perceived competence, encouragement and motor skills were independently associated with the likelihood of participation. Second, we examined whether these factors were concurrently associated with the likelihood of participation. When considered individually, motives, perceived competence, encouragement and motor skills were significantly associated with participation. When considered together, only motives were significantly associated with participation and the associations of all other factors with sport disappeared. These findings show the importance of motivation for participation in sports over other factors. These findings inform the development of interventions aimed at improving adolescents’ participation rates.

Keywords: sport; adolescents; motor skills; motives; perceived competence; encouragement (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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