A detailed examination of the longitudinal associations between individual and team sports and alcohol use

Abstract

This study examined the longitudinal associations between participation in individual and team sports and indicators of alcohol use during the high school years and beyond. A total of 310 youths were surveyed over six waves of data collection (ages 12, 14 to 17, and 19). Participation in individual and team sports was measured through phone interviews, whereas frequency of alcohol use, frequency of intoxication, and problematic alcohol use were self-reported. Control variables included participation in other types of organized activities, sex, family income and structure, parental education and knowledge, problem behaviors, deviant peers, and peer status. The results of autoregressive latent trajectory models revealed reciprocal associations between time spent in individual sports and frequency of alcohol use and intoxication. The results also revealed that time spent in team sports predicted an increase in frequency of alcohol use in middle adolescence. Lastly, the only significant finding at age 19 suggested that the initial number of hours spent in individual sports predicted lower scores on alcohol intoxication. These findings suggest that team sports act as a risk factor for less severe forms of alcohol use in middle adolescence, whereas individual sports act as a protective factor against more severe forms of alcohol use during adolescence and beyond.

Sports Activity and Smoking, Alcohol and Drug Abuse among Students

“…In this research, sport (whether individually or in a team) did not have a protective and precautionary role against the abuse of male students. This finding was in line with the results of some other studies that identified sport as a risk factor for drug abuse (smoking, alcohol) (8,32,33), but it is not accordant with research findings that found sport to be a preventive factor in smoking and drug abuse (9-13, 19, 34).…”

“…Third, it is possible that the relationship between sport and drug abuse in males has related to other variables not investigated in this study; for example, it has been shown that abuse in athletes is influenced by their type of sports activity (33,(36)(37)(38); As the rate of tendency to smoking, alcohol and drugs in professional athletes and athletes of high schools is higher than other athletes. This finds the importance of conducting further research on the effects of various sports activities.…”

The Relationship Between Handball Players and Alcohol and Smoking Habits

“…This research, in which we measured high levels of alcohol consumption among high-stress handball players, did not negate this claim. High levels of alcohol consumption were found among team sport athletes ( Denault and Poulin, 2018 ) along with a high level of alcohol-related disease ( Kontro et al, 2017 ). Kontro et al (2017) have found that team and combat sports have the most problems with alcohol abuse.…”

Importancia del sueño en el rendimiento y la salud del deportista

“…Algunos estudios han mostrado como el consumo en deportistas es elevado (Denault & Poulin, 2018;Szabo, Griffiths, Aarhus Høglid, & Demetrovics, 2018). Así de este modo, en un equipo de fútbol profesional italiano se observó cómo el 66% de los jugadores eran bebedores regulares de bebidas alcohólicas (Volpi & Taioli, 2012).…”