Sports participation and juvenile delinquency: The role of the peer context among adolescent boys and girls with varied histories of problem behavior.

Abstract

In a study of 1,344 urban adolescents, the authors examined the relation between participation in organized sports and juvenile delinquency. They compared youth who participated in sports to those who only participated in nonathletic activities and to those who did not participate in any organized activities. They also examined the indirect relations between sports and delinquency via 2 peer-related constructsdeviant peer affiliations and unstructured socializing. Finally, they examined the extent to which gender and prior externalizing problems moderated the direct and indirect relations between sports participation and delinquency. The authors found that the odds of nonviolent delinquency were higher among boys who participated in sports when compared to boys who participated only in nonathletic activities but not when compared to boys who did not participate in any organized activities. Deviant peer affiliations and unstructured socializing mediated the relation between sports participation and boys' nonviolent delinquency. Moreover, prior externalizing problems moderated the mediated path through peer deviance. The authors did not, however, find direct, mediated, or moderated relations between sports and boys' violent delinquency nor between sports and girls' violent or nonviolent delinquency.

Time Spent in Sports and Adolescent Problem Behaviors: A Longitudinal Analysis of Directions of Association

“…There is some evidence to suggest sports participation is associated with decreased delinquency (Hastad, Segrave, Pangrazi, & Petersen, 1984) while there is also evidence that suggests sport participation is associated with increased aggressive behaviors (Endressen, & Olweus, 2005). Additionally, Donalson and Ronan (2006) suggest that sports participation is associated with lower externalizing behavior scores among adolescents, while results from a recent study (Gardner, et al, 2009) suggest male sport participation is associated with increased odds of nonviolent delinquent behavior when compared to non-athletic organized activity participants. In a crosssectional study of social adjustment and sport-involvement among adolescents, McHale and colleagues (2005) found sport-involved females were more aggressive than non-involved peers, whereas the opposite was true for males.…”

“…Without controlling for previous problem behaviors, the extent to which sports participation predicts behavior is not entirely clear. The use of a longitudinal design is preferred as it offers the ability to control for previous problem behaviors (Bohnert, & Garber, 2007;Gardner, et al, 2009;Miller, et al, 2007). Furthermore, problem behaviors have most commonly been assessed using brief checklists or self-report items, rather than well-validated measures of symptoms (e.g., Behavior Problem Index).…”

“…Within the literature, the assessment of problem behavior has been of particular interest in relation to sports participation (Endressen, & Olweus, 2005;Gardner, Roth, & Brooks-Gunn, 2009;Miller, Melnick, Barnes, Sabo, & Farrell, 2007;Rutten, et al, 2007;Smith, Smoll, & Christensen, 1996). However, many of these studies utilize a cross-sectional design to assess the relation between sports participation and problem behavior for those youth already involved in sport (Endressen, & Olweus, 2005;Perk, 2007;Rutten, et al, 2007).…”

Tipología de Actividades Extraescolares y Procrastinación Académica en Alumnado de Educación Primaria

“…Acerca de este punto, las actividades fuera del horario escolar que han suscitado más estudios, quizás por ser las más concurridas, son las de deportes y actividad física, que se han relacionado con un mayor bienestar general de los alumnos que las practican (Dimech y Seiler, 2011;McHale et al, 2005), prevención de la delincuencia (Gardner, Roth y Brooks-Gunn, 2011), mejores notas escolares (Cladellas et al, 2013; O'Connor y Jose, 2012) y mayores oportunidades para la relación social (Schaefer, Simpkins, Svest y Price, 2011), por citar solo algunos trabajos recientes. Igualmente, se han publicado artículos que llaman la atención sobre la pertinencia de las actividades extraescolares artísti-cas y musicales para potenciar aspectos relacionados por ejemplo con un mejor desarrollo de la noción de tiempo y espacio (Atkinson y Robson, 2012), de la memoria verbal (Ho, Cheung y Chan, 2003), o de la autoestima y la satisfacción personal (Ritchie y Williamon, 2011), también por citar únicamente una muestra de los estudios realizados en los últimos años.…”

A social work study on family related issues influencing juvenile delinquency

“…Ohtani et al (2008) studied the relationship between the month of birth and juvenile delinquency and reported no substantial difference between observed and expected numbers of births in winter/summer or those in the first/last months of the sample size of investigation. Gardner et al (2009) studied the effect of peer context among adolescent boys and girls with varied histories of problem behavior by looking into the relationship between sports participation and juvenile delinquency. They stated that the odds of nonviolent delinquency were higher among boys who took part in sports when compared with boys who took part in nonathletic activities.…”