Sports participation of children and adolescents in Germany: disentangling the influence of parental socioeconomic status

BACKGROUND

Participation in sports and physical activity (PA) is a critical resource for children's health and social development. This study analyzes how the parental socioeconomic status (SES) of children and adolescents affects their PA in sports clubs (organized sports) and outside of sports clubs (unorganized sports) and tests whether the potential impact of parental SES is mediated by the opportunity structure of their residential area (walkability, infrastructure, etc.) and by family and peer support for PA. Furthermore, PA is analyzed respecting differences by gender and migration background.

METHODS

Using representative data from the MoMo/KiGGS study (2009-2012 and 2014-2017), we take into account about 8000 measurements from about 7000 subjects. We estimate hurdle regression models to analyze the minutes per week spent on sports activities.

RESULTS

Results show that children with a higher parental SES, children living in areas with many opportunities for PA, and children receiving family and peer support are more physically active than children without these features. Controlled for opportunities and support, status effects are small but visible. The differences regarding parental SES are much more apparent for organized sports than for unorganized sports, indicating the relevance of economic resources. Boys are more active than girls, whereas there is no clear effect of migration background.

CONCLUSIONS

The coefficient of parental SES on organized sports most probably relates to the resources needed to participate in sports clubs, including fees and equipment. Lower membership fees might potentially help to integrate children with low parental SES into sports clubs and thereby make organized sports more accessible to all social classes.

Injury Patterns in Collegiate Club Quidditch

Background

The purpose of this study is to assess injury patterns in collegiate club quidditch athletes at a single university over three seasons. Injury data were gathered from athletic trainers that provided sideline medical coverage during competitions, the on-site athletic training center where athletes had daily access for evaluation and treatment for acute and chronic injuries, and a sports medicine physician at the on-campus student health center. Athlete exposures were estimated using available previous rosters, practice, and game schedules for the 2014–2017 quidditch seasons. Injuries were evaluated regarding the sex of the athlete, mechanism, body part injuries, and injury type. This is a retrospective descriptive epidemiology study.

Results

The overall injury incidence rate (IR) for collegiate club quidditch injuries was 4.55 per 1000 athlete exposures (AEs). Male athletes had an IR = 5.22 (95% CI 3.77, 7.23). Females had an IR = 3.77 (95% CI 2.49, 5.72). The most common mechanism of injury in males was collision with another athlete (36%; IR = 1.88; 95% CI 1.09, 3.24). The most common injuries were lower extremity injuries (foot, ankle, lower leg, knee, thigh, hip/groin) at 57%. The most common injury type in males was sprains at 39% (IR = 2.03; 95% CI 1.20, 3.42). The overall incidence rate for all quidditch athletes for concussions was 1.18 per 1000 AEs.

Conclusions

Quidditch is an increasingly popular mixed-gender collegiate club sport. This study helps identify areas for improvement in education, injury prevention, and care of athletes at the local and national levels. Concussion rates in quidditch are comparable to other contact sports and should encourage discussion to make rule changes to improve the safety of the sport.