Retrospective survey of youth sports participation: Development and assessment of reliability using school records

Many youths participate in sports, and it is of interest to understand the impact of youth sports participation on later-life outcomes. However, prospective studies take a long time to complete and retrospective studies may be more practical and time-efficient to address some questions. We pilot a retrospective survey of youth sports participation and examine agreement between respondent’s self-reported participation with high school records in a sample of 84 adults who graduated from high school between 1948 and 2018. The percent agreement between our survey and the school resources for individual sports ranged between 91.5% and 100%. These findings provide preliminary evidence for the reliability of retrospective self-report of youth sports participation. This survey may serve as an efficient approach for evaluating relationships between involvement in youth sports and health outcomes later in adulthood.

Injury patterns differ with age in male youth football: a four-season prospective study of 1111 time-loss injuries in an elite national academy

OBJECTIVES

To describe age group patterns for injury incidence, severity and burden in elite male youth football.

METHODS

Prospective cohort study capturing data on individual exposure and time-loss injuries from training and matches over four seasons (2016/2017 through 2019/2020) at a national football academy (U13-U18; age range: 11-18 years). Injury incidence was calculated as the number of injuries per 1000 hours, injury severity as the median number of days lost and injury burden as the number of days lost per 1000 hours.

RESULTS

We included 301 players (591 player-seasons) and recorded 1111 time-loss injuries. Overall incidence was 12.0 per 1000 hours (95% CI 11.3 to 12.7) and burden was 255 days lost per 1000 hours (252 to 259). The mean incidence for overall injuries was higher in the older age groups (7.8 to 18.6 injuries per 1000 hours), while the greatest burden was observed in the U16 age group (425 days; 415 to 435). In older age groups, incidence and burden were higher for muscle injuries and lower for physis injuries. Incidence of joint sprains and bone stress injuries was greatest for players in the U16, U17 and U18 age groups, with the largest burden observed for U16 players. No clear age group trend was observed for fractures.

CONCLUSION

Injury patterns differed with age; tailoring prevention programmes may be possible.

Understanding the impact of COVID-19 on youth sport in Australia and consequences for future participation and retention

BACKGROUND

COVID-19 continues to represent the single biggest challenge to contemporary community sport globally. Compliance with social distancing policies, strict return-to-play protocols, and COVID-19 specific training has, perhaps, forever changed the way that children and young people engage in organised sport. Within this context, and while many children and families seek to re-engage with community sport, we (researchers and sport practitioners) have an obligation to ask questions about how the pandemic has impacted youth sport, understand the short- and long-term consequences, and explore what (if any) opportunities can be seized to assist and improve future participation and retention. The aim of this paper was to present an in-depth exploration of the impact of COVID-19 on youth sport in South Australia.

METHODS

Within an interpretive descriptive methodology, this qualitative investigation draws on rich, individual interview and focus group data with 39 youth (ages 15-18), parents, coaches, and sport administrators. A reflexive thematic analysis was undertaken, leading to the development of four substantive themes.

RESULTS

We conceptualised the '4 Rs' to advance theoretical understandings about the pandemic's impact on youth sport, including the themes 'recognising struggle', 'reconnection', 're-engaging after restrictions, and 'reimagining sport'. The themes captured insights about a decline in mental wellbeing and physical activity, an increase in family connectedness, the challenge for sports to attract volunteers and participants back into sport, and the opportunities to reset values and philosophies underpinning the provision of youth sport.

CONCLUSION

The findings provide valuable insight into the youth sport setting as a result of the global pandemic and suggest that families, sporting clubs and sporting organisations require additional resources and tools (for example, support for parents to facilitate their children's training at home during lockdown) to aid recovery efforts and to ensure the survival and prosperity of youth sport into the future.

Family Affluence Relationship to Sports Specialization in Youth Athletes

Our objective was to examine the association between participant-reported family affluence and sport specialization level. We conducted a cross-sectional investigation of adolescent athletes. Specifically, participants completed a level of sport specialization (low/moderate/high) questionnaire and the Family Affluence Scale. The majority (52%) of the 195 youth athlete participants reported low, 33% reported moderate, and 15% reported high sport specialization. Sport specialization groups were similar in age (mean = 15.3 ± 1.6 years), proportion of females (49%), and time spent training (mean = 11.9 ± 5.0 hours per week). The high sport specialization group reported significantly greater family affluence than the low sport specialization group (Family Affluence Scale = 10.4 ± 1.7 vs 9.2 ± 1.9; P = .005). After covariate adjustment, higher levels of sport specialization remained significantly associated with greater family affluence (β = 0.48, 95% confidence interval = 0.11-0.86). Understanding the relationship between family affluence and sports specialization affords an opportunity to better identify and monitor populations likely to specialize in a single sport during high school.

How parental socioeconomic status contribute to children's sports participation in China: A cross-sectional study

Socioeconomic status (SES) is an important factor contributing to health inequality. This study aimed to investigate factors that predict junior school students' sports participation, identify the mechanisms underlying transmission of social resources and assess the mediating effects of classmate support and parental involvement on the relationship between parental SES and children's sports participation. 4829 males and 4536 females (mean age = 13.56 years, standard deviation = 0.686 years) participated in the study. Multivariate regression was adopted to analyze the determinants of junior school students' sports participation and multiple mediation analyses were used to analyze the hypothesized model. The results indicated that parental SES is significantly and directly correlated with junior school students' sports participation. In addition, parental SES has a significant indirect effect on sports participation through classmate support and parental involvement. Furthermore, the mediation effect of classmate support on the association between parental SES and sports participation is stronger than that of parental involvement. To promote and facilitate the participation of junior school students', strategies should be developed by government and social workers to strengthen classmate support and parental involvement.

The association between adolescent football participation and early adulthood depression

Concerned about potentially increased risk of neurodegenerative disease, several health professionals and policy makers have proposed limiting or banning youth participation in American-style tackle football. Given the large affected population (over 1 million boys play high school football annually), careful estimation of the long-term health effects of playing football is necessary for developing effective public health policy. Unfortunately, existing attempts to estimate these effects tend not to generalize to current participants because they either studied a much older cohort or, more seriously, failed to account for potential confounding. We leverage data from a nationally representative cohort of American men who were in grades 7–12 in the 1994–95 school year to estimate the effect of playing football in adolescent on depression in early adulthood. We control for several potential confounders related to subjects’ health, behavior, educational experience, family background, and family health history through matching and regression adjustment. We found no evidence of even a small harmful effect of football participation on scores on a version of the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression scale (CES-D) nor did we find evidence of adverse associations with several secondary outcomes including anxiety disorder diagnosis or alcohol dependence in early adulthood. For men who were in grades 7–12 in the 1994–95 school year, participating or intending to participate in school football does not appear to be a major risk factor for early adulthood depression.

Lifetime Prevalence of Self-Reported Concussion Among Adolescents Involved in Competitive Sports: A National U.S. Study

PURPOSE

Examine lifetime prevalence of diagnosed concussion in US-national samples of 8th, 10th, and 12th graders involved in 16 different competitive sports; examine associations between concussion and individual sports, controlling for demographic characteristics and multiple sports involvement.

METHODS

Analysis of nationally representative Monitoring the Future data from 2 cohorts (2016-2017; n = 25,408).

RESULTS

Adolescents who participated in baseball, basketball, football, gymnastics, ice hockey, lacrosse, soccer, track, weightlifting, and 'other sports' had greater odds of reporting multiple diagnosed concussions compared with peers not participating in these sports. Adolescents who participated in tennis had lower odds of reporting any diagnosed concussion or multiple concussions. Females who participated in gymnastics, soccer, and swimming showed a stronger association in reporting a diagnosed concussion when compared with males who participated in these same types of sports.

CONCLUSIONS

The study provides needed epidemiological information on prevalence of reported diagnosed concussion among teens participating in popular school and community sports. Certain high contact (e.g., football) and high volume (e.g., basketball) sports need increased efforts to manage adolescent athletes who already have a history of concussion or repeated concussions.

Levels of Physical Activity in Lithuanian Adolescents

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE

Population levels of physical activity are an international concern. The purpose of the present study was to describe and analyse physical activity levels in Lithuanian adolescents.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

With this aim in mind, the Physician-based Assessment and Counselling for Exercise (PACE) questionnaire was administered to 5141 adolescents residing in Lithuania, 2502 boys (48.7%) and 2639 girls (51.3%), aged between 11 and 19 years.

RESULTS

It was found that adolescents studied met the physical activity guideline, of 60 min of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity a day, on average 3.6 days/week (SD = 2.1). A total of 3426 adolescents (66.6%) were inactive as classified by the PACE questionnaire (at least 1 h of physical activity/day < 5 days/week). In the present sample there were more active (at least 1 h of physical activity/day ≥ 5 days/week) boys (n = 994, 39.7%) than girls (n = 721, 27.3%) (p < 0.001; OR 1.75, 95% CI 1.56 to 1.97), and, on average, boys were more likely to meet daily recommendations of physical activity than girls, 0.7 days more a week (p < 0.001; IRRs 1.21, 95% CI 1.17 to 1.25). According to age, younger adolescents (11⁻12 years) were significantly more active than older adolescents (13⁻19 years) and a curvilinear relationship between age and physical activity was observed with significant linear (unstandardized beta (B) = -0.807; standardized beta (β) = -0.796; p < 0.001) and quadratic terms (unstandardized beta (B) = 0.024; standardized beta (β) = 0.704; p < 0.001).

CONCLUSIONS

It is necessary to increase the level of physical activity in Lithuanian adolescents and intervention programs should be carried out considering these results.

Relationships Between Sport Participation, Problem Alcohol Use, and Violence: A Longitudinal Study of Young Adults in Australia

There is a growing body of evidence suggesting a link between sport participation and violent behavior outside of the sporting context. However, there have been few studies that have investigated the basis of this relationship. The current study examined longitudinal relationships between sport participation, problem alcohol use, and various violent behaviors, and whether sport participation moderates relationships between problem alcohol use and violence. The sample comprised 2,262 young adults (55% female, age range at Time 1 = 17-24 years) from Victoria, Australia, surveyed in 2010 and 2012. When controlling for common risk factors, substance use, and past violence, sport participation was not associated with any violent behaviors 2 years later. However, sport participation moderated the relationship between problem alcohol use and fighting, whereby problem alcohol use was associated with engaging in fights 2 years later for sport participants, but not for nonparticipants. These findings suggest that it is not sport participation per se that influences later violence but the drinking norms or culture embedded within certain sporting contexts. Prevention approaches that address the drinking culture and social approval of excessive alcohol consumption within sporting contexts may reduce the incidence of violent behavior in the community.

When Is It Too Early for Single Sport Specialization?

Over the past 15 years, there has been an increase in youth sports participation with a concomitant increase in early year-round training in a single sport. Many factors contribute to the desire of parents and coaches to encourage early single sport specialization, including the desire to give the young athlete an edge in competition, pursuit of scholarships, and potential professional status, and the ability to label a young athlete as elite at an early age. Despite these perceived advantages, some data suggest that early sport specialization does not lead to a competitive advantage over athletes who participate in multiple sports. Although the data are limited, there is some evidence that early sport specialization may put the young athlete at risk for overuse injuries. The focus of this review is to highlight the evidence regarding early sport specialization and risk for injury; discuss the risk factors for overuse injury in high-risk sports including ice hockey, swimming, gymnastics, and baseball; and discuss future potential research that would help define the risk of injury for young athletes who participate in early sport specialization.

Epidemiology of Elbow Dislocations in High School Athletes

BACKGROUND

The elbow is the second most commonly dislocated major joint in the general population. Previous studies that focused on emergency department populations indicate that such injuries occur most frequently among adolescent athletes.

PURPOSE

To describe the epidemiological rates and patterns of sports-related elbow dislocations in high school athletes.

STUDY DESIGN

Descriptive epidemiology study.

METHODS

Sports-related injury data for the 2005-2006 through 2013-2014 academic years from a national convenience sample of high schools participating in the National High School Sports-Related Injury Surveillance Study (High School Reporting Information Online [RIO]) were analyzed.

RESULTS

Certified athletic trainers participating in High School RIO reported 115 of 1246 (9.2%) elbow injuries as elbow dislocations. A total of 30,415,179 athlete exposures (AEs) were reported during the study period, resulting in a dislocation rate of 0.38 per 100,000 AEs. The majority of the dislocations resulted from boys' wrestling (46.1%) and football (37.4%). Elbow dislocation rates were higher in competition than in practice. Also, 91.3% of dislocations occurred in boys' sports. Among both boys (60.4%) and girls (88.9%), the majority of injuries occurred during varsity sports activities. Contact with another person was the most common injury mechanism (46.9%), followed by contact with the playing surface (46.0%). Dislocations more commonly resulted in removal from play for more than 3 weeks (23.4% vs 6.9%, respectively) or medical disqualification (36.9% vs 7.0%, respectively) compared with other elbow injuries. Dislocations were also more likely to result in surgical treatment than other elbow injuries (13.6% vs 4.7%, respectively).

CONCLUSION

In high school athletes, elbow dislocations result in longer removal from play and are more likely to require surgical treatment than nondislocation-associated elbow injuries. Rates and patterns of elbow dislocations vary by sport. In high-risk sports, focused sport-specific prevention strategies may help to decrease the rates and severity of elbow dislocation injuries.

Interpersonal violence against children in sport in the Netherlands and Belgium

The current article reports on the first large-scale prevalence study on interpersonal violence against children in sport in the Netherlands and Belgium. Using a dedicated online questionnaire, over 4,000 adults prescreened on having participated in organized sport before the age of 18 were surveyed with respect to their experiences with childhood psychological, physical, and sexual violence while playing sports. Being the first of its kind in the Netherlands and Belgium, our study has a sufficiently large sample taken from the general population, with a balanced gender ratio and wide variety in socio-demographic characteristics. The survey showed that 38% of all respondents reported experiences with psychological violence, 11% with physical violence, and 14% with sexual violence. Ethnic minority, lesbian/gay/bisexual (LGB) and disabled athletes, and those competing at the international level report significantly more experiences of interpersonal violence in sport. The results are consistent with rates obtained outside sport, underscoring the need for more research on interventions and systematic follow-ups, to minimize these negative experiences in youth sport.

Out-of-school time activity participation among US--immigrant youth

BACKGROUND

Structured out-of-school time (OST) activities are associated with positive academic and psychosocial outcomes.

METHODS

Data came from the 2007 National Survey of Children's Health, restricted to 36,132 youth aged 12-17 years. Logistic regression models were used to examine the joint effects of race/ethnicity and immigrant family type on the participation in OST activities.

RESULTS

Compared with US-born (USB) non-Hispanic White youth with USB parents, USB Hispanic youth with USB parents were less likely to participate in sports, whereas non-Hispanic Black youth with immigrant parents were more likely to participate in sports. White youth with at least 1 immigrant parent had higher odds of participating in after-school clubs. All Hispanic youth were less likely to participate in after-school clubs. USB Hispanic youth, USB Black youth, and White youth and "other" youth with at least 1 immigrant parent had higher odds of engaging in community services. Youth from immigrant families had lower odds of doing paid work.

CONCLUSIONS

Hispanic youth were less likely to participate in OST activities. Non-Hispanic youth with immigrant parents did not engage in fewer OST activities compared with USB White youth with USB parents. Intervention and recruitment strategies for OST activities may need to be customized for immigrant groups.

Nature and pattern of cricket injuries: the Asian Cricket Council Under-19, Elite Cup, 2013

Cricket has over the years gained much popularity in Asia, thus the number of cricket players has also grown in tandem. However, cricket players are not as fortunate as other athletes as they do not always have a standard cricket infrastructure to practice; therefore, the injury prevalence is expected to be high. Unfortunately, very few studies have been conducted to investigate the nature and pattern of cricket injuries prevalent to cricketers in this region. Therefore, a prospective cohort injury surveillance study was conducted during the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) Under-19 Elite Cup held in June 2013 in order to gather more data on the type of injuries sustained by cricket players. Overall, 31 injuries occurred to 28 players throughout the tournament, of which 7 injuries happened during practice sessions. The overall injury incidence rate (IIR) was 292.0 per 10,000 player hours (95% CI 176.9-407.1) and 10.4 per 10,000 balls faced and 2.6 per 1000 overs bowled delivered during batting and bowling, respectively. Injuries to the lower limb (IIR: 146; 95% CI 1.8-98.2) were the most frequent, followed by injuries to the upper limb (97.3;95% CI 30.2-164.5) and to the trunk and back (IIR: 36.5;95% CI 0.0-77.7). Sprain/strains (IIR 109.5;95% CI 38.4-180.7) to muscle/tendon and joint/ligament were the most commonly reported nature of injury. This is the first study investigating injury incidence among the players of the ACC. It provides an overview of injuries sustained by elite players' under-19 years of age from 10 Asian countries. The overall IIR is similar to earlier studies conducted in well-established cricket playing nations.