Social influences on sports participation during adolescence

Abstract

Using data from the first follow up of the National Education Longitudinal Study (NELS:88), we examined predictors of participation in school-based athletics during the 10th grade in a sample of 15,868 adolescents. Logistic regression techniques were used to examine several sets of predictors of sports participation. Results indicate that sports participation during adolescence is associated with gender (males are more likely to participate than are females), coming from a high SES background, engaging in other outdoor activities, admiring an athlete, self-perceptions of popularity and social desirability, and prior participation in athletics. Academic achievement and ethnicity were unrelated to participation. Implications for involving adolescents in sports and exercise programs are discussed.

Cite this work

No public copy is stored for this record, so only the metadata is cited.

Stored only when both papers are in the corpus — 28 citations exist upstream.