Prospective associations between sport participation and psychological adjustment in adolescents

Correspondence to Dr Frédéric N Brière, École de Psychoéducation, Université de Montréal, Montréal, QC H3C 3J7, Canada; [email protected]

Introduction

Getting out there and moving around in the context of playing a sport may provide developmental benefits to children and adolescents.¹ Youthful participation is associated with better physical outcomes in adulthood, such as improved fitness and an active lifestyle.² Some literature suggests potential benefits of sport participation on educational and occupational achievement,³ positive social development⁴ and lower risky sexual behaviour and drug use.⁵ Less positive outcomes have also been reported (eg, alcohol use in some athletes).⁶

It could be argued that sport participation represents a protective factor against psychological distress in adolescence.⁷ Such a protective influence could involve two potential mechanisms. A first possibility is that sport participation might reduce depressive and anxious symptoms by means of the antidepressant and anxiolytic neurobiological effects of physical activity (eg, improved hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis functioning, increased monoamine neurotransmission).⁸ A second possibility is that sport participation might reduce distress through psychological and social mechanisms. These mechanisms have been discussed in the positive youth development (PYD) model.^{9 10} This model posits that sport helps youth actualise their individual strengths and potential through opportunities to develop life skills (eg, initiative, teamwork, self-control) and supportive relationships with and exposure to prosocial peers and adults. Positive relational experiences with others are believed to decrease the risk of symptoms associated with psychological distress, such as sadness, and social anxiety and isolation.¹

Consistent with the expectation that sport diminishes emotional impairment, some literature suggests associations between adolescent sport participation and reduced symptoms of depression,^11–13 social anxiety^{14 15} and loneliness.^{3 16} Nevertheless, much of it has been cross-sectional.^{1 11 13 17} Longitudinal studies vary in their effort to control for pre-existing factors.^{3 12 14 15} Consequently, sport participation is often not adequately isolated as a predictor. This makes it difficult to determine whether positive outcomes reflect a continuation of a pre-existing bias in more physically active youth or a net outcome of engaging in sport. Additional longitudinal research is necessary to demonstrate that sport participation independently predicts psychological adjustment over time.

PYD theory emphasises that the outcomes of sport participation depend on...