TY - JOUR
T1 - Association Between Sports Participation and Psychosocial Wellbeing of Australian Children
T2 - An 8-year Longitudinal Study
AU - Khan, Asaduzzaman
AU - Werner-Seidler, Aliza
AU - Hidajat, Tarissa
AU - Feng, Jie
AU - Huang, Wendy Yajun
AU - Rosenbaum, Simon
N1 - Funding Information:
This paper uses unit record data from Growing Up in Australia, the Longitudinal Study of Australian Children, which was conducted in partnership between the Department of Social Services (DSS), the Australian Institute of Family Studies (AIFS) and the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS). The authors thank the LSAC study participants, staff, and students for their contributions.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2023 Society for Adolescent Health and Medicine
PY - 2023/12
Y1 - 2023/12
N2 - Purpose: Sports participation is associated with children's health and wellbeing; however, existing evidence is predominantly based on cross-sectional studies. This study examined the longitudinal association of sports participation with psychosocial wellbeing of Australian children.Methods: Data were from five waves of the Longitudinal Study of Australian Children aged 6-7 years in 2010 (n = 4,242) and followed up until 2018. Outcomes were assessed using the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire and the Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory. Sports participation was measured using two items assessing regular participation in team and individual sports.Results: Multilevel mixed effects modeling showed that any sports participation was beneficially associated with psychosocial wellbeing. Boys who participated in team sports had 1.78 point lower difficulties score (β = -1.78; 95% confidence interval: --2.01,-1.55), while this was 0.58 points lower for individual sports (β =-0.58; -0.81,-0.34). In girls, difficulties score was 1.22 point lower for team sports (β = -1.22; -1.44,-1.00) and 0.49 point lower for individual sports (β = -0.49; -0.71,-0.26). Sports participation was positively associated with better quality of life with team sports (β = 4.72; 4.15,5.28 for boys; β = 3.44; 2.87,4.00 for girls) offering more benefits than individual sports (β = 1.00; 0.83,1.98 for boys; β = 1.40; 0.83,1.98 for girls). Participation in both team and individual sports had the strongest benefits. Prolonged engagement in sports was associated with better psychosocial wellbeing in a dose-dependent manner.Discussion: Regular participation in any sports can benefit children's wellbeing with team sports being more beneficial than individual sports. Encouraging children to regularly participate and remain engaged in sports can help to optimize their psychosocial wellbeing.
AB - Purpose: Sports participation is associated with children's health and wellbeing; however, existing evidence is predominantly based on cross-sectional studies. This study examined the longitudinal association of sports participation with psychosocial wellbeing of Australian children.Methods: Data were from five waves of the Longitudinal Study of Australian Children aged 6-7 years in 2010 (n = 4,242) and followed up until 2018. Outcomes were assessed using the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire and the Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory. Sports participation was measured using two items assessing regular participation in team and individual sports.Results: Multilevel mixed effects modeling showed that any sports participation was beneficially associated with psychosocial wellbeing. Boys who participated in team sports had 1.78 point lower difficulties score (β = -1.78; 95% confidence interval: --2.01,-1.55), while this was 0.58 points lower for individual sports (β =-0.58; -0.81,-0.34). In girls, difficulties score was 1.22 point lower for team sports (β = -1.22; -1.44,-1.00) and 0.49 point lower for individual sports (β = -0.49; -0.71,-0.26). Sports participation was positively associated with better quality of life with team sports (β = 4.72; 4.15,5.28 for boys; β = 3.44; 2.87,4.00 for girls) offering more benefits than individual sports (β = 1.00; 0.83,1.98 for boys; β = 1.40; 0.83,1.98 for girls). Participation in both team and individual sports had the strongest benefits. Prolonged engagement in sports was associated with better psychosocial wellbeing in a dose-dependent manner.Discussion: Regular participation in any sports can benefit children's wellbeing with team sports being more beneficial than individual sports. Encouraging children to regularly participate and remain engaged in sports can help to optimize their psychosocial wellbeing.
KW - Adolescents
KW - Individual sports
KW - Mental wellbeing
KW - Organized sports
KW - Team sports
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85169511135&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.jadohealth.2023.07.011
DO - 10.1016/j.jadohealth.2023.07.011
M3 - Journal article
C2 - 37656103
SN - 1054-139X
VL - 73
SP - 1117
EP - 1124
JO - Journal of Adolescent Health
JF - Journal of Adolescent Health
IS - 6
ER -