Psychological Characteristics Important for British Young Peoples' Participation in Organised Activities: Implications for Policy, Practice and Research

Background: In Western societies many young people spend their time outside of school participating in organised activities (OAs), such as sports and special groups. In the UK and elsewhere, policy makers and practitioners are keen to understand how OAs can be used to help improve young people’s health and wellbeing. The physical and psychological benefits of regular OA participation are well documented; however, a significant proportion of young people do not regularly engage in OAs. Identifying psychological characteristics important for OA participation can help increase OA participation through targeted interventions and inform current methodological issues facing this area of research.

 Method: Data from the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC), a British longitudinal cohort, were analysed to determine whether inhibitory control, sensation seeking, estimated IQ and conduct problems predicted participation in OAs during childhood (n = 2,557, mean age = 11.7 years) and adolescence (n = 2,147, mean age = 15.4 years). Logistic regressions compared youth who did not participate in any OAs to those who participated in sports and to those who only participated in non-athletic activities.

Results:  At 11 years of age sport participants were more likely to have higher sensation seeking (OR: 1.05, CI: 1.02-1.08, p < 0.001) and less likely to have conduct problems (OR: 0.56, CI: 0.35-0.90, p < 0.05) and low inhibitory control (OR: 0.63, CI: 0.43-0.92, p < 0.05) compared to participants in no OAs. Participants in non-athletic activities were more likely to have higher sensation seeking (OR: 1.04, CI: 1.01-1.07, p < 0.01). At 15 years of age sport participants were more likely to have higher sensation seeking (OR: 1.03, CI: 1.01-1.05, p < 0.05) and less likely to have conduct problems (OR: 0.79, CI: 0.64-0.97, p < 0.05) compared to participants in no OAs.

Conclusions: These findings highlight differences in OA participation among British young people and that psychological characteristics are important determinants of OA participation, particularly sports. Future research should investigate whether less participation in sports contributes to inequalities in health, education and psychosocial development. Future studies should control for sensation seeking when investigating the relationship between sport participation and associated risk-taking behaviours.