COLUMBUS, Ohio — Adults who continuously played organized sports through their youth have fewer symptoms of anxiety and depression than those who never played or those who dropped out, says a new study from Ohio State University. However, dropping out of sports is worse for one’s mental health than never playing at all, the report published this week found. That’s an important point, since few people play youth sports continuously until they are 18, explains Chris Knoester, senior author of the study and professor of sociology at Ohio State University. “If you play and stick with sports, it’s a positive for your mental health, but if you play and drop out it seems to be negative – and most kids drop out,” Knoester said.
Related: How to win at youth sports (without going broke or breaking down). Cleveland.com wants to hear from you as we prepare an upcoming series on youth sports, in partnership with WKYC Channel 3.
Data for the study came from roughly 4,000 adults across the country who answered questions about their sports participation as children and their current anxiety and depression symptoms as part of the National Sports and Society Survey, conducted by Ohio State. Of those surveyed, 35% of the participants did not play organized sports at all, 41% participated and dropped out and 24% participated continuously until age 18. Those who participated in organized sports continuously while growing up reported lower depressive symptoms and symptoms of anxiety than others. Those who dropped out had the worst mental health profile, with those who never played in the middle.
Many previous studies have focused on the impact of playing sports – or not playing – on adult outcomes. But this study is one of the first to look at what happens when youth quit sports, Knoester said, and it shows that persistence in playing is an important issue. “Unfortunately, it is not a simple story of playing sports is good for kids,” he said. “It is complicated by whether kids stick to playing sports and the reasons why they do stick to it or quit.”
The study, published Wednesday in the Sociology of Sport Journal, showed that most people dropped out of sports because they weren’t having fun or felt they weren’t good enough. Nearly half of respondents (45%) identified “not having fun,” as their reason for quitting sports, followed by feeling like they were not a good player (31%). Other reasons for dropping out were wanting to focus on grades (16%), having a health problem or injury (16%), not being able to afford sports (16%), having an issue with team members (15%) and having an interest in other clubs and activities (14%). Notably, 8% said they dropped out because they had been abused by a coach.
While dropping out of sports was associated with poorer mental health, “not all reasons for dropping out had the same effects,” said Laura Upenieks, the study’s lead author and an assistant professor of sociology at Baylor University. Interpersonal reasons for dropping out – including not having fun, not getting along with team members and being abused by a coach – were associated with adult depressive and anxiety symptoms, as was not being able to afford sports and sporting equipment. But those who dropped out in order to focus on grades actually showed lower depressive symptoms, the study found.
The good news is that these findings suggest that coaches and parents can take steps to improve the experience of playing sports so that it provides positive benefits for greater numbers of kids, Upenieks said. “Our findings about why kids drop out of organized sports suggests that the current environment is less than ideal for everyone, and that the barriers to participation need to be given greater attention,” said Upenieks .
“The longer that youth are exposed to a positive and encouraging sporting environment, the more likely they are to develop habits that are conducive to long-term mental well-being, such as a commitment to regular exercise and collaborating with others as part of a team,” she said.
However, having so many kids quit shows that organized sports often don’t provide a positive environment. Furthermore, the fact that 8% said they were abused by coaches is particularly alarming, the researchers said.
It’s important to note that most participants didn’t have clinical levels of depression or anxiety, and the differences between the three groups were relatively modest. But the differences still matter, said Knoester. “We need to improve youth sports so that it supports positive experiences for everyone and makes it more enjoyable,” he said. While winning is part of sports, it may be that adults overemphasize that aspect and ruin the experience for many young people.
“Our results suggest that by taking away the fun and making kids feel they aren’t good enough,” Knoester said. “There could be cascading effects in terms of hurting self-esteem and confidence that could reverberate through to adulthood.”</
