Abstract
BackgroundThe present study firstly aimed to identify context patterns in sport and exercise among adolescents at lower and upper secondary education. The organisational, social and competitive contexts of leisure-time sport and exercise were included as pattern indicators. The second aim was to examine the stability of these patterns across educational transition. The last aim was to investigate whether a subjective evaluation of the transition influences whether people stay in the same pattern across time.MethodsOne-year longitudinal data of 392 adolescents were analysed.ResultsBoth before and after the educational transition, four context patterns were identified: the traditional competitive club athletes with friends, the self-organised individualists, the non-club-organised sportspersons and the mostly inactives. More than half of the individuals stayed in the same pattern across time. When individuals changed pattern, their change was most often from the self-organised individualists and the non-club-organised to the mostly inactives. A subjective evaluation of the transition influenced the stability of only the traditional competitive club athletes with friends. The chance of these people staying in the same pattern decreased with increased transitional stress.ConclusionsKnowledge about the stability and change of context patterns can be used to make recommendations for policy strategies and to develop more individually-tailored promotion programs.
Highlights
The transition from lower to upper secondary education1, occurring between 14 and 16 years of age, can be a major life event for many adolescents
Existing research shows that when stress is high, people are more likely to engage in non-competitive sport and exercise activities, for example [31]. In light of these two research gaps, the present study examined the following research questions: Based on theoretical considerations [30] and initial empirical evidence [13, 31], we expected the subjective evaluation of the life event to influence stability in behavioural context patterns
How stable are the behavioural context patterns in sport and exercise across educational transition? In this study, we examined stability firstly at a group level by focusing on the structural stability of context patterns
Summary
The transition from lower to upper secondary education, occurring between 14 and 16 years of age, can be a major life event for many adolescents. They are faced with different challenges, such as a changed environment, new social roles or higher academic demands [2]. Adolescents can be physically active with a commercial provider (e.g., gym, dance studio; hereinafter referred to as a non-club-organised context). Such activities have a similar organisational structure, but fewer social obligations [9]. The last aim was to investigate whether a subjective evaluation of the transition influences whether people stay in the same pattern across time
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