Abstract
BackgroundParticipation in organized leisure-time activities (OLTA) has been linked to healthy youth development. This study aimed to assess whether participation in OLTA is associated with both physical and mental health in adolescents, and whether this association differs by pattern of activity participation, age and gender.MethodsThe present study was based on data from the 2013/2014 Health Behaviour in School-aged Children study in the Czech Republic. This data concerned 10,503 adolescents (49.2 % boys) aged 11, 13 and 15. A cluster analysis was carried out to obtain patterns of activity participation and yielded five groups (all-rounders, artists, individual sports, team sports and inactive). The association between participation in types of OLTA and physical and mental health was analysed using logistic regression models adjusted for age and gender. We also assessed interactions between types of OLTA and gender and age.ResultsParticipation in OLTA was associated with better self-rated health and higher life satisfaction regardless of gender or age. Participation in team or individual sports was associated with better general health and less frequent health complaints in boys, while participation in art activities was associated with lower occurrence of health complaints in girls and 11-year-olds.ConclusionParticipation in OLTA is associated with better physical and mental health in adolescents. The association varies by pattern of activity participation and is partly gender- and age-specific.
Highlights
Participation in organized leisure-time activities (OLTA) has been linked to healthy youth development
Research has focused mostly on mental health and several studies have documented that it is positively linked to organized activity involvement [12, 13], supporting the position of OLTA in healthy youth development
We found gender differences for three types of health complaints and for self-rated health in team sports and for sleeping difficulties in individual sports
Summary
Participation in organized leisure-time activities (OLTA) has been linked to healthy youth development. OLTA represent a wide range of activities taking place during leisure time outside the regular school curriculum [8]. They can be characterized as having a structure with defined rules and goals, being supervised by adults, having a regular schedule and putting emphasis on skill-building [5, 6]. Research has focused mostly on mental health and several studies have documented that it is positively linked to organized activity involvement [12, 13], supporting the position of OLTA in healthy youth development
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