School Athletic Participation Research Articles

The culture of sport: examining the effect of athletic participation on the acceptance of rape myths

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to examine the relationship between athletic participation and the acceptance of rape myths in an effort to further identify cultural and social institutions that may contribute to adherence to and glorification of rape culture.Design/methodology/approachA random sample of 685 first semester, university freshmen were surveyed about their high school sports participation and levels of rape myth acceptance (RMA). Linear regression models were estimated to examine the relationships between participation in sports, the type of sport participation and the acceptance of rape myths.FindingsThose involved in athletics, generally, and those involved in team sports are more accepting of rape myths than are their counterparts. These results hold true for the full sample and for males and females, when examined separately. Participation in contact sports was not significantly predictive of RMA.Practical implicationsAthletics may provide a culture that is particularly prone to a belief in rape myths, which jeopardizes the integrity of collegiate sports. Policies should focus on changing offender behavior not victim behavior to create safer and more inclusive communities. Educating youth about the nature of rape myths and providing them with skills to resist such thinking is paramount. Focused programs and training could reduce the likelihood of accepting rape myths and, in turn, may make high school and college campuses safer.Originality/valueThis paper contributes to prior research by examining a sample of first semester university freshmen about their high school athletic participation and RMA. This research not only minimizes the effects of college level influences but also distinguishes between different forms of athletic involvement.

Effects of Welfare Reform on Positive Health and Social Behaviors of Adolescents.

This paper explores a missing link in the literature on welfare reform in the U.S.-the effects on positive health and social behaviors of adolescents, who represent the next generation of potential welfare recipients. Previous research on welfare reform and adolescents has focused almost exclusively on negative behaviors and found that welfare reform led to decreases in high school dropout and teenage fertility among girls, but increases in delinquent behaviors and substance use, particularly among boys. Using nationally representative data on American high school students in 1991-2006 and a quasi-experimental research design, we estimated the effects of welfare reform implementation on eating breakfast, regular fruit/vegetable consumption, regular exercise, adequate sleep, time spent on homework, completion of assignments, participation in community activities or volunteering, participation in school athletics, participation in other school activities, and religious service attendance. We found no robust evidence that welfare reform affected any of these adolescent behaviors. In concert with the past research on welfare reform in the U.S. and adolescents, the findings do not support the implicit assumption underlying welfare reform that strong maternal work incentives would increase responsible behavior in the next generation and suggest that welfare reform had overall adverse effects on boys, who have been falling behind girls in terms of high school completion for decades.

The long-run effects of adolescent athletic participation on women’s health

Increased athletic opportunities have been shown to improve educational and labor force outcomes, however few studies have linked athletic participation to health later in life. We use the implementation of Title IX, legislation banning gender discrimination in educational programs in the U.S., to estimate the effect of increased access to high school athletic opportunities on women’s later life health. Our results indicate that increased participation leads to fewer days in poor mental health, reduced BMI and rates of obesity, lower smoking rates, and some evidence of a reduced likelihood of a diabetes diagnosis. However, we find no impact of high school athletic participation on the number of days in poor physical health and current exercise, and a positive relationship between participation and alcohol consumption.

Surgical Management of Proximal Fifth Metatarsal Fractures in Elite Athletes: A Systematic Review.

Background:As a result of the high physical demand in sport, elite athletes are particularly prone to fifth metatarsal fractures. These injuries are typically managed surgically to avoid high rates of delayed union and allow for quicker return to play (RTP).Purpose:To review studies showing clinical and radiographic outcomes, RTP rates, and complication rates after different surgical treatment modalities for fifth metatarsal fractures exclusively in elite-level athletes.Study Design:Systematic review; Level of evidence, 4.Methods:A systematic search was conducted within the PubMed, Scopus, and Cochrane databases from January 2000 to January 2020. Inclusion criteria consisted of clinical outcome studies after operative management of fifth metatarsal fractures in elite athletes. Exclusion criteria consisted of nonoperative management, high school or recreational-level athletic participation, nonclinical studies, expert opinions, and case series with <5 patients.Results:A total of 12 studies met inclusion and exclusion criteria, comprising 280 fifth metatarsal fractures treated surgically. Intramedullary screw fixation was the most common fixation construct (47.9%), and some form of intraoperative adjunctive treatment (calcaneal autograft, iliac crest bone graft, bone marrow aspirate concentrate, demineralized bone matrix) was used in 67% of cases. Radiographic union was achieved in 96.7% of fractures regardless of surgical construct used. The overall mean time to union was 9.19 weeks, with RTP at a mean of 11.15 weeks. The overall reported complication rate was 22.5%, with varying severity of complications. Refracture rates were comparable between the different surgical constructs used, and the overall refracture rate was 8.6%.Conclusion:Elite athletes appeared to have a high rate of union and reliably returned to the same level of competition after surgical management of fifth metatarsal fractures, irrespective of surgical construct used. Despite this, the overall complication rate was >20%. Specific recommendations for optimal surgical management could not be made based on the heterogeneity of the included studies.

A Comparative Analysis of Wellness in Adulthood Based on High School Athletic Participation

A Comparative Analysis of Wellness in Adulthood Based on High School Athletic Participation

Relationship between High School Athletic Participation and Adult Fitness and Metabolic Health

Background: Studies have shown that regular exercise reduces both the burden of diabetes and the risk of death from cardiovascular disease. The determinants of an active lifestyle are not fully understood. Objective: The hypothesis of the current study is that athletic participation in high school (HS) would confer health benefits in adulthood in the form of greater fitness and less metabolic risk. Methods: 372 consecutive outpatients referred for exercise testing were asked to complete a questionnaire that included number of years of HS interscholastic sports participation, smoking status, presence of diabetes, total number of medications taken per day, level of education, amount of exercise they engaged in per week and attendance at a US or foreign HS. Waist circumference, blood pressure, (BP) and body mass index, (BMI) were measured. The Standard Bruce Protocol was utilized to obtain total exercise time and METs. Results: We found a positive correlation between athletic participation in HS and total exercise time, (454 ± 120 sec. [no sports] vs. 526 ± 122 sec. [4 years of HS sports] p<0.001) and METs (9.9 ± 2.37 vs. 11.11 ± 2.36 p<0.001). Participation in HS sports was also associated with higher reported weekly exercise time, (1.99 hrs ± 2.93 vs. 3.56 ± 3.97 p<0.001). Women were significantly less likely to have participated in HS sports, (among those reporting no HS sports participation, 64 % were women). When using multivariate regressions to control for gender, HS athletic participation still had a statistically significant effect on exercise time, (women: 437sec ± 114 vs. men: 519 ± 127 p ≤ 0.001), METS (9.67 ± 2.34 vs. 11.0 ± 2.31 p ≤ 0.001), and hours of weekly exercise, (2.02 hrs. ± 3.03 vs. 3.00 ± 3.65 p=0.0053). We could not find any association among HS sports and diabetes, smoking, waist circumference, total medications taken, domestic or foreign HS, BMI or BP. Conclusion: Our study demonstrates that participation in HS athletics is associated with improved adult lifestyle habits and cardiovascular fitness. Further study is needed to confirm the findings.

High Prevalence of Obesity and High Blood Pressure in Urban Student-Athletes

To assess the prevalence of obesity and hypertension-level blood pressures in an urban, athletic adolescent population using preparticipation physical evaluation (PPE) data. The Athlete Health Organization provides free preparticipation physical evaluations to Philadelphia student-athletes via an annual mass-screening event. From 2009 to 2012, Athlete Health Organization personnel performed PPEs on more than 2700 middle school and high school athletes. The PPE included biometric information, a history, and a physical examination. Medical volunteers measured blood pressures using a manual blood pressure cuff with an aneroid manometer. The data from each PPE were collected and analyzed for prevalence of obesity, overweight, and hypertension-level blood pressure readings. A large percentage of student-athletes were found to be overweight (20%) or obese (24.0%). Many of these athletes also had stage 1 or 2 level blood pressure readings (14.8%), a finding which strongly correlated with elevated body mass index (P < .00001). The cardiovascular health of this urban adolescent athletic population is a major concern because their rates of obesity and elevated blood pressure place them at increased risk of cardiovascular complications later in life despite their participation in school athletics.

THE INCIDENCE OF SUDDEN CARDIAC ARREST AND DEATH IN UNITED STATES HIGH SCHOOL ATHLETES

BackgroundTraditional estimates of SCD incidence in US high school athletes 1 athlete death per 200 000–400 000 athlete-years.ObjectiveTo investigate the rate of SCA/SCD in high school athletes through search of...

Exercise and Substance Use Among American Youth, 1991–2009

The National Institute on Drug Abuse has called for increased research into the use of physical activity in substance abuse prevention, specifically research into physical activity type and context. This paper examines the relationships between (1) secondary school student substance use and (2) exercise in general and school athletic team participation, and examines such relationships over time. Nationally representative cross-sectional samples of 8th-, 10th-, and 12th-grade students were surveyed each year from 1991 to 2009. Substance use measures included past 2-week binge drinking and past 30-day alcohol, cigarette, smokeless tobacco, marijuana, and steroid use. Analyses were conducted during 2009-2010. Across grades, higher levels of exercise were associated with lower levels of alcohol, cigarette, and marijuana use. Higher levels of athletic team participation were associated with higher levels of smokeless tobacco use and lower levels of cigarette and marijuana use across grades and to higher levels of high school alcohol and steroid use. Exercise helped suppress the undesired relationship between team participation and alcohol use; exercise and athletic team participation worked synergistically in lowering cigarette and marijuana use. Observed relationships were generally stable across time. There appear to be substantive differences between exercise and team sport participation in relation to adolescent substance use. These findings from cross-sectional data suggest that interventions to improve levels of general physical activity should be evaluated to determine if they help delay or reduce substance use among youth in general as well as among student athletes.

"The Teacher Doesn’t Like me:" Exploring the Relationship between Teacher Attitudes toward Student-Athletes and Academic Performance

More than 7.5 million high school students in the United States participate in organized sport according to a survey conducted by the National Federation of State High School Associations (National Federation of State high School Associations [NFHS], 2010). Athletic participation is the single most popular school-sponsored extracurricular activity, regardless of race, ethnicity, or gender (Miller, Melnick, Barnes, Farrell, &amp; Sabo, 2005; Eccles &amp; Barber, 1999; Eide &amp; Ronan, 2001). With the high popularity of sport participation, the controversy over the effect of athletic participation on academic progress and success continues to linger (Ward, 2008; Marsh, 1993; Miller et al. 2005). Although many of these studies have shown positive correlations between high school athletic participation and academic performance, there still seems to be a question regarding the stigma attached to student athletes and treatment of student-athletes by faculty and non-athlete students; wherein student-athletes are faced with negative stereotypes which depict them as low achievers academically and undeservingly privileged when it comes to academic requirements (Sherman, 1988; Simons, Bosworth, Fujita and Jensen, 2007; Lawrence, Harrison, &amp; Stone, 2009). Bowen &amp; Levin (2005) produced convincing data in their book Reclaiming the Game that highlights certain tensions between academics and athletics. Some of the issues raised in this study relate to the difference in academic preparedness and performance for recruited athletes vs. "walk-ons" in which recruited athletes tend to have more of an advantage when it comes to being admitted despite lower qualifications, and then subsequently demonstrate lower academic performance once they are enrolled.

Athletic identity, descriptive norms, and drinking among athletes transitioning to college

College student–athletes are at risk for heavy alcohol consumption and related consequences. The present study evaluated the influence of college student and college athlete descriptive norms and levels of athletic identity on drinking and related consequences among incoming college students attending two universities ( N = 1119). Prior to the beginning of their first year of college, students indicating high school athletic participation completed assessments of athletic identity, alcohol consumption, drinking-related consequences, and normative perceptions of alcohol use. Estimations of drinking by college students and student–athletes were significantly greater than self-reported drinking. Athletic identity moderated associations among gender, perceived norms, drinking, and related consequences. Athlete-specific norms had a stronger effect on drinking among those reporting higher levels of athletic identity, and higher levels of athletic identity exclusively protected males from experiencing drinking-related consequences. Implications of the role of athletic identity in the development of social norms interventions targeted at high school athletes transitioning to college are discussed.

TITLE IX AND THE EVOLUTION OF HIGH SCHOOL SPORTS

The passage of Title IX, the 1972 Education Amendments to the Civil Rights Act, expanded high school athletic opportunities to include girls, revolutionizing mass sports participation in the United States. This paper analyzes high school athletic participation in the United States and how sports offerings for boys and girls changed subsequent to the passage of this legislation. Girls’ sports participation rose dramatically both following the enactment of Title IX and subsequent to enhancements to its enforcement. Approximately half of all girls currently participate in sports during high school; however, there remains a substantial gap between girls and boys participation in many states. States’ average education level and social attitudes regarding Title IX and women’s rights are correlated with this remaining gender gap. Examining individual high school students, sports participation is seen more frequently among those with a privileged background: white students with married, wealthy, educated parents are more likely to play sports. This finding points to an overlooked fact—while Title IX benefited girls by increasing the opportunity to play sports, these benefits were disproportionately reaped by those at the top of the income distribution. (JEL J16, J18, J24, I2)

The Labor Market Effects of High School Athletic Participation

This article provides new empirical evidence on the labor market effects of participating in high school athletics. The study uses the 1990 wave of the National Longitudinal Surveys of Youth data set, which allows for the examination of a broad set of fringe benefits and provides a rich set of control variables. The major finding of this study is that former high school athletes fare better in terms of both components of the compensation structure (i.e., wages and fringe benefits) than their nonathlete counterparts.

Learn at Home, Play at School: A State-by-State Examination of Legislation, Litigation and Athletic Association Rules Governing Public School Athletic Participation by Homeschool Students

Learn at Home, Play at School: A State-by-State Examination of Legislation, Litigation and Athletic Association Rules Governing Public School Athletic Participation by Homeschool Students

High School Athletic Participation and Adolescent Suicide

Suicide is the third leading cause of death among US adolescents aged 15-24, with males incurring higher rates of completion than females. This study used hierarchical logistic regression analysis to test whether athletic participation was associated with lower rates of suicidal ideation and behavior among a nationally representative sample of over 16,000 US public and private high school students. Net of the effects of age, race/ethnicity, parental educational attainment, and urbanicity, high school athletic participation was significantly associated with reduced odds of considering suicide among both females and males, and reduced odds of planning a suicide attempt among females only. Though the results point to favorable health outcomes for athletes, athletic participation was also associated with higher rates of injury to male athletes who actually attempted suicide.

School Athletic Participation: Mostly Gain with Little Pain

Participation in high school sports had positive effects on many Grade 12 and postsecondary outcomes (e.g., school grades, coursework selection, homework, educational and occupational aspirations, self-esteem, university applications, subsequent college enrollment, and eventual educational attainment) after controlling background variables and parallel outcomes from Grades 8 and 10 in a large, nationally representative, 6-year longitudinal study. In contrast to Zero-Sum and Threshold Models, these positive effects generalized across academic and nonacademic outcomes, across the entire range of athletic participation levels, and across different subgroups of students (e.g., SES, gender, ethnicity, ability levels, educational aspirations). Sport participation is hypothesized to increase identification/commitment to school and school values which mediate the participation effects, particularly for narrowly defined academic outcomes not directly related to sport participation. Consistent with this Identification/Commitment Model, extramural sport, and to a lesser extent team sport, had more positive effects than intramural and individual sports.

The Effects of High School Athletic Participation on Education and Labor Market Outcomes

We introduce a simple allocation-of-time model to explain the high school athletic participation choice and the implications of this choice for educational and labor market outcomes. Four different factors that could explain athletic participation are identified in the context of this model. A variety of tests of the model are provided using two data sets: the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth and the National Longitudinal Study of the High School Class of 1972. We find some evidence that athletic participation directly affects wages and educational attainment. However, much of the effect of athletic participation on wages and educational attainment appears to reflect differences across individuals in ability or value of leisure.

High school athletic participation, sexual behavior and adolescent pregnancy: a regional study

Purpose: To determine whether high school athletic participation among adolescents in Western New York was associated with reduced rates of sexual behavior and pregnancy involvement. Methods: A secondary analysis of data from the Family and Adolescent Study, a longitudinal study of a random sample of adolescents (ages 13–16 years) from 699 families living in households in Western New York. A general population sample was obtained with characteristics closely matching the census distributions in the area. Interview and survey methods provided data on athletic participation, frequency of sexual relations during the past year, and risk for pregnancy. Bivariate correlations were used to examine relationships among athletic participation, demographic and control variables, and measures of sexual behavior and pregnancy rates. Next, path analyses were done in order to test for hypothesized relationships between athletic participation, sexual behavior, and pregnancy involvement while controlling for age, race, income, family cohesion, and non-athletic forms of extracurricular activity. Variables that were significantly associated with sexual behavior and/or pregnancy involvement were presented for both sexes within the resulting multivariate models. Results: Lower income and higher rates of sexual activity were associated with higher rates of pregnancy involvement for both sexes. Family cohesion was associated with lower sexual activity rates for both sexes. For girls, athletic participation was directly related to reduced frequency of sexual behavior and, indirectly, to pregnancy risk. Male athletes did not exhibit lower rates of sexual behavior and involvement with pregnancy than male non-athletes. Boys who participated in the arts, however, did report lower rates of sexual behavior and, indirectly, less involvement with pregnancy. Conclusions: Female adolescents who participated in sports were less likely than their non-athletic peers to engage in sexual activity and/or report a pregnancy. Among male adolescents, athletic participation was unrelated to sexual behavior and pregnancy involvement. Teen pregnancy prevention efforts for girls should consider utilizing sport as a strategic tool.

High School Athletics and the Wages of Black Males

This article examines the effects of high school athletic participation on the future wages of black males. Our evidence suggests that former black male athletes receive significantly greater wages than their otherwise comparable counterparts. Data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth was used for the analysis and allows for comparisons of the athlete premium to be made at different points in time. Both the human capital and signaling models are discussed. There appears to be a once and for all enhancement to human capital that accrues to black males who participated in high school athletics. The article adds to the literature on determinants of black male wages and on the earnings effects of athletic participation.

High School Athletic Participation and Postsecondary Educational and Occupational Mobility: A Focus on Race and Gender

This study examines the impact of race and gender differences on the social mobility of high school athletes using the longitudinal, panel data of the High School and Beyond study. Regressions of educational and occupational attainment measures on sports participation were estimated for subgroups differentiated by race/ethnic status, gender, and school location (urban, suburban, and rural). It was found that participation in high school sports was most likely to affect the postsecondary status attainment of white males and, to a lesser extent, suburban white females and rural Hispanic females. High school athletic participation had almost no effect on the college-going behavior or educational expectations of black males and females. Interscholastic athletic participation was generally unrelated to postsecondary occupational status and aspirations.