Sport-based Programs Research Articles

Playing together: the role of sport organisations in supporting migrants’ integration

The paper presents the research methodology and the main findings of the study carried out to monitor and assess the UISP –the largest sport for all Italian association– national project named Diritti in campo (Rights in the field). The project had the overall goals to use sport-based programs to support the process of integration of migrants living in eight selected Italian cities. The aims of the research study were: the assessment of the impact of the project on migrants’ social inclusion; the identification of specific determinants for success of a program using sport as main mean of intervention; the proposition of a qualitative methodological approach in the domain of migration studies in Italy. The research methodology was based on the case-study paradigm (Yin, 2009) and combined several tools interpolating direct observations, semi-structured and in-depth interviews, focus groups, and documentary analysis. Based on the main findings of the study, eight specific determinants for success as well as four general organizational determinants were highlighted: the relevance of ludodiversity (Renson, 2004), the changes needed in the organizational culture, the requirement of an entire system of integration built as a network, the management of the spaces.

A Postcolonial Approach to Understanding Sport-Based Empowerment of People Living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) in Zambia: The Case of the Cultural Philosophy of Ubuntu

This article focuses on the findings of a small-scale qualitative study that sought to explore how local sub-Saharan cultural discourses interface with dominant western sport for development and peace (SDP) discourses in order to facilitate or inhibit sport empowerment for people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA). Underpinned by postcolonial theory and empowerment theory, the study set out to investigate the sport empowerment of PLWHA as colonized “others,” within the context of the indigenous (African) cultural philosophy of Ubuntu. Data are drawn from 23 one-to-one in-depth, semi-structured interviews that were conducted with participants of an SDP sport-based program entitled Positive and Kicking (P&K). Fieldwork observations and documentary evidence are used as supporting data. Findings provide insight into the way in which Ubuntu was central to the development of sport empowerment for PLWHA. In particular, participants identified social connectedness and mutual support as vital to their collective empowerment negotiations. Data analysis demonstrates the importance of centralizing cultural discourses in order to achieve locally meaningful development.

The Effects of a Community and School Sport-Based Program on Urban Indigenous Adolescents’ Life Skills and Physical Activity Levels: The <i>SCP</i> Case Study

The primary aim of this study was to investigate the effect of a community and school sport program (SCP) on Indigenous adolescents’ life skills and physical activity levels within program sessions. A secondary aim was to determine the acceptability of the SCP. Participants in the SCP (n = 34; 89%) participated in a 10-week case study (age = 13.7 ± 1.16; 58% girls). Systematic observations of SCP sessions were conducted to determine physical activity levels and a life skills questionnaire was implemented. Acceptability measures included retention, implementation, attendance rates, and interviews with participants [n = 18] and key stakeholders [n = 6]. Systematic observations indicated that Indigenous students were engaged in MVPA for 58% of lesson time. Participants’ life skills remained unchanged (p = 0.93). Interview data showed that Indigenous students and key stakeholders believed the SCP was acceptable. This study highlights the need for partnerships between Indigenous community organisations and schools to design sport-based programs to promote Indigenous adolescents’ MVPA.

Sexual behaviour and the spread of HIV – Statistical and epidemiological modelling applications

Central in the work are six papers describing the sexual behaviour of populations at increased risk for HIV infection as well as opportunities for HIV prevention. The first two papers investigate the sexual behaviour and contraceptive use of youth in the Balkans. The third paper discusses the conditions required to unlock the potential of HIV prevention through sport-based programmes, while the next paper is a case study of the impact of the AIDS awareness and prevention project of the Mathare Youth Sport Association in Kenya on risky sexual behaviour of youth in Mathare. In the final two papers, epidemiological models are developed to investigate role of concurrent partnerships in the spread of HIV. Rather than to model concurrency explicitly, the null hypothesis – serial monogamy – is modelled, and the doubling of HIV epidemics under serial monogamy is compared to the observed doubling time of the South African HIV epidemic. Additionally, an individual-based stochastic model (SIMPACT) is developed to study the impact of HIV prevention interventions in sexual networks characterised by concurrency and complex age mixing patterns.

Sport-Based Life Skills Programming in the Schools

SUMMARY The philosophy of sport and physical activity being readily available for all youth has a long history. Research suggests that sport is a significant factor in the development of adolescents' self-esteem, identity and feelings of competence. Using sport to promote competence in youth has tremendous benefits and risks. The greatest risk is the belief held by many that we can make a difference by just ‘throwing the ball and letting them play.’ This paper will focus on the role that sport can play in facilitating positive youth development. We delineate the environments in which sport best contributes to positive youth development and the role schools, and the psychologists who work in these schools, can play in this process. In addition, we will provide examples of several sport-based programs designed to enhance positive development, the components that make these programs successful and issues related to the design, implementation and evaluation of these programs.

Enhancing Youth Development Through Sport

It is commonly believed that through sports, children and adolescents learn values and skills that will serve them well as they prepare for the rest of their lives. Unfortunately, many youth sport programs are neither properly structured nor implemented in a manner that these life skills can be learned in sport and later transferred to other life domains. The purpose of this article is to provide an overview of positive youth development, to describe the role sport can play in preparing youth to learn essential “life lessons,” to discuss why so few programs achieve this goal, and to provide examples of several sport-based programs designed to achieve these goals. In addition, various issues relating to the design, implementation and evaluation of these programs and future sport programs are discussed.

Measuring delinquency : by Michael J. Hindelang, Travis Hirschi, and Joseph G. Weis. Sage Publications, Inc. (275 South Beverly Drive, Beverly Hills, California 90212) 1982, 248 pp., hardover—$29.95, softcover—$29.95.

Despite the wide implementation of sport-based crime prevention programs, there is a lack of empirical knowledge on the effectiveness of these interventions. This study evaluated a Dutch sport-based program in N = 368 youth at risk for juvenile delinquency. Intervention effects were tested in a quasi-experimental study, comparing the intervention group with a comparison group using multiple sources of information. The study was conducted under conditions that resemble real-life implementation, thereby enhancing the relevance of this contribution to practitioners. The primary outcome was juvenile delinquency, measured by official police data. The secondary outcomes were risk and protective factors for delinquency, assessed with self- and teacher reports. A significant effect was found on one delinquency measure. The intervention group consisted of fewer youth with police registrations as a suspect than the comparison group (d = −0.34). We did not find an intervention effect on the number of registrations as a suspect in each group. In addition, no significant intervention effects were found on the secondary outcomes. Implications for theory and practice concerning the use of sport-based crime prevention programs are discussed.