The Effects of School Sports Participation on Delinquency and Academic Achievement
School-based physical activity is up-and-coming area of interest for many social science researchers. Although the evidence base is now strong that general physical activity can promote positive outcomes for youth, research is still lacking regarding the role of school-based sports. There is strong evidence that activity promotes achievement and delinquency and that these relationships may be mediated by self-esteem and school engagement. This structural equation modeling analysis used an ecological framework to postulate that school sports participation would be related to improved academic achievement and decreased delinquency through self-esteem and school-based support. It was hoped that this inquiry would inform school-based interventions and policies regarding the promotion of healthy behaviors within the school setting.
Methods
Sample: Data were collected in 2008 using the School Success Profile, a well-validated, self-report social environmental assessment. The data set comprised 3,196 secondary students in 14 schools in a southeastern state. Students were in the 6th to 9th grade and had a mean age of 14.9 years. About half (51%) of the sample was male and 83.7% was White.
Measures: “Schools Sports” was a single item assessing participation in school-sanctioned sports. “Self-Esteem” was measured with 5 items describing students’ satisfaction with, and confidence in, themselves. “School Support” was measured with 7 items assessing teacher caring, student needs, and others. “Delinquency” used 11 items assessing frequency of absences, fighting, suspension, and other behaviors. “Achievement” was measured with 3 items related to recent and past academic performance All 4 latent variables featured 3- to 5-point Likert responses.
Analysis: Mplus 7.11 was used with the Weighted Least Square (WLSMV) estimator, a polychoric correlation matrix of the ordinal variables, and a correction for the clustering of schools. Full information maximum likelihood allowed the inclusion of missing values.
Results
The final model had good fit: χ2 (362, N = 3179 to 14,242) = 807.622; RMSEA = .020 (CI .018 to .021); CFI = .964; TLI = .960. All but 1 hypothesized path was statistically significant. Overall, school sports participation had a direct positive association with achievement (standardized γ = .179) and a direct negative association with delinquency (γ = −.053). Sports participation also had direct associations with self-esteem (γ = .159). Indirect paths from sports participation to achievement were both significant. The total standardized effects of school sports on achievement were .246. The model explained 47.9% of the variation in achievement and 23.4% in delinquency.
Conclusions
School sports were significantly related to the other variables in the model. These findings suggest that youth who participate in school sports experience increases in self-esteem and academic achievement, and decreases in delinquency. These relationships have important implications for social work stakeholders developing health-based interventions in schools.