The Protective Effects of Youth Sport Participation on ACEs, Mental Health, and School Engagement

The national mental health crisis among children and youth in the US has worsened since the COVID-19 pandemic (Close et al., 2024). Further, recent data reveals alarming rates of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) among this population; nearly three-quarters of youth reported having experienced at least 1 ACE, and one in five reported 4 or more ACEs (Swedo, 2024). Adverse mental health and ACEs are linked with poorer school outcomes, underscoring the critical need to find practical and accessible protective factors. Recent studies suggest that youth participation in sports may reduce the negative impacts of adverse childhood experiences, such as aggression (Hoeven et al., 2024; Hughes et al., 2018). In addition to physical health benefits, participation in sports can support mental health and well-being by fostering opportunities for building community, developing a sense of belonging, and other prosocial factors that could mitigate the impact of ACEs (Norris & Norris, 2018). Sports can also provide structure and routine that may facilitate positive educational outcomes. The study aimed to (1) examine if participation in sports may directly support school engagement and (2) if sport participation attenuated the negative effects of ACEs on mental health and school engagement.

An analytic sample of 37,425 youth aged 12-17 years from the 2022 National Survey of Children’s Health (NSCH) was drawn to test direct, indirect, and moderated effects between ACEs, sport participation, mental health (MH), and school engagement. The sample included slightly more male youth (51.7%), a mean age of 14.7 years (SD=1.7). The majority identified as White non-Hispanic (63.5%), followed by Hispanic (15.8%), and Black non-Hispanic (7.0%). ACEs were measured as a count variable ranging between 0-10 ACEs, sport participation was assessed by a binary variable reporting whether the youth participated in sports teams or lessons outside of school, adverse MH was measured by a binary variable indicating if the youth had current depression and/or anxiety, and school engagement was assessed by a summary variable that gauged if the youth always or usually cared about doing well in school and completed homework. Moderated mediation path analysis results provided evidence of direct associations between adverse MH and ACEs (B= 0.257, p<0.001), sport participation (B= -0.117, p<0.001), and adverse MH and school engagement (b=-0.236, p<0.001). Support for mediation between ACEs and school engagement via adverse MH was evidenced (-0.061, 99% CI: -0.033 - -0.27, p<0.001), as well as moderated effects of sport participation on this mediation (99% CI: 0.003 - 0.010).

The present study supports that the negative association between ACEs and decreased school engagement is indirectly explained by adverse MH, and this effect is attenuated by sport participation. Sports can engage children and youth in healthy habits as well as foster opportunities for socialization and community building that may help assuage the harm that stems from ACEs. The current study was limited by the cross-sectional nature of the data; future longitudinal studies should further investigate the interplay between these factors to determine if there might be key developmental periods in which these effects are strongest.