Children's Organized Sports Participation and Psychosocial Adjustment: Associations With Categories of Sports

This study examined the association between duration of participation in four sports categories-team sports, individual sports, martial arts, aesthetic sports-and psychosocial adjustment and whether family income moderated this association. A sample of 468 children (36.1% girls) was assessed annually from kindergarten to Grade 4. The number of years of participation was computed for each sports category, and internalizing and externalizing problems and prosocial behaviours were assessed in kindergarten and at the end of Grade 4. Adjustment in kindergarten, sex, and parental education were included as covariates. Team and aesthetic sports were found to be associated with lower levels of internalizing problems. Family income also moderated the association between individual sports and externalizing problems, as these sports were associated with lower problems for children from lower income families. Parents and policymakers should be informed of these differential associations and greater accessibility to individual sports should be advocated. Public Significance Statement The benefits of sports participation vary depending on the type of sports children engage in. Our study reveals that participating in team and aesthetic sports during childhood is associated with decreased internalizing problems, while individual sports participation is associated with decreased externalizing problems for children from lower income families. These findings highlight the importance of considering specific sports categories when examining associations between organized sports participation and children's psychosocial adjustment.