Childhood Sports Participation and Adolescent Sport Profile

We aimed to increase understanding of the link between sport specialization during childhood and adolescent physical activity (PA). The objectives were as follows: (1) describe the natural course of sport participation over 5 years among children who are early sport samplers or early sport specializers and (2) determine if a sport participation profile in childhood predicts the sport profile in adolescence.

Participants (n = 756, ages 10-11 years at study inception) reported their participation in organized and unorganized PA during in-class questionnaires administered every 4 months over 5 years. They were categorized as early sport samplers, early sport specializers, or nonparticipants in year 1 and as recreational sport participants, performance sport participants, or nonparticipants in years 2 to 5. The likelihood that a childhood sport profile would predict the adolescent profile was computed as relative risks. Polynomial logistic regression was used to identify predictors of an adolescent sport profile.

Compared with early sport specialization and nonparticipation, early sport sampling in childhood was associated with a higher likelihood of recreational participation (relative risk, 95% confidence interval: 1.55, 1.18-2.03) and a lower likelihood of nonparticipation (0.69, 0.51-0.93) in adolescence. Early sport specialization was associated with a higher likelihood of performance participation (1.65, 1.19-2.28) but not of nonparticipation (1.01, 0.70-1.47) in adolescence. Nonparticipation in childhood was associated with nearly doubling the likelihood of nonparticipation in adolescence (1.88, 1.36-2.62).

Sport sampling should be promoted in childhood because it may be linked to higher PA levels during adolescence.