Sport Participation Trajectories and Loneliness: Evidence From the Longitudinal Study of Australian Children

This study aimed to identify patterns of overall, team, and individual sport participation and examine the prospective associations between these patterns and loneliness in young people.

We analyzed data from 4241 young people, from waves 3 (8-9 y) to 9 (20-21 y) of the Longitudinal Study of Australian Children. We conducted latent class analyses to identify overall and team versus individual sport participation trajectories and used adjusted log-Poisson regression models to examine the associations between these trajectories and loneliness at wave 9.

Latent class analyses identified 4 distinct overall sport participation classes which were labeled: nonparticipants (24%), dropouts (42%), initiators (7%), and consistent participants (27%). Compared with nonparticipants, consistent participants had a lower risk of loneliness (risk ratios = 0.69; 95% CIs, 0.59-0.81). Latent class analyses also identified 4 distinct team versus individual sport participation classes: team and individual sport nonparticipants (38%), individual sport participants (14%), moderate team sport participants (14%), and high team sport participants (34%). Compared with the team and individual sport nonparticipants, the high team sports participants had a lower risk of loneliness (risk ratios = 0.70; 95% CIs, 0.53-0.92).

Young people who continued participating in sport in general, and particularly in team sport, had a reduced risk of loneliness. Continued participation in sports should be promoted to improve a range of physical, mental, and social health benefits. Furthermore, team-based sport can provide additional health and well-being benefits, including reduced loneliness due to the group nature of participation.