Study: Team Sports Have Positive Effect On Health Risk Behaviors Among Alternative High School Students

Healio.com

http://www.healio.com/adolescent-medicine/alcohol-smoking-substance-abuse/news/online/%7B90245DCC-46B1-482D-B824-F0EE06AD454D%7D/Team-sports-had-positive-effect-on-health-risk-behaviors-among-alternative-high-school-students

Alternative high school students avoided risky health behaviors through sports team participation that fostered positive school and adult connectedness, according to a poster presentation at the Society for Adolescent Health and Medicine Annual Meeting in Atlanta.

Researchers analyzed survey data from 4,586 students (average age 16.9 years, 46% female; 49% students of color; 54% low socioeconomic status) from the 2010 Minnesota Student survey for alternative schools.

Sports team participation was defined as weekly activity on a school team in the last year. Health-risk behaviors included substance use (cigarette use, alcohol use, binge drinking, marijuana use, other drug use and polysubstance use).

Sexual risk-taking outcomes included lifetime history of intercourse, multiple partners, nonuse of condoms and partner noncommunication.

Among the 10% of alternative high school (AHS) students on sports teams, school and adult connectedness contributed to protective associations, but friend connectedness had the negative effect of weakening the strength of overall associations.

“Sports team participation has great potential to promote positive youth development and prevent health-risk behaviors among AHS students,” the study authors wrote. “However, the social context of participation matters.”