The Influence of Youth Sport Participation on Social-Emotional Development

Abstract

College graduates completed a survey to describe their access to and participation in sports experiences and how they impacted them socially and emotionally as youth. The results showcased social and emotional development related to sports throughout each schooling level, including preschool, elementary school, middle school, high school, and college. Findings suggested access to youth sports was common in urban communities. Participants played sports at schools and community leagues with an increase in sport participation after pre-school and reported access to sports increased through schools and community leagues. Future research should include larger and more diverse samples to clarify specific variables which impact access to sports and participation and their impact on development for populations of athletes. The Future surveys might be more informative if their designs are not retrospective and their samples include students who were currently in high school or even middle school.