Kearney Philip E, Sherwin Ian, O'Brien Wesley, Nevill Alan M, Ng Kwok
Department of Physical Education and Sports Sciences, University of Limerick, Limerick, Ireland.
Sport and Human Performance Research Centre, University of Limerick, Limerick, Ireland.
Percept Mot Skills. 2023 Oct;130(5):1869-1888. doi: 10.1177/00315125231185653. Epub 2023 Jun 27.
The impact of early single sport participation among young people has received much attention, with both sport leaders and pediatricians advocating multi-sport participation at least until early adolescence. In this study we explored the association between family socioeconomic status and level of Irish youth specialization in sport. We relied on data from the Children's Sport Participation and Physical Activity (CSPPA) study, involving a representative sample of 3499 Irish children and adolescents aged 10-15 years. We analyzed data from questions related to the number of sports played, the number of days per week the youth were engaged in sport, and family affluence (as a proxy measure for socioeconomic status). Youth sport specialization before 12 years of age (males 5.7%; females 4.2%) and even between 13-15 years of age (males, 7.8%; females, 5.8%) was uncommon. However, lower levels of specialization were associated with higher socioeconomic status in that more children with high family affluence participated in multiple sports. Careful consideration should be given to whether low socioeconomic status may act as a barrier to participation in multiple sports.
年轻人早期参与单一运动的影响备受关注，体育界领导人和儿科医生都提倡至少在青春期早期前进行多项运动。在本研究中，我们探讨了家庭社会经济地位与爱尔兰青少年运动专项化程度之间的关联。我们依据儿童体育参与和身体活动（CSPPA）研究的数据，该研究涵盖了3499名10至15岁爱尔兰儿童和青少年的代表性样本。我们分析了与所参与运动项目数量、青少年每周参与运动天数以及家庭富裕程度（作为社会经济地位的替代指标）相关问题的数据。12岁之前的青少年运动专项化情况（男性为5.7%；女性为4.2%），甚至在13至15岁之间（男性为7.8%；女性为5.8%）都并不常见。然而，专项化程度较低与较高的社会经济地位相关，因为更多家庭富裕的儿童参与了多项运动。对于社会经济地位较低是否可能成为参与多项运动的障碍，应予以慎重考虑。
