Adolescents' attrition from school-sponsored sports

Article Abstract:

Although more than 17 million children and adolescents in the US participate in an organized non-school-sponsored sport, between one fourth and one half the participants stop playing in any given year. The high attrition rate prompted this study of adolescents' reasons for quitting their sport. A questionnaire was administered to 674 high school students in Richmond County, Georgia, by telephone or via the mails. The questionnaire contained items known to be associated with sports attrition, such as items about the sport for which the initial physical examination had been conducted, the reasons for leaving a sport, and the level of participation in other sports. Twenty-six percent of the students had discontinued participation on at least one sports team, for an overall attrition rate (counting all withdrawals) of 29.8 percent. No student had withdrawn from cheerleading or rifle team, while the withdrawal rate for basketball was 25.9 percent. Attrition was higher among black students and students who had sustained athletic injuries. The most frequently cited reason for withdrawing was injury (25.1 percent), followed by being cut from the team (19.4 percent); ''other unspecified reasons'' (14.9 percent); needing to get a job (12.6 percent); inconvenient practice or game schedules (11.4 percent); and needing to find more time for study (9.7 percent). Particular sports were associated with the reasons for attrition: half of those who left football did so because of injury, compared with 16.2 percent from track and field. Those who left because of externally precipitated attrition (e.g. injury, being cut from team) or self-initiated attrition were as likely as those who had not left to express intentions of engaging in school-sponsored sports. The results indicate, in contrast to other published findings, that sports attrition was not associated with a lack of desire to engage in sports in the future, nor was it a result of financial pressures. The importance of injury as a reason for students' discontinuing participation should not be overlooked by physicians, who may be able to design injury prevention programs for adolescents. (Consumer Summary produced by Reliance Medical Information, Inc.)

Evaluation, Youth, College sports, Sports for children, Children's sports

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The adolescent heterosexual relationship and its association with the sexual and contraceptive behavior of black females

Article Abstract:

Most research on the contraceptive behavior of teenagers has focused on social, psychological and demographic factors. Few studies explore the role peers and friends have in developing sexual behaviors. One study found that among white teenagers, males do not influence each other's sexual behavior, but females do. Black teenagers, on the other hand, do not seem to follow the same pattern; neither black males nor black females apparently influence the sexual behavior of their same-sex friends. The role boyfriends have on sexual attitudes and contraceptive behaviors of black females was studied. Three groups of black females were studied, including those whose boyfriends consented to an interview (31), those whose boyfriends refused to be interviewed (38), and those who did not have a particular boyfriend (44). Of the 113 girls, 47.8 percent were sexually active. The sexually active females were primarily those who had boyfriends. The interviewed boyfriends thought that having a baby would destroy their lives. Ninety percent of the boyfriends of the sexually active girls who were willing to be interviewed used birth control. Teenagers with boyfriends felt they were supported in their birth control efforts while those without boyfriends felt unsupported. When these same girls were evaluated a half a year later, more of them were sexually active, and their attitudes and those of their boyfriends were more similar. It is suggested that the sexual and contraceptive behaviors of black teenage girls are influenced by characteristics of their relationships with boyfriends. Sexual behavior and contraceptive use may be influenced by the length of the relationship, the number of sexual partners and the support provided by boyfriends for using contraceptives. The relationships teenage women have with their boyfriends may be useful for studying sexual and contraceptive behavior and how it relates to unwanted teenage pregnancy. (Consumer Summary produced by Reliance Medical Information, Inc.)

Research, African American teenage girls, Interpersonal relations, Birth control

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Adolescents and condoms: associations of beliefs with intentions to use

Article Abstract:

Latex condoms, if used properly, are effective in preventing transmission of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs). If teenagers are having sexual intercourse, they should be encouraged to use condoms. However, it is not known which beliefs are associated with an adolescent's intention to use a condom. Teenagers attending an adolescent health clinic completed a questionnaire. The results indicated that most teenagers believed condoms help prevent STDs, however this did not motivate them to use condoms. Prevention of pregnancy was also unrelated to their intentions to use condoms. The motivating factors appeared to be based on short-term consequences including ease of use, ability to have spontaneous sex, and condom popularity with their peers. Both male and female adolescents believed that the male should be as involved in the contraceptive process as the female. The primary factor that inhibited condom use by the male adolescents was a belief that they were painful; the females expressed beliefs that they were inconvenient to use, not clean, and interfered with their having spontaneous sex. Since the goal is to encourage the use of condoms by people who are sexually active, communication to teenagers should focus on the social and physical aspects of their use, rather than their effectiveness for preventing STDs and pregnancy. (Consumer Summary produced by Reliance Medical Information, Inc.)

Sexually transmitted diseases, Usage, Prevention, Condoms, Sexually transmitted disease prevention

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