TY - JOUR
T1 - Who Plays and Who Doesn't? An Intersectional Examination of Disparities in Adolescent Sport and Physical Activity Lesson Participation
AU - Kaja, Sarah M.
AU - Lawrence, Samantha E.
AU - Simon, Kay A.
AU - Wright, Mi'Chael N.
AU - Eisenberg, Marla E.
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2024 Society for Adolescent Health and Medicine
PY - 2024/11
Y1 - 2024/11
N2 - Purpose: Few reports include more than 1–2 social identities when examining organized sport and physical activity (PA) participation among adolescents. We used a quantitative intersectional approach to examine disparities in adolescent sport and PA lesson participation. Methods: Ninth and 11th grade 2022 Minnesota Student Survey participants (N = 62,940) self-reported social identities and team sport and PA lessons. Social identities included sex assigned at birth, gender modality, sexual identity, racial and ethnic identity, access to resources (i.e., economic status), weight status, and mental health/behavioral/emotional problems. We used Exhaustive Chi-square Automatic Interaction Detection to identify prevalence of participation among adolescents with different intersecting social identities. Results: Half of the sample played sports and one-quarter participated in PA lessons. Participation varied substantially at the intersections of social identities. Whereas participants in the highest prevalence sports participation groups were predominantly White, heterosexual, and had high resource access, participants in the lowest prevalence groups held multiple marginalized social identities: only 12.8% of adolescents with least access to resources who were questioning their gender identity and sexual identity, or who reported a sexual identity not listed, participated in sports. Regarding PA lessons, youth in the highest prevalence groups were predominantly heterosexual, had highest access to resources, and were youth of color; by comparison, most of the lowest prevalence groups comprised youth who had medium/low resource access and/or high body mass index, and often a diverse sexual, gender, or racial/ethnic identity. Discussion: Multiply marginalized adolescents are under-represented in sports and PA lessons. Organizations should address interlocking barriers to participation.
AB - Purpose: Few reports include more than 1–2 social identities when examining organized sport and physical activity (PA) participation among adolescents. We used a quantitative intersectional approach to examine disparities in adolescent sport and PA lesson participation. Methods: Ninth and 11th grade 2022 Minnesota Student Survey participants (N = 62,940) self-reported social identities and team sport and PA lessons. Social identities included sex assigned at birth, gender modality, sexual identity, racial and ethnic identity, access to resources (i.e., economic status), weight status, and mental health/behavioral/emotional problems. We used Exhaustive Chi-square Automatic Interaction Detection to identify prevalence of participation among adolescents with different intersecting social identities. Results: Half of the sample played sports and one-quarter participated in PA lessons. Participation varied substantially at the intersections of social identities. Whereas participants in the highest prevalence sports participation groups were predominantly White, heterosexual, and had high resource access, participants in the lowest prevalence groups held multiple marginalized social identities: only 12.8% of adolescents with least access to resources who were questioning their gender identity and sexual identity, or who reported a sexual identity not listed, participated in sports. Regarding PA lessons, youth in the highest prevalence groups were predominantly heterosexual, had highest access to resources, and were youth of color; by comparison, most of the lowest prevalence groups comprised youth who had medium/low resource access and/or high body mass index, and often a diverse sexual, gender, or racial/ethnic identity. Discussion: Multiply marginalized adolescents are under-represented in sports and PA lessons. Organizations should address interlocking barriers to participation.
KW - Demographics
KW - Extracurriculars
KW - Health equity
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85203408311&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=85203408311&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.jadohealth.2024.06.025
DO - 10.1016/j.jadohealth.2024.06.025
M3 - Article
C2 - 39162672
AN - SCOPUS:85203408311
SN - 1054-139X
VL - 75
SP - 827
EP - 835
JO - Journal of Adolescent Health
JF - Journal of Adolescent Health
IS - 5
ER -