Inequalities in Athletic Participation During Adolescence: A Nationwide Study of Attrition Rates in Organized Sports in the United States
Objectives: We sought to improve understanding of how inequalities based on sex, race/ethnicity, and socioeconomic status influence opportunities to participate in sports during adolescence. Methods: Data from the Monitoring the Future survey were merged to analyze attrition
rates in 15 different organized sports in the United States. Results: The average attrition rate between 8th and 12th grades was roughly 32%, with field hockey, gymnastics, and volleyball generating the highest attrition rates. Multivariate analyses confirm that sports with greater
percentages of girls and minorities have significantly higher attrition rates. Conclusions: The majority of organized sports lose adolescent participants between 8th and 12th grade, and organized sports that have larger numbers of girls and minorities experience the greatest loss of
participants during the transition between the 8th and 12th grades.
Keywords: ADOLESCENCE; ATTRITION; COMPETITIVE SPORTS PARTICIPATION; DROPOUT; MONITORING THE FUTURE
Document Type: Research Article
Publication date: 01 March 2016
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