Alexis Solomon

With 40% of youth ages 6-17 playing sports regularly, it is important to understand how sports participation might shape our lives beyond the playing field. We already know that sport participation is associated with many aspects of life in adolescence, both beneficial and risky, such as reduced mental health difficulties and increased substance use. Yet, its lasting impact on adults remains understudied. We do not fully understand the long-term relationship between adolescent sport participation and aspects of life in adulthood. Existing research is often outdated and limited to specific subgroups (e.g., only males or team sports). In addition, most studies are ungeneralizable to the public. 

My project addresses these gaps by finding whether participation in sports (team and individual) during childhood and adolescence is protective (or risky) for adult outcomes such as alcohol and drug use, mental health, employment, educational attainment, and gambling. I will also determine whether the associations differ by sex. I will use data from the Longitudinal Study of Australian Children, which is a study that follows individuals from adolescence through adulthood. Each year, participants answer a long list of questions about topics from their mental health to family life. I will look at participants' sport participation from ages 12-17 and behaviors and social functioning from ages 20-22. The six outcomes I will be looking at are alcohol use, drug use (smoking and cannabis), mental health, employment, educational attainment, and gambling. I will be conducting statistical analysis in R (a coding language). These findings will help inform public professionals about the benefits/risks of adolescent sport participation. If sport participation is risky for outcome(s), future research can try ways to limit the impact.