Sports for life

Although youth sports participation is believed to promote positive outcomes, research on the causal effects of sports participation on health, behavior, and school performance, using data from large samples and based on strong longitudinal designs, is very sparse. Also, few studies have controlled for potential confounding variables such as socioeconomic status.

This study builds on a unique, large-scale dataset combining Swedish register data on sports participation (from 2022 onwards) with health, anti-social behavior, and school performance data. The project aims to assess the relationship between sports participation and mental/physical health, anti-social behavior, and school performance.

In this project, we will have access to Swedish register data on health, anti-social behaviors, and school performance for all children and youth in Sweden. This, in combination with data on organized sports participation, will allow us to create a natural experiment with intervention (i.e., sports participation) and control (non-sport participation). The project allows for more robust conclusions about causal effects using comprehensive register data. The findings will contribute to international research on the health impacts of youth sports, with results disseminated through scientific publications, conferences, and policy papers aimed at sports organizations and policymakers.