Why do young women drop out of sport and physical activity? A social ecological approach

There was a study done in 2009 that explored the significance of individual, social and environmental factors and how they each interact to influence the participation in physical activity for adolescent young women. Their main findings from the study indicated that there were many strategies that could be used to increase participation of young women in regards to physical activity. A few of these strategies were: enhancing intrinsic motivation for sport and physical activity (the basic and fundamental motivations); appealing to young women's need for socializing through opportunities for informal physical activity; educating parents about benefits of sport and physical activity; overcoming gender stereotypes about what is acceptable behavior for young women; improving physical education teacher's understanding of gender issues and motivating less physically active students to become more involved and active; increase the provision of accessible sport and physical activity facilities, programs, and services in schools; prioritize sport and physical activity in the school curriculum.

The study also explains the fact of having a supportive environment such as family and friends will also increase a young women's need to become involved in physical activity. The study also goes through the individual and social factors influencing the participation of young women in physical activity which I found very true. Some of those personal influences were lack of time, self-efficacy, enjoyment, concerns about body shape and weight management and pressure to conform to popular ideals of beauty. Some of the social factors were parents and peers, the level of support provided to the young women and barriers to physical activity whether it be a lack of access or gender barriers.

(article retrieved from EBSCOhost, taken from a scholarly journal on the CSULB Library web page)

GRACELYN CAMMARERI
KIN338I, SEC 5 (#4779)
SPRING 2011