G5 Doctoral dissertation (article)
Sports club participation patterns from adolescence to emerging adulthood : their determinants and relationships with lifestyle habits and life status (2025)
Liikuntaseuraosallistumisen muutosryhmät nuoruudesta varhaisaikuisuuteen : niiden selittäjät ja yhteydet elämäntapoihin ja elämäntilanteeseen


Rinta-Antila, K. (2025). Sports club participation patterns from adolescence to emerging adulthood : their determinants and relationships with lifestyle habits and life status [Doctoral dissertation]. University of Jyväskylä. JYU Dissertations, 869. https://urn.fi/URN:ISBN:978-952-86-0462-4


JYU authors or editors


Publication details

All authors or editorsRinta-Antila, Katja

eISBN978-952-86-0462-4

Journal or seriesJYU Dissertations

eISSN2489-9003

Publication year2025

Number in series869

Number of pages in the book1 verkkoaineisto (108 sivua, 36 sivua useina numerointijaksoina, 3 numeroimatonta sivua)

PublisherUniversity of Jyväskylä

Publication countryFinland

Publication languageEnglish

Persistent website addresshttps://urn.fi/URN:ISBN:978-952-86-0462-4

Publication open accessOpenly available

Publication channel open accessOpen Access channel


Abstract

Sports club participation is popular as an organized leisure activity among young people in many European countries. Physical activity has health benefits, and sports club participants are more physically active than nonparticipants. However, sports club participation decreases as adolescents grow up. Among emerging adults, research focusing on changes in sports club participation and related factors has been scarce. Such research can assist in developing longer sports club participation in this transitional age. This cohort study explored sports club participation patterns and their determinants, plus associated lifestyle habits and life status indicators. It formed part of the Finnish Health Promoting Sports Club (FHPSC) study. Overall, 619 adolescents (of whom 72% were sports club participants at baseline) answered a health behaviour questionnaire at age 15 (years 2013–14) and at age 19 (years 2017–18). Chi-square tests and logistic regression analyses were carried out. The most prevalent pattern was dropout (41.0%), followed by maintainers (30.9%), nonparticipants (27.6%), and joiners (0.5%). Males were more likely than females to maintain their participation. Both maintainers and dropouts were more likely than nonparticipants to have an academic orientation. Starting the main sport by school age, competing nationally at top level, and aiming at competition in adulthood were more likely to lead to maintained participation than to dropping out. Among males, a coach who was active in health promotion was more related to maintained participation than to dropping out. Among females, maintainers had perceived continuous support for physical activity and sport from parents, while dropouts had perceived a decrease in such support. Furthermore, female and male maintainers were more likely to have healthy lifestyle habits (for example related to physical activity levels) than dropouts and nonparticipants. Currently, sports clubs tend to support participation especially among males and those who want to compete. Maintained sports club participation and healthy lifestyle habits in emerging adulthood could be advanced by more flexible options in combining sport and education, continuous parental support for sporting activities, and investing in coaches’ health promotion activity.


Keywordsyoung peopleyoung adultssports organisationsparticipationeffects (results)health behaviourlifestylelongitudinal researchcohort studydoctoral dissertations


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Ministry reportingYes

VIRTA submission year2025


Last updated on 2025-25-01 at 20:06