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The Influence of Sports Involvement on
Youth within the Social and Emotional Domains
Workingout
The Octagon
Youth within the Social and Emotional Domains
Workingout
The Octagon
Introduction
It is widely accepted and touted throughout society of the positive health benefits of youth involvement in sports. However physical wellbeing should not be the only developmental domain of concern. To assert that youth involvement in sport is a positive experience, several aspects of the practice must be examined, such as: choice of sport, hegemonic masculinity, and the bonds to ones society developed through the play of sport.
Choice of sport is a fundamental building block for the young sport participator. There are several factors which contribute to a child’s decision to play a particular sport. Young people make choices about what sports to play in an attempt to exert control over their own lives. The search for identity, perceived self-competence, and risk minimization also play circuital roles in the determination of how physical a person will become and which sports they may choose to play.
Hegemonic masculinity and the need to dominate others or to prove ones’ self a man is a critical developmental milestone within violent sports. Many sports have become the crucible for the growing boy to become a young man. The question has to be asked, are the learned aggressive behaviors from violent sports healthy for the emotional development of youth?
Sports as a means to develop pro-social behaviors and reduce deviant acts seams a natural fit with the Social Control Theory. The assumption that a person’s ties to society through sport can be a major determinate of whether a person engages in antisocial behavior, such as alcohol and drug use, is the foundation for many social programs. This behavior will be examined through the tenets of Social Control Theory.
How Children Choose Sports
Children play the sports they are most interested in. Fun and enjoyment are often the most cited reasons, by children, for their participation in sport and leisure activities (Wankel & Burger, 1990). Just ask any child why they chose to play this sport rather than another and the answer will most likely be, “I don’t know, because its fun.” However, ask a child what makes this sport so fun and, more times than not the answer will be ‘I don’t know, it just is.” The development of children’s beliefs about what fun is can be traced back to the dynamic involvement of achievement, praise, perceived self-competence and self-esteem (Jacobs, Lanza, Osgood, Eccles & Wigfield, 2002).
At first it may not seem that social forces are at play in this dynamic. However, the process of socialization plays a key role in choice of sport. A child’s ability to gain achievement in any activity is linked to that child’s access to the activity. This in turn is dependent upon the value which the surrounding culture places upon that activity (Philipp & Brezina, 2002). Therefore society places the first building blocks of what fun is in the mind of the child. It is highly unlikely that a child in West Africa will think that ice hockey is a fun sport to play.
As achievement is gained in a sport, praise is showered upon the child from those whom the child respects and admires. Praise from parents, teachers, coaches and friends leaves the child with a sense of wellbeing. It is this sense of wellbeing that the child interprets as fun. Whishing to experience these feelings again the child tries to repeat their past performances. This in turn brings more praise to the child, thus instilling a belief in ones abilities. The child is socialized, by those around them, into believing that this praise worthy activity is fun (McGowan & McGowan, 1997).
As most normal, emotionally healthy, children have an unrealistically high sense of self-competence (due to not making use of social comparisons or because of the lack of opponents to compare one’s self to, as in a rural setting) they are likely to choose to continue advancing in their already chosen activity or sport. People chose sports that they consider intrinsically motivational and challenging. Moreover they will select types of sports and levels of play which help to maintain positive self-perceptions of competence. It is though this selection process that many researchers have suggested “that self-competence is related to intrinsic value for a task and other self-beliefs for children, adolescents and adults” (Jacobs et al., 2002).
What in the past has been referred to by many as intrinsic motivation is in reality pressure exerted by society through the process of socialization. This constant pressure to conform to established customs and values by parents, teachers, coaches, peers and media weights on the psyche of the child until the child internalizes these beliefs; thus forcing the child to choose activities which the child believes to be fun. This process of socialization is so strong that it is even present and responsible for violent and deviant behaviors.
Hegemonic Masculinity
Hegemonic masculinity, the need for males to exert their dominance within the social order, is another contouring facet of socialization (Ingham & Dewar, 1999).
The ideal that “MEN” are forceful, powerful, competitive, sexual and brutal is a learned behavior. In different cultures these traits have different values. In most settings these behaviors are considered undesirable and deviant. However, in many realms of sport these are the traits most desired (Ingham & Dewar, 1999).
Ones ability to deliver a hit in football or hockey is only over-shadowed by that person’s ability to take a hit. In the past, the transition from boy to man was easily marked. Tribal elders would lead boys through tests of mental and physical strength. Upon completion of these tasks the boys would be declared men and accepted into another, higher, level of society. Today, these rites of passage no longer exist. They have been replaced by a quantitative measure of knock outs, sacks, pancakes, tackles, checks and hits; in other terms a body count (Ingham & Dewar, 1999).
In today’s world of contact, sport a player’s ability to legally inflict damage upon opponents is one of the most revered skills a competitor can have. This socialization towards violence is taught by coaches, expected by peers and rewarded by fathers. It can begin as young as age eight in the sport world and even younger among inner-city subcultures (Hasbrook, 1999). Competitive wrestling, youth boxing, and the emergence of amateur Mixed Martial Arts competitions only add to the violence long created by other sports such as football and hockey.
There would be no concern if this hegemonic masculinity was confined to the ring, field or ice. However, many youth do not possess the maturity or parental guidance to limit these deviant behaviors to the appropriate arenas. Often these attitudes flow over into other areas of the athletes’ lives. It is important to note that athletes are not the only boys susceptible to this condition of violence so prevalent in North America (Hasbrook, 1999). Boys behave how they perceive they are suppose to and mimic the male role models available to them, be it in sport or in society.
The least of these behaviors is a strong yet subtle air of contempt for those individuals who do not partake in violent sports. This phenomenon, when left unchecked, can completely consume the child. In 1987 Connell stated (as cited in Ingham & Dewar, 1999) “The social definition of men as holders of power is translated not only into mental body images and fantasies, but also into muscle tensions, posture, feel and texture of the body”. In these individuals, acts of prejudice and discrimination are often observed against females, immigrants, homosexuals and the less physically capable (Gray, 1999; Ingham & Dewar, 1999). Moreover, in some subcultures, hegemonic masculinity leads to vandalism, criminal violence and the need to join gangs.
The need to do physical damage to ones opponent does not appear to be diminishing in our society. In fact, as athletes become bigger, faster, and stronger it seems the viewing public is demanding more physicality in its sports. Just look at how much more physical the game of basketball, a non-contact sport, has become in the last three decades. Violence in sports is not going to go away just because it is starting to spill over into other aspects of society.
Hegemonic masculinity is a powerful and driving force in youth sports today. In many instances it is needed to separate the winners from the losers, or the men from the boys. But what happens to those who stop playing sports yet still carry the attitudes of the game? Do they have a sufficient means of coping with feelings of anger and physical aggression? Are they able to readjust to a society that expects them to control their unleashed power? For society’s sake, let us hope that soon parents and coaches will take a pro-active approach and begin to explain the difference between behaviors in the game vs. behaviors outside of the game to the young men who play these violent sports.
Social Control Theory
Social Control Theory (SCT), first proposed in by Hirschi in 1969 (as cited in Huebner & Betts, 2002), states that a persons proclivity to commit deviant behaviors towards society are directly related to the strength of the attachment that the said person has to the society. Sports, whether organized or street games, provide its participants with the opportunity to engage culture and form bonds with society. This idea of being bonded to society as a means to increase positive behaviors and decrease negative actions has long been used as the bases for arguments promoting participation in school athletics and government funded after-school recreation programs.
In a study that looked at level of involvement with parents and school based extracurricular activities, such as sports, found that there was a “significant and inverse relation to self-reported delinquency” (Huebner & Betts, 2002). On its own, this statement is inconclusive as the results are self-reported and it is possible that these kids, who are closely watched by their parents, are misrepresenting their behaviors in fear of reprisals. However, the same study also found that increased student involvement with parents and sports showed a positive and significant relation to academic scores and the desire to go to college.
These two findings together build a strong argument that the tenets of SCT could be applied to programs that seek to positively affect youth behaviors and teach life skills. In a survey of youth coaches the learning of life skills was indicated as the number two benefit imparted to youth who play sports, having fun was ranked number one (Lesyk & Kornspan, 2000) Moreover, Huebner and Betts (2002) state, “The findings in this study were consistent with research suggesting the positive impacts of activity involvement and academic achievement for both boys and girls and the research documenting the inverse relationship between extracurricular involvement and delinquency”. It appears that as children form bonds with parents, teachers, coaches and teammates they become more invested in society. The more bonds the children make the more vested they become.
The bonds made take two forms. There is a form of bonding, used primarily by girls, that consists of developing attachments to actual people; such as the parent, peer and or coach. These bonds are intimate, social networks which the girls view as relationships, and are used for support. The sport, often, is considered secondary to the social and interpersonal contact which occurs during the activity (Huebner & Betts, 2002). The second type of bond, employed principally by boys, is based on involvement in activities and servers to provide a distraction which keeps the young men so occupied that the boys do not engage in delinquent behaviors. It is important to note that this sense of involvement in something larger than ones self is deeply rooted. The involvement bonds formed, by the boys, to the sport itself are just as strong as the attachments bonds formed by girls (Ingham & Dewar, 1999). This attachment to an ideal can have negative consequences.
Huebner and Betts (2002) found that boys who were committed to the ideal of “The Team” were more likely to engage in under age drinking. On the surface this may appear to be delinquent behavior, to the contrary, it solidifies the ideal of the Social Control Theory, especially if melded with the idea of Hegemonic Masculinity. In sports such as football and wrestling the need to be masculine and accepted into the fold is so great that often the line between social and anti-social behavior becomes blurred.
Hazing, heavy drinking, tobacco use and promiscuity, all aspects of hegemonic masculinity, are expected behaviors within the subcultures of violent sports (Ingham & Dewar, 1999; Interview, 2006). Players who do not engage in such activities risk being ostracized by their teammates for not partaking in rituals which bond the team together, not as individuals, but as a group. Ironically, for adolescents involved in violent sports, it becomes necessary to engage in delinquent behaviors to form the involvement bonds needed to promote the healthy development of life skills.
Conclusions
It would be an understatement to say that youth sports in America is a complex and multifaceted institution. The choices of sport avalble for today’s youth are vast. Most of these sports differ in the way they are organized. Not all sports contain the same elements of competition. The social structure of team sports is vastly different from that of individual sports. Furthermore, the flavor within team sports changes depending on whether it is considered a contact sport or not. Regional differences for preference of sport played and the variance in levels of competition also help to confound the situation. Add to that, gender differences, parent and coach expectations and the high status associated to those who play sports and it becomes apparent that no statistical comparisons can be accurately used to make generalizations about the affect of sports on the socialization of youth.
However, it is impossible to deny that involvement in sports has an affect upon the emotional and social development of its participants. It is likely that the affect imparted, whether positive or negative, has more to do with the meaning we give sports than the sport itself. Therefore is necessary for parents and coaches to prioritize the child’s wellbeing and to be suitably socialized themselves to ensure that youth involvement in sport is a positive experience. Offering children the opportunity to make connections outside the realm of sport would provide for greater knowledge about society in general. Parents and coaches who see young athletes as people, instead of performers, are needed to guide young people the process of socialization in sports. Taking the time to explain to young athletes that there is a life beyond the game and then putting the game in context with the rest of the world will do much more to develop competence and life skills than the game itself.
References
Grey, M. A., (1999). Playing sports and social acceptance: the experiences of immigrant and refugge students in Garden City, Kansas. In J. Coakely & P. Donnelly (Eds.), Inside sports (pp. 28-36). London: Routledge.
Hasbrook, C. A., (1999). Young children’s social constructions of physicality and gender. In J. Coakely & P. Donnelly (Eds.), Inside sports (pp. 7-16). London: Routledge.
Huebner, A. J., & Betts, S. (2002). Exploring the utility of social control theory for youth development. Youth & Society, 34(2), 132-145.
Ingham, A. G., & Dewar, A. (1999). Through the eyes of youth: “deep play” in peewee ice hockey. In J. Coakely & P. Donnelly (Eds.), Inside sports (pp. 17-27). London: Routledge.
Jacobs, J. E., Lanza S., Osgood, W., Eccles, J., Wigfield, A. (2002). Changes in children’s self-competence and values: gender and domain differences across grades one through twelve. Child Development, 73(2), 509-527.
Lesyk, J., Kornspan, A. (2000). Coaches’ expectations and beliefs regarding benefits of youth sport participation. Perceptual and Motor Skill, 90, 399-402.
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Philipp, S. F., & Brezina, S. (2002). Differences among African Americans and Euro Americans in reasons for sports participation. Perceptual and Motor Skills, 95, 184-186.
Wankel, L. M., & Burger, B. (1990). The psychological and social benefits of sport and physical activity. Journal of Leisure Research, 22, 167-182.
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