Document Type
Article
Publication Date
1-2021
Abstract
Research tracking sport participation from youth to adulthood is relatively rare, as is research that tracks youth sport participation with regard to adult physical activity (PA) levels, especially in the United States. Aims of this study were: 1) To investigate the degree to which sport participation tracked across youth, adolescence, and early adulthood in a sample of participants from the Michigan State University Motor Performance Study (MPS), and 2) Determine if differences existed in their levels of adult PA relative to prior sport participation. In total, 256 (60.8%) former participants from the MPS completed follow-up surveys regarding routine sport participation and PA across the previous year. Sport participation tracked consistently from youth to college. Further, regardless of the level of youth sport participation, adult leisure time PA was relatively consistent among groups. Although the study did not directly test the influence of the MPS on subsequent adult outcomes, our findings suggest that participants’ past sport participation was not a good predictor of adult PA for those who were involved in a program that emphasized fundamental motor skills in youth. Further investigation of such programs can help to better inform their influence on adult PA.
Copyright Statement
This is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published by Taylor & Francis in Measurement in Physical Education and Exercise Science on 2021, available online: https://doi.org/10.1080/1091367X.2020.1720690
Publication Information
Martin, Eric M.; True, Larissa; Pfeiffer, Karin A.; Siegel, Shannon R.; Branta, Crystal F.; Wisner, Dave; Haubenstricker, John; and Seefeldt, Vern. (2021). "An Examination of Sport Participation Tracking and Adult Physical Activity for Participants of the Michigan State University Motor Performance Study". Measurement in Physical Education and Exercise Science, 25(1), 35-42. https://doi.org/10.1080/1091367X.2020.1720690