Involvement in Physical Activity

A total of 1,096 adolescents participated in 123 focus groupsregarding the perceived outcomes of their involvement in sports and physical activity(PA). The groups, segmented by grade level, sex, and school types, were conducted inboth public and private high schools in Montreal, Quebec. We sought to understand,through the participants’ own words, their perception of the outcome matrix ofinvolvement in sports and PA. Focus group questions emphasized changes that adolescentsassociated with such engagement. In particular, participants were asked how sports andPA might influence behaviors, emotional states, personal characteristics, and otheroutcomes. Twelve themes were identified in the responses: Positive Health and PhysicalChanges (18.5%), Activity-Related Positive Emotions (15.6%), and Personal Learning(11.3%) were most prevalent in the discussions. A cluster of deeper personal changesthematically described as Self-Identity, Autonomy, and Positive Character Developmentaccounted for another 16.5% of the responses. Relatively few commentaries emphasizednegative effects (7.1%). Converting the proportions of qualitative data into aquantitative index allowed us to analyze potential differences in emphasis according tosex, age, and school type. Though a few significant findings emerged, the larger patternwas of a uniform perceptual map across the variables for this adolescent sample.Implications drawn from this investigation highlight the need to clearly articulateconcrete pathways to positive nonphysical changes (e.g., mood states, autonomy, positivecharacter development) from engagements in sports and PA