Social-Ecological Analysis of the Sport and Recreation Programs’ Impacts on Positive Development of Youth from Socially Vulnerable Backgrounds

Bibliographic Data

ID11437176
AuthorsHwayong Son (0000-0002-9605-8607, Department of Recreation, Sport and Tourism, College of Applied Health Sciences, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Champaign, IL, USA, corresponding author), Liza Berdychevsky (0000-0002-9392-4979, Department of Recreation, Sport and Tourism, College of Applied Health Sciences, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Champaign, IL, USA)
Year2022
Volume41
Issue5
Pages620-636
Publication date2022-09-03
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueLeisure Studies (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0261-4367 • E-ISSN: 1466-4496
PublisherInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/02614367.2022.2037151
OpenAlexW4210845331
LanguageEN
Citations received10
References cited35

Positive developmental experiences of youth from socially vulnerable backgrounds in sport and recreation programmes have a capacity to contribute to youth’s resilience and serve as protective factors. Nevertheless, this area is under-researched and poorly understood. The purpose of this study was to address this gap by investigating the effects of sport and recreation programmes on lives and positive development of youth from socially vulnerable backgrounds. Drawing upon constructivist grounded theory, the data collection involved 13 interviews with practitioners and volunteers working with this population. The data were analysed inductively using initial, focused, and theoretical coding, whereas the latter involved the Social-Ecological Model and Positive Youth Development approach to conceptualise the multidimensional and dynamic interrelationships between individuals and the social ecology of positive development. The findings reveal the programmes’ impacts on personal (social-emotional skills), interpersonal (prosocial relationships), school (support systems), community/neighbourhood (sense of citizenship), and societal levels (norms and policies) that can facilitate healthy developmental outcomes of those who face developmental challenges. This study contributes to the understanding of the multi-level capacity of sport and recreation programmes to promote positive development among youth from socially vulnerable backgrounds and offers valuable insights for the programmatic design and delivery

Developmental psychology · Ecological systems theory · Population · Positive Youth Development · Prosocial behavior · Psychological resilience · Recreation · Sociology · Motivation and Self-Concept in Sports · Psychology · Social Psychology · Sport and Mega-Event Impacts · Youth Development and Social Support · Ecology

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