The impact of high school sports on participating female students

Abstract

This study investigated the impact of high school sports on participating female students. The participants in this study were 38 former female students from a high school in School District #68, Nanaimo, British Columbia, Canada. The participants were 18-35 years of age and had participated on at least one high school sports team between the years 1995-2014. The participants completed a survey on FluidSurveys (online survey software). The survey collected demographic information, as well as both quantitative and qualitative data. The focus of the survey was on the impact that high school sports had on the physical (physical health and lifelong engagement in physical activity), social (teamwork, leadership, friendships, alcohol consumption), affective (mental health and self-esteem) and cognitive (school grades and highest educational attainment) domains of the former female students involved in the study. That is, both the benefits and the risks associated with female students’ participation in school sports. The majority of the participants in this study reported that participation in high school sports had a positive effect on them in all four domains.