Exploring the barriers and facilitators to school and club sport participation for adolescent girls in Greater Western Sydney : a mixed method study

Abstract

Background: The benefits of sport are well known, yet there are factors that may be preventing young girls from participating and therefore receiving the full benefits that sport can provide. Evidence suggests that girls' sport participation rates decrease rapidly from the age of 10. Although reasons for spot dropout have been explored, little is known about the specific barriers and facilitators to school and club sport participation in adolescent girls. The purpose of this study was to investigate barriers and facilitators to sport participation in these contexts. Methods: Using mixed method sequential explanatory design, this study included two phases: phase one was a paper based survey exploring demographics, sport participation habits along with barriers and facilitators; and phase two was one on one semi-structured interviews which further explored sport participation habits and barrier and facilitators identified in phase one. A total of 86 adolescent girls aged between 12 and 17 years from the Greater Western Sydney (GWS) region participated in the survey and 12 participated in the interviews. Quantitative data were analysed using SPSS 25.0. Survey participants were stratified by age (12-14 and 15-17 years) and SEIFA decile (deciles 1-5 and 6-10) and a series of frequencies and chi-square statistics were conducted to explore the differences in perceptions of barriers and facilitators between age groups. The qualitative data were analysed using thematic analysis, to explore the reasons for both participation and non-participation in sport in more depth. Results: The mean (-¦SD) age of participants in the current study was 14.3 (-¦ 1.4 years). In accordance with the Index of Relative Socio-Economic Advantage and Disadvantage (IRSAD), 48.8% of participants lived in suburbs that were considered disadvantaged (Socio-Economic Indexes for Area [SEIFA] deciles 1-5). A total of 87.2% of participants reported participating in sport at school, similarly 80.2% indicated participation in sport in the club context. Participants identified a number of barriers and facilitators, which impacted on their sport participation in the school and/or club context. Likewise, there were a number of similarities between the quantitative and qualitative findings. The main barriers identified were time, cost and male influence, whereas the main facilitators were identified as fun, enjoyment and family. Similarly, participants highlighted that variation in sport choice and more opportunities for girls only sports were two of the main ways to encourage increased sport participation amongst adolescent girls.

Date of Award	2018
Original language	English