Sports for
Development
Laura Jaitman | Carlos Scartascini
Sports for
Development
Monograph
Cataloging-in-Publication data provided by the
Inter-American Development Bank
Felipe Herrera Library
Jaitman, Laura.
Sports for development / Laura Jaitman, Carlos Scartascini.
p. cm. — (IDB Monograph ; 569)
Includes bibliographic references.
978-1-59782-294-7 (Paperback)
978-1-59782-295-4 (PDF)
1. Sports-Social aspects-Latin America.
development-Latin America.
2. Sports-Social aspects-Caribbean Area.
4. Youth development-Caribbean Area.
3. Youth
5. Economic development
projects-Social aspects-Latin America. 6. Economic development projects-Social aspects-Caribbean
Area. I. Scartascini, Carlos G., 1971- II. Inter-American Development Bank. Department of Research
and Chief Economist. III. Title. IV. Series.
IDB-MG-569
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views of the Inter-American Development Bank, its Board of Directors, or the countries they represent.
Sports for Development
Contents / 7
Contents
Executive Summary
011
Introduction
013
01. Physical Activity: Time to
Step It Up
015
02. Sports-for-Development Projects:
The IDB Takes the Lead
030
a. Using Sports to Improve Education,
Skills, and Labor Market Outcomes
032
b. Sports for Social and
Capital Inclusion
036
c. Programs that Emphasize Health,
Well-being, and Social Outcomes
038
d. Programs Emphasizing Crime,
Delinquency, and Community Safety
038
e. Sports for Gender Equality
040
03. Sports for Development.
What’s the Score?
042
a. Can Sports Help Increase Health,
Well-being and Social Outcomes?
044
b. Can Sports Help Increase Skills and
Labor Market Outcomes?
047
c. Can Sports Help Increase Social Capital,
Inclusion, and Community Building?
049
Sports for Development
d. Can Sports Help Reduce Crime
and Delinquency, and Increase
Community Safety?
053
e. Reverse Causality: The Conditions
that Enhance Sports Participation
and Physical Activity
056
04. Conclusions
058
References
061
Appendix
071
Table 1. IDB SFD Initiatives
071
Table 2. Literature Review
Synthesis Table
075
Contents / 9
Sports for Development
Executive Summary / 11
Executive
Summary
Low physical activity is a worldwide problem and, as a region, Latin America and the
Caribbean is one of the worst affected. The problem is particularly acute among poor
and more unequal countries, and among the poor and less educated populations within
countries. Physical activity also suffers from a marked gender gap: women exercise less
than men. Inactivity among young and school-aged children is particularly troubling.
However, this picture of an increasingly obese, stationary region is incomplete, blurred
by a lack of reliable and comparable data.
The IDB has been supporting sports-for-development (SFD) initiatives in Latin
America and the Caribbean since 2004. Thus far, the 18 IDB-sponsored initiatives
benefited more than 89,000 people in 18 countries. These interventions used sports
to reach and retain young people in programs with broader objectives including
employability, skills for life, education, health and well-being, violence prevention and
social and gender inclusion.
Given the lack of evidence, the lack of consensus about what works and what doesn’t
work, and the importance of designing programs right, recommendations begin with
increasing data collection, starting small with projects that can be evaluated, and
expanding once there is certainty that the projects at least produce no harm. Given
the imperative to improve children’s motor skills and their knowledge of physical
activities, and to enhance exercise levels for children and adults alike, proven behavioral
economics interventions, such as “nudging” individuals, offer a valuable tool. Lastly,
because investments in other areas could have spillovers on physical activity, it is
important to internalize this as we have internalized the role of public policy on the
environment and other areas. These lines of action should be the guide for the IDB in
the next 10 years.
Sports for Development
Introduction / 13
Introduction
Sports are a potential channel for achieving development outcomes. At their best, sports
foster crucial values, such as responsibility and teamwork, and are a source of national
pride for many countries in Latin America and the Caribbean. Sports can play a significant
role as a promoter of social integration and economic development in various geographic,
cultural, and political contexts. By improving physical and mental health, discouraging
substance abuse, and inspiring athletic as well as academic achievement, they can build
human capital and enhance productivity. Sports can encourage capital accumulation,
facilitate the workings of markets, and strengthen institutions through their effect on social
capital, trust, culture, and crime. These effects reinforce each other. For example, high social
capital tends to reduce crime, and lower crime lessens the need for public expenditures
on crime deterrence that can be used for more productive purposes. Healthier individuals
translate into lower absenteeism in firms, and reduced healthcare costs for society, which
frees up funds for other purposes. With greater trust comes an increase in demand for
public goods and greater willingness to contribute to the common purse; hence, it favors
long-term capital accumulation.
Sports have become an important instrument in the portfolio of development organizations
worldwide and their virtues have been heralded by political and sports figures alike:
“Sport has the power to change the world. It has the power to inspire, it has the power
to unite people in a way that little else does.” Nelson R. Mandela.
“Sport is a universal language that can bring people together, no matter what their origin,
background, religious beliefs or economic status.” Kofi Annan, UN Secretary-General.
“Sports have changed attitudes and culture in ways that seem subtle but ultimately
made us think differently about ourselves and who we were.” Barack Obama, expresident of the United States.
“Much more than just performance, sport is synonymous with education and
responsibility. It teaches young people strong values that help them grow.” Pernilla
Wiberg, one of the most successful alpine ski racers of the 1990s.
The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), too, has recognized the potential
of sports and taken concrete action. Since 2004, the IDB has expanded sports for
development programs to 18 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean with more
than 20 partners. It has become a beacon of expertise, leadership, and coordination
on sports for development in the region. So far, the Bank has developed more than
17 SFD initiatives in the region. These multifaceted initiatives use sports to provide
marginalized youth with the tools they need to take optimal advantage of social and
Sports for Development
“Sports have
become an
important
instrument in
the portfolio of
development
organizations
worldwide.”
economic opportunities, and become more productive members
of society. The results have been transformative, improving
the well-being not only of the individuals involved, but of their
communities as well.
Regarding the economic impact of sports, which is beyond
the scope of this paper, the sports industry worldwide and in
many countries of the region generates sizeable income and
positive economic spillovers, such as tax revenues. On the other
hand, public spending on sports in the region is relatively low.
Suggestive evidence from the budget of 17 countries in the
region shows that spending on sports is on average around
0.1 percent of the countries’ GDP. Spending on sports in Latin
America and the Caribbean is one third of the spending on
sports in Europe, without considering special programs such as those for elite athletes
or Olympic financing.
Today, the urgent need is to make the leap from advocacy—making the case for
SFD as an effective tool of development—to a much more detailed understanding of
what works and what does not work in specific programs. For that, systematic and
rigorous evaluations are required to evaluate benefits, spillovers, and actionable policy
recommendations. Currently, the evidence is still scant and much more is needed
before meaningful conclusions can be reached. The biggest challenge is to design
projects so they can be evaluated, evaluate better those already in place, and support
those areas on which there is consensus and the analytical relationships are more
direct and logical. In the end, investing heavily in sports and physical activity should
have clear and definite effects on a healthier population.
This document offers a challenging, illuminating contribution to our knowledge,
underscoring not only the significant benefits of sports-for-development programs,
but also the difficult questions policymakers and professionals must address. The hope
is that it becomes the first in a series of studies on this topic.
Physical Activity: Time to Step It Up / 15
01.
Physical Activity:
Time to Step It Up
SUMMARY
• Low physical activity is a worldwide problem and Latin America and the
Caribbean is one of the regions where this problem is more serious.
• The problem is particularly acute among poor and more unequal countries,
and the poor and less educated populations within countries.
• There is a marked gender gap: women exercise less than men.
• Inactivity levels of young and school-aged kids are particularly troubling.
• More and better data on physical activity and sports participation are required.
Most people know that exercise is good for them, personally and collectively. Physical
activity not only helps prevent disease and promote healthy lives, it also enhances
mental well-being and social interaction, and contributes to economic development
in different geographical, cultural, and political contexts. Unfortunately, people simply
do not move much anymore. Indeed, physical inactivity has been recognized as a
global pandemic that demands global action (Horton, 2016). Based on self-reported
data, the estimated global prevalence of physical inactivity for adults, defined as not
achieving 150 minutes of moderate-intensity activity or 75 minutes of vigorous activity
per week (or an equivalent combination), was about 24 percent in 2016 (Horton, 2016).
According to data from the WHO, Latin America and the Caribbean seems to follow
this global trend with an adult prevalence of inactivity estimated at 32 percent. Latin
America and the Caribbean ranks second among regions in inactivity in the world,
behind the Americas region, of which it is also a part.
Sports for Development
Figure 01.
Estimates of Adult Prevalence of Physical
Inactivity in Population, 2016
35%
32.4%
32.3%
30%
31.4%
31.1%
25.2%
25%
24.5%
23.3%
20.9%
20%
15%
14.7%
10%
5%
0%
Americas
LAC
OECD
Mediterranean
Western
Pacific
Europe
Global
Africa
Southeast
Asia
Source: WHO.
Within Latin America and the Caribbean, Caribbean countries are the least active. For
instance, with a physical inactivity prevalence rate near 64 percent, Colombia’s rate
almost doubles the regional rate. The Bahamas, Trinidad and Tobago and Saint Lucia
follow in terms of physical inactivity, with rates between 43 percent and 41.5 percent.
At the other extreme, Guatemala has the most active people with a prevalence rate of
physical inactivity less than half the regional rate (Figure 2).
63.5%
Figure 02.
Prevalence of Physical Inactivity among Adults,
Latin America and the Caribbean, 2016
70%
10%
12.4%
21.6%
23.3%
20%
23.3%
24.5%
25.4%
25.9%
26.2%
27.2%
28.1%
30.2%
30%
32.3%
34.2%
35%
35%
37.3%
38.7%
40.1%
40%
41.7%
43%
50%
41.5%
60%
G
Source: WHO.
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Physical Activity: Time to Step It Up / 17
Given the known limitations of self-reported data (which may explain in part some of
the variance within the region), the use of objective physical activity measures, such
as accelerometers, to estimate national prevalence is growing (Horton, 2016). Recent
research uses data captured from smartphones to analyze the habits of 717,000 men
and women from 111 countries,1 whose steps were studied for an average of 95 days
(Althoff et al., 2017)2.
According to this study, physical activity, measured as daily steps, varies greatly among
countries. The worldwide average for the 111 countries included in the analysis is 4,739
steps per day (standard deviation σ= 753) over an average span of 14 hours. Figure
3 shows the geographic distribution of physical activity across countries, where cold
colors correspond to high activity and warm colors indicate low levels of activity. China,
Ukraine, Japan, Belarus, and Russia lead the ranks of countries with the highest activity,
with nearly 6,211 steps. In contrast, among the countries with the lowest activity are
several countries of the Persian Gulf, such as Saudi Arabia and Qatar, and Southeast
Asia, like the Philippines and Malaysia. The least active are Pakistan, Honduras and El
Salvador, with fewer than 3,415 steps.
Figure 03.
World Map of Smartphone Data of
Physical Activity
6,000
5,500
5,000
4,500
4,000
3,500
No data
Source: Althoff et al. (2017).
Each of the 111 countries in the sample has at least 100 smartphone users.
It is important to mention that these data are not representative of the population in each country.
Nevertheless, recent research demonstrates that smartphones provide accurate step counts and reliable
activity estimates in both laboratory and free-living (Case et al., 2015 and Hekler et al., 2015).
1
2
Sports for Development
According to this measure of physical activity, Latin American and Caribbean countries
are in the bottom half of the ranking. The most active country in the region is Chile,
which comes in 35th out of 111 countries with 5,204 steps, followed by Peru and Mexico,
which are in the 41st and 59th places, with 5,075 and 4,692 steps, respectively. In
contrast, Caribbean countries are the least active of the region. Dominican Republic,
Bahamas, and Venezuela place 100th, 101st and 105th, marginally better than Honduras
and El Salvador, which are the most inactive countries of the region—and the world.
Physical activity, measured in steps, also varies within countries. Althoff et al. (2017)
measure activity inequality within countries, which they define as the Gini coefficient
of the population activity distribution. They focus on the 46 countries with at least
1,000 smartphone users. Figure 5 shows the ranking of these countries according to
the Gini coefficient, where a value of 100 represents maximum inequality. The Latin
American and Caribbean countries included in the sample are in the middle of the
ranking. For example, although average activity is similar for people in the United
States and Mexico, individuals in the United States reflect a wider range of activity
levels than those in Mexico, hence the United States ranked fourth from the bottom
in overall activity inequality while Mexico ranked 18th from the bottom. Thus, the gap
between active and sedentary people is wider in the United States than in Mexico.
Figure 05.
Countries by Activity Inequality
35
30
25
20
15
10
0
Hong Kong
China
Sweden
South Korea
Czech Rep.
Japan
Singapore
Norway
Ukraine
Netherlands
Spain
Taiwan
Denmark
Russia
Chile
Switzerland
Turkey
Finland
Germany
France
Poland
Brazil
Israel
Thailand
Hungary
Italy
Portugal
Belgium
Mexico
U. Arab Em.
Indonesia
Romania
South Africa
Ireland
Malaysia
U. Kingdom
Qatar
India
Greece
Philippines
New Zealand
USA
Egypt
Canada
Australia
Saudi Arabia
5
Source: Althoff et al. (2017).
Physical Activity: Time to Step It Up / 19
Certain patterns emerge from the data. First, physical activity varies with age. According
to WHO estimates, physical inactivity is even more worrisome among school-going
adolescents between the ages of 11 and 17. For these adolescents, inactivity prevalence
is defined as not achieving at least 60 minutes of moderate to vigorous physical
activity daily. Based on self-reported data, inactivity prevalence is extremely high, with
a global average of approximately 81 percent. However, in part the apparently higher
inactivity prevalence of adolescents over adults reflects the higher recommended
level for youth. Latin America and the Caribbean is no exception to this trend, ranking
second among regions in terms of the inactivity of its school-going adolescents with
a prevalence rate of 86.2 percent; only the youth of the Eastern Mediterranean are less
active, with a prevalence rate of 87.5 percent (Figure 6).
Figure 06.
Prevalence of Physical Inactivity among
School-Going Adolescents, 2016
90%
87.5%
86.2%
85%
85.2%
85.0%
83.2%
81.2%
80%
80.7%
80.3%
75%
73.4%
70%
65%
Mediterranean
LAC
Africa
Western
Pacific
Europe
Americas
Global
OECD
Southeast
Pacific
Source: WHO.
Not surprisingly, physical activity plays an important role in preventing children and
adolescents from becoming overweight (body mass index between 25 and 30) and
obese (body mass index greater than 30), and reducing the risk of obesity among
adults. Compared to other world regions, physical activity is of particular importance
in Latin America and the Caribbean where age-adjusted obesity is high among both
adults and children. On average, 23 percent of the region’s adults are obese.
Source: Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME).
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Sports for Development
Figure 07.
Obesity among Adults Age 20 and Older,
Age Standardized 1980 vs. 2015
1980
2015
25%
20%
15%
10%
5%
0%
Source: Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME).
Figure 08.
Obesity among Children Aged 2-19,
Age Standardized 1980 vs. 2015
1980
2015
9%
8%
6%
7%
4%
5%
3%
2%
0%
1%
Physical Activity: Time to Step It Up / 21
Worse yet, adult and child obesity is increasing more than in other world regions.
Obesity among adults in the 26 member countries of the IDB rose by 10 percentage
points from 1990 to 2015 compared to 5.5 percentage points worldwide. Among
children 2 to 19 years of age, obesity grew by 3 percentage points in Latin America
and the Caribbean vs. 2.4 percentage points among all countries.
Figure 09.
Change in Obesity, 1980-2015.
Adults Age 20 and Older, Age Standardized
14%
12%
10%
8%
6%
4%
2%
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Source: Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME).
Figure 10.
Change in Obesity 1980-2015.
Children aged 2-19, Age Standardized
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2%
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Source: Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME).
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Sports for Development
Physical activity also helps prevent high blood pressure.3 Figure 11 shows that agestandardized disability adjusted life years (DALY) associated with elevated blood
pressure in Latin American and Caribbean sub-regions are not as high as in other regions.
Eleven sub-regions have higher DALYs associated with elevated blood pressure than
the five sub-regions of Latin America and the Caribbean. However, unlike many other
regions, age-adjusted DALYs associated with elevated or high blood pressure increased
in all five subregions of Latin America and the Caribbean from 1990-2015 (Forouzanfar
et al., 2017). The trends in Mexico and Brazil are particularly noteworthy (see JAMA,
2017). Latin America and the Caribbean compares similarly with other regions in terms
of deaths associated with elevated or high blood pressure (Forouzanfar et al., 2017).
Figure 11.
Age-standardized DALY Rates by Cause
Associated with Elevated Blood Pressure (SBP of
at Least 110 to 115 mm Hg)
Region by Increasing Life Expectancy at Birth
Central Sub-Saharan Africa
Southern Sub-Saharan Africa
Western Sub-Saharan Africa
Oceania
Eastern Sub-Saharan Africa
South Asia
Central Asia
Eastern Europe
Southeast Asia
Caribbean
North Africa & Middle East
Tropical Latin America
Central Latin America
Andean Latin America
East Asia
Cerebrovascular disease
Central Europe
Chronic kidney disease
Southern Latin America
Ischemic heart disease
High-Income North America
Other cardiovascular
and circulatory diseases
Western Europe
Australasia
High-Income Asia Pacific
0
2000
4000
6000
8000
Disability-Adjusted Life-Years per 100,000
Source: Forouzanfar et al., 2017.
Elevated blood pressure is defined as a systolic blood pressure of at least 110 to 115 mm Hg, while high blood
pressure is defined as systolic blood pressure of 140 or more mm Hg.
3
Physical Activity: Time to Step It Up / 23
Interestingly, physical activity, measured as the average number of steps, increases
with income level; thus, the higher the income of a country, the more its inhabitants
exercise (Figure 12). The yellow line, which shows the partial correlation of physical
activity and GDP per capita, confirms this positive relation. Among Latin American and
Caribbean countries, South American countries are near the regression line suggesting
that their physical activity levels are consistent with their income levels. However,
Caribbean countries are far below the regression line (yellow line showing adjusted
values). Thus, inhabitants of the Caribbean countries should move more given their
income levels.
Figure 12.
Physical Activity (in Average Steps) and
per Capita Gross Domestic Product, 2015
1
Average steps
.9
.8
.7
.6
.5
0
.2
.4
.6
.8
1
GDP p/c 2015
N=106
Source: Althoff et al. (2017) and the World Bank Data Base. Average daily steps rescaled to 0- 1 scale. Average daily steps by country
mean: 4,740 steps. Standard deviation: 757 steps.
Sports for Development
In this same vein, poverty is negatively associated with physical activity (see Figure
13). Most of the Caribbean countries are far below the regression line (especially El
Salvador and Honduras), suggesting that physical activity in those countries is less
than that of poorer countries in other regions.
Figure 13.
Physical Activity (in Average Steps
Counted) and Poverty Rate, 2011-2015
1
Average steps
.9
.8
.7
.6
.5
0
.2
.4
.6
.8
1
Poverty Rate 2011-2015
Note: Poverty Rate is calculated as the average of the available years for each country in the period 2011-2015. N=55.
Source: Althoff et al. (2017) and the World Bank Data Base. Average daily steps rescaled to 0- 1 scale. Average daily steps by country
mean: 4,740 steps. Standard deviation: 757 steps.
Physical Activity: Time to Step It Up / 25
Figure 14.
Physical Activity (in Average Steps
Counted) and Income Inequality, 2015
1
Average steps
.9
.8
.7
.6
.5
.4
.6
.8
1
Gini Index 2011-2015
Note: Gini Index is calculated as the average of the available years for each country in the period 2011-2015. N=69.
Source: Althoff et al. (2017) and the World Bank Data Base. Average daily steps rescaled to 0- 1 scale. Average daily steps by country
mean: 4,740 steps. Standard deviation: 757 steps.
Worldwide, income inequality, measured with the Gini coefficient, is also negatively
associated with physical activity (Figure 14). Again, the Caribbean countries should
present a higher activity level given their income inequality since countries such as El
Salvador and Honduras are far below the regression line.
Apparently, city life is conducive to exercise. Physical activity is higher in countries with
a higher proportion of urban people (see Figure 15). Much like with poverty and income
inequality, Caribbean countries, such as El Salvador, Honduras, Trinidad and Tobago,
and Venezuela, sit far below the regression line, which suggests that given their level
of urbanism, their people should exercise more.
Sports for Development
Figure 15.
Physical Activity (in Average Steps
Counted) and Urbanism, 2011-2015
1
Average steps
.9
.8
.7
.6
.5
0
.2
.4
.6
.8
Urban Population 2011-2015
Note: Urban Population is calculated as the average of the available years for each country in the period 2011-2015. N=109.
Source: Althoff et al. (2017) and the World Bank Data Base. Average daily steps rescaled to 0- 1 scale. Average daily steps by country
mean: 4,740 steps. Standard deviation: 757 steps.
Physical activity also displays a gender gap at both the global and regional levels.
According to WHO estimates, the prevalence of physical inactivity is 35% and 41%
higher in women than in men worldwide and in Latin America and the Caribbean,
respectively (Figure 16). Clearly, gender differences in inactivity are not confined to
low- and middle-income countries. Even in high-income countries, such as the United
States and Canada, where there are fewer cultural barriers to women’s participation,
women move considerably less than men (Horton, 2016). For instance, physical
inactivity is 53 percent and 32 percent higher in women than in men in the United
States and Canada (Figure 16).
Physical Activity: Time to Step It Up / 27
Male
18.1%
24.4%
17.3%
20%
19.8%
20.9%
26.8%
27.8%
23.1%
OECD
27.3%
LAC
Female
25.6%
26.1%
25%
26.6%
26.7%
35%
30%
37.1%
36.4%
40%
37.5%
37.8%
Figure 16.
Physical Inactivity among Adults,
by Gender, 2016
11.3%
15%
10%
5%
0%
Americas
Mediterranean
Western
Pacific
Europe
Global
Africa
Southeast
Asia
Source: WHO.
Figure 17.
Physical Inactivity among Adults,
by Country and Gender, 2016
Female
80%
Male
70%
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
G
Source: WHO.
L
L
G
TM
H
C
A
B
LO
U
PR
Y
EC
N
EX
M
A
A
M
C
A
D
R
B
M
JA
D
R
G
LA
C
M
U
RY
O
D
U
SA
A
B
G
R
N
K
B
A
R
A
LC
S
TT
O
H
B
C
O
L
0%
Sports for Development
Figure 18.
Participation in Team Sports during the
past Two Years by Education Level
Once a week
30%
Once or twice a month
Once or twice a year
27%
25%
23%
20%
15%
15%
12%
12%
10%
17%
16%
15%
12%
14%
10%
8%
9%
8%
7%
5%
0%
Less than primary
Primary
Secondary
Technical school
University
Source: LAPOP 2014.
Participation in sports also varies according to educational level in Latin American
and Caribbean countries (see Figure 18). More educated people tend to practice more
sports and they do it more often. This correlation may show that awareness about
the benefits of physical activity increases with education and confirm the relationship
between exercise and income.
Sports can also play an important bridging role between people from different ethnic,
class and status groups (see Section 4 for a detailed discussion). Sports participation
varies among ethnic groups in the region and while no clear pattern emerges, mestizos
tend to participate more than other ethnic groups (see Figure 19). Of course, once again,
this conclusion may be distorted by the perils of self-reported data as well as by sample
size, as some ethnic groups may be underrepresented in the overall sample.
Figure 19.
Participation in Team Sports during the
past Two Years by Ethnic Group
Once a week
30%
Once or twice a month
Once or twice a year
25%
20%
15%
10%
5%
0%
White
Source: LAPOP 2014.
Mestizo
Indigenous
Black
Asian
Other
Physical Activity: Time to Step It Up / 29
The existing evidence seems to indicate that:
• Low physical activity is a worldwide problem. Still, Latin America and the Caribbean
is among the worst.
• The problem is particularly acute among poor and more unequal countries, and the
poor and less educated populations within countries.
• There is a marked gender gap: women exercise less than men.
• Inactivity levels by young and school aged kids are particularly troubling.
The existing evidence cries out for investing in obtaining more and better data on
physical activity and sports participation. The available data tend to rely mostly on
self-reported information and suffers from relatively low coverage both temporally and
geographically. The magnitude of the challenges ahead, particularly given the increase
in obesity in the region and the systematic decline in activity among kids, call for a very
thorough diagnosis.
Sports for Development
02.
Sports-for-Development
Projects: The IDB Takes
the Lead
Summary
• The Bank has developed more than 17 SFD initiatives in the region.
• Over 89,000 people have been benefited, the majority of whom are children
and young people, across 18 countries.
• The SFD initiatives are focused on key areas such as skills for life
and labor market, health and well-being, social and gender inclusion and
violence prevention.
Given sports’ proven ability to engage, motivate, train, and retain youth in public
programs, the IDB has been leading SFD initiatives in 18 Latin American and Caribbean
countries since 2004.
An estimated 53.5 percent of young people between the ages of 13 and 23 in Latin
America and the Caribbean are currently not enrolled in school, and 16.1 percent of
15- to 24-year-olds are unemployed. Sports can provide a means to reach these young
people and either lure them back to school or help prepare them for the workplace.
Evidence shows that projects that use sports as a vehicle for change can contribute
to build skills for development as well as create social and civic capital, prevent crime
and reduce risk in vulnerable youth. In other words, sports are a potential channel for
achieving development outcomes (see Section 4 for more details).
To date, the IDB has developed 18 SFD initiatives (see Map 1). These multifaceted initiatives
use sports as a vehicle for providing marginalized youth with the tools they need to
take advantage of social and economic advancement opportunities, and become more
productive members of society. The results have a transformative effect improving the
well-being not only of the individuals involved, but of their communities as well.
One key area of emphasis has been helping young people to develop teamwork skills
and enhance their employability, thereby boosting their self-esteem. Other social and
economic development benefits gained through sports programs include promoting
conflict resolution, violence prevention, health and wellness, and social inclusion.
Sports-for-Development Projects: The IDB Takes the Lead / 31
IDB partners in these endeavors include: AVSI Fundation, BAISA, Betim Government,
Brightstar Corp., Carlos Slim Foundation, Clinton Foundation, Colgate, Ernst and
Young, FIAT, Fundació FC Barcelona, Fundación Celeste, Fundación Atlético de
Madrid, Fundación Colombianitos, Fundación Leo Messi, Fundación Mundo Sano,
Fundación Real Madrid, Gates Foundation, Fútbol con Corazón, Fundación Tras la
Perla de la América, Fundación Estás Vivo, Haitian Olympic Committee, International
Olympic Committee (IOC), Gillette, Government of Japan, Government of South Korea,
Microsoft, MTV, NBA, Nike, Nike Foundation, Organizing Committee for the Rio 2016
Olympic and Paralympic Games, Partners of the Americas, PepsiCo, Philips, Save the
Children, Secretaria Municipal de Esporte e Lazer do Rio de Janeiro (SMEL), SIDOC,
The Coca-Cola Company, Trilogy International, University of Michigan – Ross School of
Business, UNESCO, USAID, VISA, and WPP.
Map 1.
SFD Initiatives
Mexico
Capacitación a Funcionarios Públicos
Centre Sportif de Carrefour
Honduras
ua
ya
n
a
a
am
uy
an
G
Colombia
G
Venezuela
Panamá
En sus Marcas, Listos... Inclusión
F.
Nicaragua
Costa Rica
rin
El Deporte y la Educación Inclusiva
Guatemala
Su
Centre Sport pour L’Espoir
Fútbol Net México
Deportes para la Paz
Ecuador
Mejoramiento de Resultados Académicos
Cartagena Sostenible
Brasil
Perú
La Banda Celeste
Bolivia
Niñas Viviendo con Altura
Pescaíto
Paraguay
Programa Árbol de la Vida
Proyecto Contra el Chagas
Maré que Transforma
Ilumina tu Vida
Chile
A Ganar
Uruguay
Argentina
Sports for Development
a. Using Sports to Improve Education,
skills and Labor Market Outcomes
The A Ganar project leads this group of initiatives, using team sports to help at-risk
youth in Latin America and the Caribbean find jobs, learn entrepreneurial skills, or
re-enter the formal education system. A Ganar tries to defeat unemployment with an
integrated job-training program that transforms lessons and skills developed through
sports into marketable job skills. Over a typical seven- to nine-month period period,
young people complete three phases of training: (i) phase 1 consists of employability
or life skills training using an interactive sports-based curriculum; (ii) phase 2 presents
market-based vocational technical training; and (iii) phase 3 offers internships or
other practical experiences. Following their internships, youth participate in follow-up
activities including job placement support, known as phase 4.
Phase I
Phase II
Phase III
Phase IV
Sports-for-Development Projects: The IDB Takes the Lead / 33
“The Bank
has developed
more than 17
initiatives,
benefiting
over 89,000
people across
18 countries.”
The pilot program was launched in Brazil, Ecuador, and Uruguay. It
trained more than 3,200 young people and nearly 50 institutions
contributed to implement this sports-based training methodology
between 2005 and 2009. The program has now been expanded
and replicated in many countries across the region, reaching
more than 12,000 youth in Argentina, Barbados, Brazil, Colombia,
Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Jamaica, Mexico, Uruguay, St. Kitts
and Nevis, and St. Vincent and the Grenadines.
A Ganar has proven effective by working in urban, semi-urban,
and rural areas, and has also been adapted to work with disabled
people. Evaluations show that 70 percent of the participants
graduate from the program, and over 65% of graduates secure
formal employment, return to school, or start a business within
one year. Additionally, more than 200 businesses have participated in A Ganar by
hosting internships, hiring youth, providing mentors, or sponsoring training. However,
a quasi-experimental evaluation of the program implemented in Mexico does not find
statistically significant effects.
The Tree of Life Program (Programa Árbol de la Vida) aims to promote education, with
a particular focus on youth employment. This program uses sports as a tool for social
development, seeking to transform the lives of children and young people from lowincome and at-risk communities. By improving quality of life indicators, the program
also seeks to prevent violence.
The program was carried out in Brazil (Betim) reaching 9,000 children and adolescents
between 3 and 18 years old. It succeeded in reducing the social vulnerability of
participants by improving their social and educational conditions. Preliminary evidence
shows a 40 percent reduction in illiteracy, and a 24 percent and 59 percent increase in
primary and secondary education, respectively.
Pescaíto Program (Program of social inclusion and sustainability) not only seeks to
develop practical job skills by practicing sports but also to promote equal opportunity,
social inclusion, and urban sustainability. This initiative focuses on at-risk children
and youth in urban settlements characterized by extreme poverty and high levels of
violence in the Pescaíto area of Santa Marta, Colombia.
Activities that aim to develop lifelong skills include: (i) training and soccer matches to
promote good decision making and develop values and skills for life; (ii) promoting
interaction between the sports program and the family to broaden the impact on
the community; and (iii) strengthening relationships with stakeholders that facilitate
development of the project. Activities that attempt to build urban sustainability and
capacity building include: (i) providing high-quality comprehensive care (nutrition,
education, and care) for children from gestation to five years of age; (ii) training
community leaders with the knowledge and values to develop both collective and
individual rights as well as responsibilities; (iii) promoting participation in democratic
spaces; among others.
Sports for Development
The program’s methodology is wide-reaching and encourages peaceful conflict
resolution, gender equality, drug use prevention, sexual education, retention in formal
education, the proper use of leisure time and skills for including young people aged
15-17 in the labor market.
Expected results include an increase in: (i) academic performance and school
attendance; (ii) comprehension skills and an improved ability to avoid violence; and
(iii) employment opportunities for young people; better overall nutrition and health is
anticipated. Leaders and other community members should improve skills to develop
and manage community projects and enhance community facilities.
The program was launched at the end of 2016 and results are not yet available.
The objective of the program Improving Academics and Lifelong Outcomes In
Children And Youth In Manizales (Mejoramiento Resultados Académicos y de Vida
en Niños y Jóvenes en Manizales) is to improve academic and lifelong outcomes with
sports. Implemented in Manizales, Colombia, the program has four components. The
first one involves designing and implementing a sports-based program for improving
academics and lifelong outcomes for 500 children and youth between the ages of 10
and 15 in Ciudadela Norte, Manizales. It is experiential in nature, and blends physical
activity (soccer and at least one other sport) with activities specifically designed
to boost cognitive, non-cognitive and socioemotional skills (e.g., academics, selfesteem, perseverance, conflict resolution, respect for diversity, ethics, community
building, leadership, and empowerment). The program also aims to reduce violence.
In addition to boosting academic performance, the program is expected to build
basic competencies associated with positive outcomes in life (e.g., self-esteem,
less violence behavior, goal setting, perseverance, conflict resolution) which will be
measured with a series of tests developed with the Office of the Mayor of Manizales
and Fundación Colombianitos.
The Carrefour Sporting Center (Centre Sportif de Carrefour) pilot program supported
the development of extra-curricular sports in the Port-au-Prince area of Haiti.
Specifically, it provided children and youth with enjoyable sports- and activity-based
learning opportunities to enhance their physical, cognitive and emotional development.
The program supported the rehabilitation of the center, its equipment, and operational
costs as well as the provision of snacks while encouraging young people to play an
active and positive role in their communities.
The program targeted children 6 to 14 years old living or attending school within a
1.5-kilometer radius of the Centre Sportif de Carrefour, Haiti. So far, it has reached
approximately 14,500 children (10 percent of the population).
Sports-for-Development Projects: The IDB Takes the Lead / 35
Carrefour Sporting Center.
The program was subdivided into a school year program and a summer camp program.
The first introduced children and youth to diverse sport skills and disciplines and
used age-appropriate games and educational activities to foster positive values,
teach life skills, and educate participants about a range of environmental and health
themes relevant to their daily lives. The summer camp program resembled the
school year program but with a higher proportion of more vulnerable and out-ofschool children. The program offered 20 hours of supervised exercise per week and
20 hours of workshops on sexually transmitted diseases, HIV/AIDS, family planning
and cholera.
The Hope Sporting Center (Centre Sport pour L’Espoir) program aimed to build a
high-level sports infrastructure operated by the International Olympic Committee
in Haiti, with a team trained to provide young people with access to sports and
other programs.
The Center, inaugurated in 2014, offers open access to a variety of sports, provides
athletes with high-level training conditions, and enables national federations to
improve the level of elite sport in the country. The Center also offers access to cultural,
educational, and social development programs. The Center is also an arena for
promoting teamwork, fair play, and mutual understanding—values that are important
far beyond the playing field. The key beneficiaries are young people of Haiti, as well as
schools and communities.
The Center hosted 100 athletes in its first phase of construction and accommodates
180 athletes when it is in full operation.
Sports for Development
Hope Sporting Center.
Lastly, Training of Public Officials in Sports Management (Capacitación para
Funcionarios Públicos en Gerencia Deportiva) through an online course and international
seminars on the organization of mega-events, trains public officials in the following
fields: new models of collaborative governance, evaluation of these new models, and
lessons learned in establishing public-private partnerships. The program was carried
out in Brazil and approximately 200 mid-level public servants benefited; Argentina will
replicate the program in the Youth Olympics 2018.
b. Sports for Social
and Capital Inclusion
On Your Marks, Ready... Inclusion (En sus Marcas, Listo… Inclusión) strengthens
national Paralympic structures to give persons with disabilities access to sports, and
to thus encourage their social inclusion. Launched in May 2017, this program will cover
six Latin American countries: Colombia, El Salvador, Ecuador, Nicaragua, Peru, and
Brazil. Colombia will lead the work, while Brazil will be the mentor country and provide
assistance to the region.
In each country, two zones of action will be selected based on their high rates of
poverty and exclusion, large population of people with disabilities, limited Paralympic
development, and high rates of violence.
Another program using sports to promote the social inclusion of people with
intellectual disabilities is the Inclusive Education as Tools for Development (El Deporte
Sports-for-Development Projects: The IDB Takes the Lead / 37
y la Educación Inclusiva como Herramientas para el Desarrollo) initiative. Its specific
objectives are to: i) implement the Unified School model (Unified Sports and Young
Athletes programs) in 60 public schools in Panama, ii) promote and share with civil
society, policymakers, and government officials knowledge and experiences on best
practices in promoting social inclusion through sports, and iii) generate knowledge
about the effectiveness of interventions based on sports as tools for social inclusion.
The program was launched in Panama in May 2017. The direct beneficiaries are
individuals with disabilities studying in public elementary schools (6-14 years old) or
high schools (15-18 years old) in 10 provinces.
Sports for Development
Preliminary evidence is promising and, if confirmed with a rigorous assessment,
could make sports an effective platform for promoting the social inclusion of people
with disabilities in Latin America. The program is expected to: (i) turn schools and
communities into more inclusive environments, free of derision and intimidation, (ii)
increase the practice of sports and social interaction between young people with
and without disabilities, and (iii) promote leadership roles among students with
intellectual disabilities.
Futbol Net Program (I, II, and III) also uses sports, especially soccer, as a tool to
promote values and social inclusion among children and young people through an
innovative pedagogical methodology that reeducates through sport and works with
youth on issues such as coexistence, discrimination, and gender equality. Dialogue
is a key element of the program. Through this, players not only enter a relationship
of respect and mutual understanding, but also acquire self-confidence and a sense
of responsibility.
Participants attend a two-hour class twice a week for four months. Nearly 5,500
youths have participated in the program in Mexico, Brazil, and Colombia. Preliminary
evidence, based on quasi-experimental designs, indicates that the program decreases
aggressive behavior and the willingness to belong to a gang.
c. Programs that Emphasize Health,
Well-being, and Social Outcomes
The Regional Program for Chagas Disease Control (Programa Regional contra el
Chagas) aims to prevent, treat, and control Chagas disease by raising awareness
of its causes and cultivating preventive habits through a sports intervention in the
Gran Chaco Region. This program, scaled to benefit over 12,000 children, has been
implemented in Argentina, Bolivia, and Paraguay.
d. Programs Emphasizing Crime,
Delinquency, and Community Safety
Light Up Your Life, Community Light Centers (Ilumina tu vida, Centros Comunitarios de
Luz) has been implemented in four Latin American countries: Peru, Mexico, Colombia,
and Brazil, benefiting over 30,000 people. This program promotes energy efficiency,
sustainability, and public safety by literally turning on the lights in sports venues such
as soccer fields. The program has brought light to 27 sports fields, benefited more than
30,000 people, and helped improve safety and integration in numerous communities.
While the program has not been evaluated, it is expected to increase the hours of
service of community spaces as well as the participation of children and young people
in night sports activities in a safe environment.
La Banda Celeste was carried out in Uruguay (Montevideo, Colonia, Berro) with the
following objectives: i) help prevent crime and violence by vulnerable youth through
Sports-for-Development Projects: The IDB Takes the Lead / 39
Light Up Your Life, Community Light Centers.
sport, social, and labor activities; and ii) support social reintegration of youth who are
in conflict with the law through sport, social, and labor activities.
The program was structured in three 90-minute sessions per week as part of a program
on citizen security. The program reached 600 at-risk adolescents aged 13 to 18 years
old, who neither studied nor worked, in three poor neighborhoods in Montevideo.
Although no rigorous evaluation has been conducted, the program seems to be
effective in reducing violence among youth.
One of the principal objectives of Football for Hope (I and II) (Fútbol para la Esperanza
I y II) is to prevent violence. However, it also seeks to promote social skills, values, and
healthy lifestyles. The program uses sports to support crime prevention activities in a
municipal facility, establish strategic partnerships between civil society, government
(national and local), and the private sector, and analyze and document the experience
through activities and knowledge products. The program reached more than 1,400
children and young people between the ages of 5 and 18 in Colombia.
Football for Hope.
Sports for Development
e. Sports for
Gender Equality
Girls Living with Altitude (Niñas viviendo con Altura) seeks to strengthen girls’
leadership skills and self-esteem in order to prevent violence against woman. It further
encourages girls to exercise their rights and educates both family members and the
general public about the importance of gender equality. It not only involves girls, but
their coaches, teachers, and parents as well.
This program was implemented in Bolivia (El Alto) benefiting nearly 600 girls and
reaching another 3,000 indirect beneficiaries.
Although no rigorous evaluation of this promising program has been conducted to
date, participants have reported increases in their sports skills, the participation of
others in educational sports initiatives, the ability to express their interests to peers,
family and community, and the likelihood of considering sports as a free-time option.
Clearly, the topics and objectives of these SFD projects are transversally linked to
the following areas of the Bank: public safety, education, health, urban development,
gender and youth/social inclusion. Table 1 shows the linkage of each program with
these areas within the Bank.
SFD Intervention
Public
Safety
A ganar (Programa de
empleabilidad juvenil)
Education
Urban
Development
Gender
and Social
Inclusion
+
+
+
+
On Your Marks, Ready... Inclusion
Light Up Ypur Life, Community
Light Centers
+
Futbol Net (I, II, III)
+
+
+
Regional Program for Chagas
Disease Control
La Banda Celeste
Health
+
+
+
Carrefour Sporting Center
+
Hope Sporting Center
+
+
Tree of Life Program
+
+
Program of social inclusion and
sustainability: Pescaíto
+
+
+
Girls Living with Altitude
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
(Continues on next page)
Sports-for-Development Projects: The IDB Takes the Lead / 41
SFD Intervention
Public
Safety
Training of Public Officials
in Sports Management
Education
Health
Urban
Development
Gender
and Social
Inclusion
+
Football for Hope (I, II)
+
+
Sport and Inclusive Education as
Tools for Development
+
+
Improving Academics and
Lifelong Outcomes in Children and
Youth in Manizales
+
+
+
Summarizing, since 2004, the IDB has been supporting SFD initiatives in Latin America
and the Caribbean. So far, the Bank has developed more than 17 SFD initiatives in the
region. Thus far, programs have:
• Reached 18 countries (Argentina, Barbados, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Dominican
Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, Mexico, Nicaragua,
Panama, Paraguay, Peru, and Uruguay).
• Benefited over 89,000 people, the majority of whom are children and young people,
with more than 20 partners.
• Expanded and replicated five interventions in many countries across the region.
• Focused on multifaceted initiatives that emphasized key areas: skills for life and labor
market, health and well-being, social and gender inclusion, and violence prevention.
Sports for Development
03.
Sports for Development.
What’s the Score?
Summary
• Sports can have substantial impact on factors that foster economic development.
• Better health, and higher cognitive and non-cognitive skills can improve individuals’
labor market outcomes and have a positive effect on productivity.
• Increasing social capital, civic culture, and trust, and lowering crime can improve
the workings of markets and affect capital and labor accumulation, hence growth.
• Evidence on the efficiency and effectiveness of most sports development programs is
still scant; of utmost importance is to increase the effort to make sure every program
is evaluated appropriately.
• The little evidence that exists doesn’t allow for many inferences. One clear lesson
is that while interventions can have positive effects they can also backfire. As
such, the Bank should proceed with caution, starting small, evaluating, and only then
expanding the programs more broadly.
• The evidence so far would seem to favor helping children improve their motor skills and
knowledge about physical activities while enhancing their physical activity levels.
How to achieve these goals is not as clear. Therefore, interventions should minimize
potential unintended consequences. One option is to incorporate some of the lessons
coming from the more developed literature on behavioral economics. By ‘nudging’ people
into more exercise, the potential negative consequences may be minimized.
• Additionally, it is important to take into account that physical infrastructure and
city design seem to affect physical activity. Therefore, investment in other public
policy areas should consider the spillovers on physical activity.
Development consists of providing better standards of living to all people on a
sustainable and long-term basis. Therefore, a high level of development can only be
obtained by greater economic growth that is shared across society. Growth, in turn,
requires more resources (labor and capital accumulation) and a better use of those
resources (higher productivity). Deploying those resources to the best uses and the
degree to which benefits are shared across society ultimately depends on people’s
abilities and the quality of institutions (social capital and the civic culture in a society).
This section is based on a literature review produced by Fernando Cafferata (IDB consultant).
Sports for Development. What’s the Score? / 43
Potentially, sports can help further development. Crucial values, such as responsibility
and teamwork, are built on sports fields and courts and are then applied in families,
classrooms, and on the job. Sports can address deficiencies in human capital and
productivity by improving health (physical and mental), socioemotional skills, and
educational levels. Sports can also affect capital accumulation, market operations, and
institutions through their effect on social capital, trust, culture, and crime. Together these
effects create a virtuous circle. For example, high social capital tends to reduce crime,
and lower crime limits the need to use scarce public resources on crime deterrence
rather than more productive purposes. Healthier workers reduce job absenteeism, and
cut healthcare costs for society as a whole, which liberates funds for other purposes.
Higher trust feeds the demand for public goods and increases willingness to contribute
to the common purse; hence, it favors long-term capital accumulation.
Better health
Better mental health
Better soft skills (e.g., teamwork)
Better educational outcomes
Higher social capital
Higher trust
Higher civic culture
Lower crime
Sports and physical activity
Higher development
Higher accumulation and
investment
Higher productivity
Higher efficiency in the use
of resources
Better distributional outcomes
However, unlike other disciplines, such as health or education, which have engendered
a more critical perspective on the factors causing and constraining development,
certain SFD programs do exhibit an ongoing gap between evidence and practice
(Sanders, 2008). Even more, the evidence is still scant and much more is needed
before a conclusion can be reached. Evaluating many of these projects is difficult,
particularly because excluding beneficiaries is hard, which drives many of them into
the treatment group. That is, when anybody can participate, or when entry is restricted
but the mechanisms for deciding who participates and who doesn’t are not clear, then
those who participate tend to share a common characteristic that sets them apart
from nonparticipants. The results could be tainted by that factor. Additionally, many
interventions have not been designed to be tested; hence, there is little data to back
up results. In the end, much of the available information on programs tends to be more
qualitative than quantitative, and the quantitative results tend to show correlations or
have small sample biases. Evidence exists to support a positive relationship between
sports and some areas (such as physical and mental health) while further research
Sports for Development
is necessary to confirm such a relationship with other areas (such as cognitive and
academic development, crime reduction, truancy and disaffection) (Bailey, 2005).
Thus far, the evidence would seem to favor helping children improve their motor
skills and knowledge about physical activities while at the same time enhancing their
physical activity levels (Blankenship, 2013). The big challenge is to design projects that
can be evaluated, evaluate better those that are already in place, and support those
areas for which there is consensus and the analytical relationships are more direct
and logical. Importantly, since interventions can have unintended consequences, it is
important to start small, evaluate, and then expand only if the project is worth it. Given
the importance of fomenting physical activity, lessons learned from the behavioral
economics literature, and the fact that ‘nudging’ tends to have fewer unintended
consequences than more involved projects, this may be a good place to start. As Heath
et al. (2012) indicate, “Behavioral and social approaches are effective, introducing
social support for physical activity within communities and worksites, and schoolbased strategies that encompass physical education, classroom activities, after-school
sports, and active transport.” These behavioral interventions can be accompanied
by investment in public infrastructure to support physical activity. For example, net
residential density, intersection density, public transport density, and number of parks
are all correlated to higher physical activity (Sallis et al., 2016).
a. Can Sports Help Increase Health,
Well-being, and Social Outcomes?
Summary
• The consensus is that practicing sports and increasing physical activity
improve health outcomes.
• Other results are more tentative given the lack of broad and systematic evidence.
• The effect on antisocial behavior is nuanced. Structured and caring environments
improve behavior, while unstructured ones can have the opposite effect.
• The effect of sports on substance abuse varies according to gender and racial
characteristics. Overall the relationship is non-linear. While the practice of
sports could increase abuse in some groups, higher levels of physical activity
and team participation seem to discourage substance abuse.
There is a broad consensus that sports, physical activity, and recreation affect health
outcomes positively. As the Report to the President from the White House Task
Force on Childhood Obesity indicates, “physical activity is an essential component
of a healthy lifestyle. In combination with healthy eating, it can help prevent a range
of chronic diseases, including heart disease, cancer, and stroke… Physical activity
helps control weight, builds lean muscle, reduces fat, and contributes to a healthy
Sports for Development. What’s the Score? / 45
“Sports can
have substantial
impact on
factors that
foster
economic
development.”
functioning cardiovascular system, hormonal regulatory system,
and immune system; promotes strong bone, muscle and joint
development; and decreases the risk of obesity” (Executive Office
of the President of the United States, 2011). The Office of Disease
Prevention and Health Promotion is even more explicit about the
benefits of physical activity (U.S. Department of Health and Human
Services, 2008). According to the summary of studies the Office
reviewed, there is strong evidence that physical activity in children
and adolescents improves cardiorespiratory and muscular fitness,
improves bone health, improves cardiovascular and metabolic
health biomarkers, and promotes favorable body composition. For
adults, physical activity lowers the risks of early death, coronary
heart disease, stroke, high blood pressure, adverse blood lipid profile, type 2 diabetes,
metabolic syndrome, colon cancer, and breast cancer. It also prevents weight gain,
improves cardiorespiratory and muscular fitness, prevents falls, reduces depression,
and improves cognitive function (in older adults).
Sports can also have an impact on emotional and motivational factors (providing a
natural and tangible means to strengthen self-esteem and a sense of community), and
on interpersonal and identity-related factors (the ability to cope with difficult situations
and, above all, learning assertive yet positive behavior or how to establish meaningful
relationships with peers) (Kulmatycki and Surynt, 2015). It can also affect substance
abuse (largely drugs and alcohol) and other risky behaviors related to health.
Sports seems to impact social behavior positively as well. Mahoney and Stattin (2000),
using a representative Swedish sample, found that participation in highly structured
leisure activities was linked to low levels of antisocial behavior, while participation
in activities with low structure (i.e. a youth recreation center) was associated with
high levels of antisocial behavior. Mahoney et al. (2004) found reinforcing evidence
about the differential role of structured and unstructured activities. Again using data
from Sweden, the study found that youth centers that gathered many antisocial peers
together were particularly likely to promote the antisocial behavior of new attendees.
Activities that lack structure and skill-building are magnets for high-risk adolescents
and the resulting social environment is a breeding ground for antisocial behavior. Results
from the UK reinforce this idea (Sandford et al., 2008). A healthy social environment
is more likely to exist when some or all of the following project features are in place:
effective matching of pupil needs with specific project objectives; locating project
activities outside of the ‘normal’ school context; working closely with pupils to choose
activities, set targets and review progress; establishing positive relationships between
project leaders/supporters (mentors) and pupils; and giving pupils the opportunity
to work with and for others. The authors emphasize the significance of establishing
and maintaining positive social relationships between young people and program
leaders/volunteers because it appears to be central to this process and a key feature in
maximizing the positive impact of sports/physical activity on youth development. The
more coaches create caring, mastery-oriented environments, the more likely the result
will be positive developmental gains. In other words, coaching and the social climate
have an important influence on the personal and social development of young people
(Gould et al., 2011).
Sports for Development
The type of sport kids play matters too. Endresen and Olweus (2005) have found
a relationship between participation in power or fight and strength sports (boxing,
wrestling, weightlifting, and oriental martial arts) and violent, antisocial behavior. Those
sports could feed antisocial and even violent behavior outside of sports. The negative
effects in boys seemed to stem from both the practice of power sports itself and from
constant contact with ‘macho’ attitudes, norms, and ideals.
Substance abuse seems to be affected by sports as well, but the effect seems to vary
according to gender and racial background. In a survey analysis, Diehl et al. (2012) find
that studies report higher alcohol use, less smoking, less recreational drug use, and
more smokeless tobacco use in heavily involved athletes. Lower experimentation with
marijuana by sport-involved youth was also reported by McHale et al. (2005) in a sample
of urban middle-school children in three middle schools in economically impoverished,
high-crime neighborhoods in Worcester, MA. Eitle et al. (2003), using two waves of
data collected from students when they were preteens and then as young adults from
South Florida, revealed a positive association between sports participation and alcohol
use only for white males. Differences in gender were also found by Mays and Thompson
(2008); in a national sample of high school-aged adolescents in the United States, male
athletes were significantly more likely than nonathletes to report heavy drinking and
driving after drinking. However, female athletes were less likely than female nonathletes
to report ever drinking, first drinking at age 12 or earlier, and drinking in the past 30
days. In a community based longitudinal study (Maryland Adolescent Development
in Context Study-MADICS), adolescents in sports also reported lower alcohol use
than individuals who were not involved in athletics, and for boys, sport participation
predicted lower marijuana use in the 11th grade (Fredricks and Eccles, 2006).
What type of sports and how frequently people play these sports also matters.
Stansfield (2015), using a large sample from 30 mostly European countries, the United
States, Caribbean, and South American countries confirms that higher levels of sports
involvement does increase involvement in violence. But while moderate participation
in sport does initially increase the risk of alcohol and drug use behavior, these risks
diminish as sports becomes a more central part of a student’s time. The results suggest
that the risk of hard-liquor consumption is significantly less among youth who spend
at least four hours a day engaged in sports compared with youth involved in nonsports activities. Additionally, marijuana use is less likely among young men engaged
in at least three hours or more of sports relative to young men involved in activities
other than sports. Therefore, the reported association between sports participation
and drugs and alcohol is not linear. While some sports engagement may be associated
with more drugs and alcohol, more engagement in sport activities does not necessarily
mean more risk. Rather, at a certain threshold, more engagement means less risk.
Clearly, these findings suggest links between sports and drugs and alcohol, but not
necessarily a causal relationship.
Consequently, design matters. Morris et al. (2003) suggest seven Good Practice
Program Principles to take into account when developing these kinds of programs:
Sports for Development. What’s the Score? / 47
• Administrative: Have clearly set out aims and outcomes that are monitored and
evaluated. Ensure that staff is interested and enthusiastic about the programs.
• Environment: Promote voluntary participation at all levels. Have minimal rules and
reduced competition. Ensure staff is people youth can trust.
• Activities: Offer novel and challenging activities. Ensure individual and team-oriented
activities. Run low-cost activities outside school hours and on weekends.
• Youth involvement: Provide leadership opportunities for youth in organizing.
Engage youth in promoting the program. Consider promoting peer mentoring and
support networks.
• Accessibility: Provide transport.
• External support: Develop links and provide information about other services and
resources available to youth in the local community. Provide a continuing contact point
for youth.
• Underlying issues: Promote fairness and equality. Be aware of self-esteem, family
and social issues. Engage with youth as individuals; don’t just focus on their behavior.
Promote the relevance of activities for other life areas.
b. Can Sports Help Increase Skills
and Labor Market Outcomes?
Summary
• Sports could benefit academic achievement, but in many societies parents and
teachers see sports as a way out and a replacement for formal education.
• Conclusions from existing programs are tentative given the lack of broad
and systematic evidence.
• Sports seem to have a large effect on labor market outcomes.
• Part of the effect may be explained by better health outcomes and better predisposition.
• Part of the effect may have to do with signaling.
As the latest IDB flagship publication indicates, “skills are capacities that can boost
the productivity of individuals, allowing them to produce more valuable output with
the same time, technology, and equipment.” Skills can be classified in three main
categories: socioemotional skills, cognitive skills, and academic skills. Sports can help
directly and indirectly with all of them.
Sports for Development
Teamwork
Better mental health
Better health
Routine activities
Self-discipline
Self-confidence
Higher productivity
Better labor market outcomes
Higher employment
Sports and physical activity
Stevenson (2010) shows an effect of sports on education and labor force participation
with data from the United States. Expanding the access of girls to athletics translates
into a 10 percentage point jump in state-level female sports participation which in turn
generates a 1 percentage point increase in female college attendance and a 1 to 2
percentage point rise in female labor force participation.
In terms of correlations with education attainment, data from MADICS show that
participation in sports predicted higher 11th grade GPAs and higher educational
expectations (Fredricks and Eccles, 2006). Also, athletes reported lower levels of
depression and higher levels of self-esteem than nonathletes. Furthermore, they had
completed more schooling at 1 year after high school than those respondents not
involved in high school sports. Still, the effect of sports on education is not independent
of the context in which sports are inserted. In some cases, the community sees sports
as a replacement, rather than a reinforcement, of academic education. For example,
Kwauk (2016) reports that, in Samoa, parents and teachers have the (mis-) perception
that achieving success in international sports holds similar promise as successful
completion of school: high economic returns and social mobility. These beliefs are
shared by many in Latin America, who pull kids out of formal schooling in hopes of a
shot at professional sports.
Some estimates of the long-term effects of sports on outcomes are very large, indeed.
For example, using data from the German Socio-Economic Panel study (GSOEP),
Lechner (2008) finds that active sports boost earnings by about 1,200 EUR annually
over a 16-year period compared to no or very little sports activity. These results translate
into an extraordinary rate of return on sports activities in the range of 5 percent to 10
percent, which is on a par with one additional year of schooling. Increased health and
improved well-being in general seem to be relevant channels to foster these gains in
earnings. Kosteas (2011) found very similar results analyzing data from the National
Longitudinal Surveys of Youth (NLSY) in America. He found that those who engaged in
physical activities earned salaries between 6 and 10 percent higher than the sedentary
participants.4 The evidence seems to be consistent in developing countries too. In Brazil,
physically active individuals’ salaries are between 15 percent and 31 percent higher than
those of their sedentary counterparts; this wage gain is smaller for women, ranging from
Results are consistent across studies. Lechner (2015), after reviewing various studies, states that the
evidence for positive labor market effects of sports on earnings is about 4 to 17 percent.
4
Sports for Development. What’s the Score? / 49
15 percent to 19 percent (Godoy and Triches 2016). People who participate in physical
activities have a lower incidence of chronic disease and fewer doctor’s appointments,
as well as higher average schooling. Of course, in each of these cases, it is difficult to
isolate selection in spite of controlling for as many observables as possible.
Part of the effect may be explained by network effects and by mental predisposition.
For example, Cabane (2013), using the German Socio-Economic Panel, shows
that individuals who participate regularly in sports are better able to move from
unemployment to employment (once they have at least three years of experience).
The author believes that the variable of interest captures a state of mind: people who
choose to take advantage of being unemployed to spend time practicing sports might
enjoy a better state of mind with respect to job search and labor-market reintegration
than people who decide not to be active.
Part of the explanation may also be related to signaling. Rooth (2010) presents evidence
of the return to leisure sports in the job hiring process by sending fictitious applications
to real job openings in the Swedish labor market. Applications that signaled sport
skills had a significantly higher callback rate of about two percentage points for men;
this effect is about twice as large in physically demanding occupations. These results
suggest a health-productivity interpretation. However, the labor-market premium is
mainly driven by the return to soccer and golf, and not by more fitness-related sports
such as running and swimming. Hence, these results indicate that being engaged in
leisure sports signals having important social skills rather than better health.
c. Can Sports Help Increase Social Capital,
Inclusion and Community Building?
Summary
• Sports can increase social capital by bridging and bonding.
• Results are tentative given the lack of broad and systematic evidence.
• Not every sportS club or community organization seems to naturally bring
these two conditions together.
• Sports seem to be vehicles to increase civic culture but other activities
(e.g., religious) seem to be more effective.
• The effect of the programs seems to be dependent on design. It is not the lack of
sports or activity that matters but the way the activities have been structured.
Sports for Development
Social capital can be defined many ways. One way to think about it is “as the links,
shared values and understandings in society that enable individuals and groups to trust
each other and so work together.” (OECD Insights: Human Capital) Robert Putnam has
been one of the greatest proponents of the role of social capital in society. In particular,
he and his followers have noted that communities with high measured social capital
tend to have many highly desired outcomes—lower crime rates, better health, and so
on (Coalter, 2007). In this view, social capital is a key component for building and
maintaining democracy.5
Sports can increase social capital by bridging (creating and maintaining social networks
composed of heterogeneous groups) and by bonding (creating and maintaining social
networks with a homogenous group of people). By definition, bridging and bonding
would increase inclusion and help build communities around common goals. Greater
trust would make it easier to coalesce around the provision of certain public goods,
coordinate to provide and demand investments with long-term benefits, find ways to
Bridging (creating
and maintaining social
networks composed
of heterogeneous
groups)
Bonding (creating
and maintaining
social networks
with a homogenous
group of people)
Lower crime
Higher trust
Social capital
Higher participation
Easier collective action
More public goods
More investment
Higher willingness to contribute
Sports and
physical activity
finance those investments, and mobilize the collective action to bring them to fruition.
A sports club, sporting facilities, and other community organizations that allow different
groups to participate towards a common goal should help generate these benefits. This
framework has been embraced by governments and initiatives around the world. In
2015, Prime Minister David Cameron indicated that “Sports … strengthen community
cohesion” (HM Government, 2015) and President Obama, in his last White House
ceremony, articulated his vision of why sports matter: ‘Sometimes, it’s not enough just
to change laws. You’ve got to change hearts.’ And sports have a way, sometimes, of
changing hearts in a way that politics or business doesn’t (Brewer, 2016).
5
Social capital can also have a negative set of outcomes (Delaney, 2005). As Putnam and others have
stressed, it can be used to perpetuate privilege and sustain advantage as well as to reinforce negative and
exclusionary group identities (Delaney, 2005).
Sports for Development. What’s the Score? / 51
Even though the evidence is still scant and usually based on small samples and
correlations, several studies have found a positive correlation between sports and
social capital. The correlations are substantial for the level of sports participation in a
country (both at the cross-country European level and in Britain at the individual level)
and measures of social trust (Delaney and Keaney, 2005). Countries with a high level
of sports participation also tend to have high levels of social and institutional trust and
vice versa.
These results are supported by studies looking at the effect of soccer programs. For
example, Strybosch and Sherry (2012) show that participation in a sporting program,
in their case the Australian Street Soccer Program, can improve social capital for
participants by strengthening social inclusion and self-identity, thereby providing access
to peripheral community support. Similar results are reported for the Vencer Program
in Rio de Janeiro (Spaaij, 2012a). The program provides a space where young people
can get together and create and maintain friendships. In the Netherlands, evidence
from two soccer clubs in the city of Utrecht indicate that once soccer players have
joined the club, playing soccer may help unite people from different backgrounds. Of
course, the social environment must provide opportunities for this kind of cooperation
to transcend ethnic lines, socialize, and integrate socially (Verhagen and Boostra, 2014).
Results are not soccer dependent. Andersen et al. (2015) found that group-based
physical exercise at work also contributed to building social capital within teams at
the workplace in a study of female healthcare workers who were provided access to
physical exercise. Among Dutch adolescents, sports participation is associated with
higher neighborhood social capital (Prins et al., 2012). Joining community organizations
heightens trust. In the Australian State of Victoria, Brown, Hoye, and Nicholson (2014)
found that trust is generated from membership in community sports organizations.
Additional positive evidence comes from very small sample studies in Texas (Warner
and Leierer, 2015) and the Northern Wheatbelt of Western Australia (Tonts, 2015). In the
GirlPower initiative in Victoria (Higgins and Reed, 2001), the authors find evidence that
sports build a sense of community in adolescents, participants articulate their interest
in becoming part of the community, physical activity and exercise offer a forum for
social interaction and engagement, and sports sometimes plays an important bridging
role between people from different ethnic, age, class, and status groups.
Several studies have shown that playing sports may be beneficial not only for
participants but also for volunteers in organizations that promote sports. Evidence
from 5 Street Soccer teams (an initiative that uses sports to work with marginalized and
disenfranchised people) in the United States shows that volunteering fostered social
capital development by enhancing awareness and understanding of homelessness,
building community and relationships with the homeless, creating passion for working
in the social justice field, and developing self-satisfaction through a ‘feel good’ mentality
(Peachey, Cohen, and Borland, 2011).
Naturally, not every sports club or community organization brings these conditions
together. In some cases, they may not work, may not be permanent or may backfire.
In particular, Spaaij (2012b) looks at the role of soccer in deepening social integration
and bonding of the Somali refugee population in Australia and found that the social
Sports for Development
bridges created and maintained in the sports context tend to be relatively weak and
largely confined to match days. Furthermore, few close or durable bridges are created
between Somalis and the host community. Sports, compared to other voluntary
organizations, may not be the most efficient organization to create social capital
(Seippel, 2006, 2008).
Overall, the evidence indicates that sports can help develop social capital among
people, but the effect is highly dependent on the nuances of the interventions and
their design. For example, data from 21 schools in Maryland show that participation
in sports is beneficial in large schools but disruptive in small schools as it increases
disturbances and results in serious incidents and suspensions (Langbein and Bess,
2002). In Bogota, Colombia, Torres et al. (2013) analyzed participants from the
Ciclovia (streets temporarily closed to motorized vehicles and open for pedestrians)
and Cicloruta (bicycle paths) programs. Both programs increased physical activity,
but the perception of safety and social capital increased for Ciclovia participants but
not for the Cicloruta participants. In fact, Cicloruta participants actually showed lower
social capital, which could be explained by lower safety conditions. In the study on
physical exercise for female healthcare workers, while providing access to groupbased physical exercise during working hours helped increase social capital, providing
access to physical exercise at home during leisure time did not (Andersen et al.,
2015). Evidence from Japan indicates that social capital was higher in comprehensive
community sports clubs that provide various sports and cultural activities than in
smaller, traditional community sports clubs (Okayasu, Kawahara, and Nogawa, 2010).
In some cases, sports can reinforce existing cleavages and distributional inequity
in society. Data from soccer players’ decisions at two soccer clubs in Utrecht in the
Netherlands show that when members choose their two soccer clubs, a segregating
mechanism is at work: people prefer to play soccer close to home and with their friends
or people they already know (Verhagen and Boostra, 2014). Access to unstructured
outdoor activity can have a large effect on the development of youths but may
exacerbate existing differences in social capital, in part through the influence more
highly educated parents exert on children’s activity choices (Seaman et al., 2014).
Civic culture has been defined as “a pattern of political attitudes that fosters
democratic stability” (Almond and Verba, 1963). Many authors have used it to explain
more effective governments, stronger economic growth, higher levels of well-being
and other desirable outcomes. Lopez and Moore (2006) proxy civic culture by looking
at the role of sports in their effect on civic indicators (volunteer; regular volunteer;
can make a difference; worked to solve common problems; participated in run, walk,
ride), political indicators (registered to vote; voted in 2000), voice indicators (wrote
letter; boycott; participated in town meeting; signed email petition; signed written
petition; feel comfortable making public statement), and news attentiveness (watch
general news closely; watch sports news closely; watch political news closely). Again,
the evidence is relatively scant and weak. In some cases, sports can increase civic
culture—albeit not as much as participation in other types of extracurricular activities—
but effectiveness depends on design.
According to data from the 2002 National Youth Survey of Civic Engagement, young
Sports for Development. What’s the Score? / 53
people who have participated in high school sports are also more civically engaged
than young people who have not participated in sports. Ritz (2006), based on the U.S.
longitudinal survey data called National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health, finds
additional evidence that sports participation during adolescence indirectly influences
civic engagement as a young adult. Still, other forms of participation tend to engender
even more civic engagement. In particular, youth who are actively engaged in religious
activities showed higher-than-expected levels of civic engagement (Blass Fisher,
2016). Other interventions, such as hosting large sporting events seem to have small
and short-lived effects. For example, Groothuis and Rotthoff (2014) review the studies
about the economic impact and civic pride created by professional sports teams, and
then match these studies with survey results on the Super Bowl and Winter Olympics.
Their study shows mixed results on the magnitude of civic pride and reveals the shortlived effect of hosting a mega-event.
Finally, research suggests that sports-based interventions need to be sustained if the
benefits are to be anything other than transitory (Spaaij, 2012a). Otherwise, as Gibson
et al. (2014) show, the effect of interventions such as hosting a World Cup quickly
diminishes and disappears about 8 months after the World Cup is over.
This result, that effect is contingent on design, should not be surprising. As Putnam
already pointed out, it is not the lack of sports or activity what matters but the way the
activities are structured. Not every sport generates social capital, and not every method
of organizing the sport has the same effect. In Putnam’s analysis, what matters is the
decline in participation in traditional team sports, and the ‘individualization’ of sporting
activity (Coalter, 2007). As the title of his seminal book suggests, it is not bowling or
not bowling that matters, but Bowling Alone: “league bowling, by requiring regular
participation with a diverse set of acquaintances, did represent a form of sustained
social capital that is not matched by an occasional pickup game” (Putnam, 2000).
d. Can Sports Help Reduce Crime and Delinquency,
and Increase Community Safety?
Summary
• Sports can help reduce crime.
• Results are tentative but show that some programs can also lead to
higher delinquency.
• To avoid unintended consequences, design of activities and programs is key.
• Sports can help reduce substance abuse, but only at high intensity.
Sports for Development
• Peer pressure and associating youth at risk can be problematic.
Many reasons help explain a positive relationship between sports and lower crime.
Some of them are a logical extension of the previous analysis relating sports to
higher social capital. Sports grow social capital, which increases trust, bonding,
community participation, and search for common objectives, reducing the tendency
and opportunities for criminal activities. Sports can also reduce crime because of an
incapacitation effect (youth practicing sports can’t participate in criminal activities at
the same time), by reducing boredom and idle time, and by creating routine activities
that are beneficial to positive behavior and reduce the time and opportunity to engage
in delinquency. Additionally, sports participation may reduce substance abuse (alcohol,
drugs), which is usually a leading cause of criminal activity.
Unfortunately, participation in sports can have quite the opposite effect, creating the
conditions for engaging in criminal activity. This is particularly true when it serves as a
mechanism for peer pressure and creates opportunities for in-group negative behavior
Social capital
Incapacitation
Routine activities
Lower substance abuse
Lower crime
More public goods
More investment
Higher consumption
Sports and
physical activity
(e.g., create the conditions for the formation of gangs).
Despite scant evidence based largely on small samples and correlations, it does not
appear that sports significantly reduce crime and delinquency. Learning how to use
time effectively—common denominator of the channels mentioned above—seems
to matter. Caldwell and Smith (2006), in their study of rural youths, show that
helping youth become more intrinsically motivated by having goal-oriented leisure
pursuits and decreasing levels of motivation, learning to overcome peer pressure,
and becoming more aware of leisure opportunities may reduce the risk of damaging
property. Additionally, giving them the chance to constructively use their time during
quarrelsome hours seems to work too. For example, Hartmann and Depro (2006)
show that the midnight basketball programs, an initiative that provides constructive
activities between the hours of 10:00 p.m. and 2:00 a.m. (high-crime hours) for lowincome young men from the inner city, is correlated with sharp decreases in property
crime rates in cities that adopted the program. Mandigo, Corlett, and Ticas (2016),
using a mixed-methods longitudinal design over a three-year period, show that school-
Sports for Development. What’s the Score? / 55
based physical education can help to decrease aggressive behaviors, particularly for
boys, and develop life skills, such as coping and self-management, communication and
interpersonal skills, decision making and critical-thinking skills.
However, overall, sports participation does not seem to affect the level of crime, and
many studies have found a negative relationship (Spruit et al., 2016). One explanation
for the negative correlation may be a selection effect (young, able-bodied males are
attracted to sports but they are also more vulnerable to participate in illegal behaviors;
violent people choose violent sports). Another factor may be that sports serve as
a conduit for the formation of gangs, and peer pressure (giving rise to the athletic
delinquent hypothesis; deviancy is the product of an individual’s membership in
organizations, such as sporting organizations.)
Kreager (2007), with data from the U.S. National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent
Health, shows that athletic involvement does not inhibit male violence. In fact, a strong
relationship exists between contact sports and violence. Football players and wrestlers,
as opposed to athletes in baseball, basketball, tennis, and other sports, are significantly
more likely than male nonathletes to be involved in serious fights. Hartmann and
Massoglia (2007), restricting the analysis to Saint Paul, Minnesota, shows that high
school sports participation is significantly and consistently associated with deviant
behavior—specifically, drunken driving and shoplifting—more than a decade later.
Evidence is not restricted to the United States. In New Zealand, Begg et al. (1996) find
that men and women who engage actively in sports at age 15 are significantly more
likely to be delinquent at age 18 than their peers who engaged little in sports. Similarly,
in Ontario, Canada, Faulkner et al. (2007) finds that vigorous physical activity among
adolescent males was positively associated with delinquent behavior.
In some cases, selection and peer effects may reinforce each other. In Sweden,
Mahoney, Stattin, and Magnusson (2001) show a selection effect as participation in
youth centers was nonrandom and boys with multiple problems—social and academic—
in school at age 10 participated more frequently; at the same time, the frequency of
criminal offending increased for all boys who became involved in a recreation center.
Frequent participation in a youth center was linked to high rates of juvenile offending
and persistent offending (i.e., for one or more offences both as a juvenile and an adult).
Additionally, as discussed earlier, no systematic evidence exists that sports reduce
substance abuse.
Again, part of the explanation may have to do with the design of projects. Sports
participation in school settings and in team sports produces better outcomes—that
is, less delinquency (Spruit et al., 2016). The involvement of skilled coaches in school
settings versus volunteers in out-of-school settings may explain these results. This same
study finds that results tend to differ for all-female samples. More positive correlations
were found in all-female samples than in all-male samples. Again, part of the explanation
may lie in selection and part may be social interactions and peer pressure.
To reduce crime, other social activities, may be more effective than sports because
they do not have the same downside. For example, by comparing athletic and nonathletic activities from the Project on Human Development in Chicago Neighborhoods
(PHDCN), Gardner, Roth, and Brooks-Gunn (2011) show that participation in nonathletic
Sports for Development
activities versus sports was inversely associated with nonviolent delinquency. The
odds of nonviolent delinquency were roughly 39 percent lower among boys who only
participated in nonathletic activities compared to boys who participated in sports.
All told, they found no evidence that sports participation deters delinquency during
adolescence. Rather, among urban adolescent boys, the odds of delinquency may be
higher among those who participate in organized sports than among those who only
participate in nonathletic activities.6
Sports seem to have a positive effect on the rehabilitation of those convicted of a
crime (at least in a small sample of studies). Most of the positive effects were in helping
rehabilitate inmates and building self-esteem and values through sports. Some authors
argued in favor of sports that do not emphasize winning so as not to promote negative
behaviors just to win.
The argument for sports that de-emphasize regulations and winning was echoed time
and again. Andrews and Andrews (2003) advocate choice for participants, programs
tailored to suit individual needs, and positive feedback. Van Hout and Phelan (2014)
show that fitness training and sports might provide a new pro-social identity and daily
routine for young male adult offenders in Ireland. In that context, it served to improve
the social, associational, and learning experiences of offenders by engaging them in
community-based reintegration supports. Parker, Meek, and Lewis (2014) looked at
a sports-based intervention in a young offender institution in the south of England.
They conclude that sport/physical activity can confer significant psychosocial benefits
and promote the rehabilitation of young people leaving custody, particularly when
integrated into a wider program of support and provision. Meek and Lewis (2014)
studied prison-based sporting academies that provided intensive football or rugby
coaching, fitness training, and matches, to inmates an average of 20 hours a week
for 12 to 15 weeks. These programs had a positive impact on prison life and culture,
prepared inmates for release, improved attitudes, thinking and behavior, and promoted
desistance from crime. Finally, Ardakani and Nosrati (2015) found a significant inverse
relationship between training and exercise sessions and the delinquency rate in
imprisoned boys in Iran.
e. Reverse Causality: The Conditions That Enhance
Sports Participation and Physical Activity.
Thus far the focus has been on the effects of sports on increasing social capital, civic
engagement, crime, education, skills, and labor outcomes. The evidence has been
mixed, and a message emerges repeatedly: design matters. Not every intervention
works and those that do work do not necessarily work for all or for a long time. Still,
physical activity has a role to play at least in promoting better health outcomes.
Therefore, improving the conditions for increasing access to physical activity could be
a relevant development policy.
6
They found no associations between sports participation and violent or nonviolent delinquency among girls.
Sports for Development. What’s the Score? / 57
• Higher social capital could improve access to physical activity:
Students in schools with larger student bodies or problematic climates are generally less
likely to participate in extracurricular activities and specifically less likely to participate
in athletics (McNeal, 1999). Social capital has been associated with lower relative odds of
obesity and physical inactivity (Kim et al., 2006) Living in socially cohesive neighborhoods
made inhabitants less likely to be inactive in recreational programs (Cradock et al.,
2009; Legh-Jones and Moore, 2012). Women who participated in local groups or events
and, less consistently, women living in neighborhoods where residents trusted one
another, were more likely to participate in leisure-time physical activity (Ball et al., 2010).
Neighborhood social capital (NSC) for adolescent sports participation as neighborhood
social capital (adjusted for demographics and neighborhood confounders) is associated
with more stringent definitions of sports participation, namely fit norm compliance (i.e.,
participating in sports at least three times per week) (Prins et al., 2014).
• Higher crime could reduce physical activity, but other neighborhood characteristics
may matter as much:
Da Silva et al. (2016) reviewed the data, mostly from developed countries. They found little
evidence of an association between physical activity and safety from crime. Part of the
explanation may lie in the logic of a common destination: neighborhood spaces, which are
desirable destinations and promote physical activity, may likewise attract crime (Robinson,
Carnes, and Oreskovic, 2016). Another reason may be that the effect varies by gender. For
example, the density of violent crime within 1/2 mile of home was inversely and significantly
associated with girls’ outdoor physical activity (but not for boys) (Gomez et al., 2004),
Finally, people may react more to changes rather than levels of crime. While there was no
evidence that Brazilian adults felt safer from crime thanks to higher physical activity levels
(de Almeida Mendes et al., 2014), perceived safety seems to affect the physical activity
of groups already known to exhibit greater anxiety about crime; and some elements of
the built environment that influence safety appear to constrain physical activity (Foster
and Giles-Corti, 2008). Similarly, Roman et al. (2013) show that fear deterred people from
participating in physical activity and outdoor recreation, while incivilities were associated
with lower levels of outdoor recreation but not physical activity.
Still, some other characteristics of a neighborhood may be more important than crime.
For example, Richardson et al. (2017) find that neighborhood walkability may play a
stronger role in physical activity than accessible green space or crime in low-income
urban communities.
• Civic engagement may increase physical activity:
Civic group participation was associated with larger social networks, which in turn
created greater awareness of physical activity resources in the community and, therefore,
the likelihood of meeting physical activity recommendations (Marquez et al., 2015).
• Deteriorating labor markets may reduce physical activity:
Deteriorating labor market conditions were found to predict decreases in physical
activity—a one percentage point increase in the monthly county unemployment rate was
associated with an average reduction in monthly moderate-intensity physical activity of
0.18 hours. Preliminary evidence suggests that people of different ages, income groups,
and races/ethnicities adjust their physical activity in different ways in response to labor
market fluctuations. Thus, it would be wise to focus attention on the potential detrimental
impact of major recessions on physical activity (Ruopeng and Liu, 2012).
Sports for Development
04.
Conclusions
Intuitively, investing in sports and promoting physical activity would seem to be a
good idea. Certainly, everyone agrees that they make for a healthier population. And
they may foster development as well. However, nothing is clear cut, and sports are no
exception. Sports can get kids off the street and reduce delinquency, or bring youth
together to engage in risky behaviors. They can teach discipline that translates into
better academic achievement, or lure adolescents away from their studies with the
hope of a future in sports. Much depends on how programs are designed, which in turn
depends on having quality data to guide decisions.
One point on which there is broad consensus is that Latin America needs to start
moving. Low physical activity is a worldwide problem and, as a region, Latin America
and the Caribbean is one of the worst offenders. The problem is particularly acute
among poor and more unequal countries, and among the poor and less educated
populations within countries. Physical activity also suffers from a marked gender
gap: women exercise less than men, and become even more inactive once they enter
adulthood. Inactivity among young and school-aged children is particularly troubling.
The picture is of an increasingly obese, stationary region. However, the picture is
incomplete, blurred by a lack of reliable and comparable data. The first step to putting
the region’s population in motion is to obtain more and better data on physical activity
and sports participation. The available data relies mostly on self-reported information,
which is limited in both its geographic and temporal coverage. The magnitude of the
challenges ahead, particularly given the growing ranks of obese and inactive children,
calls for a very thorough diagnosis.
The IDB has been supporting SFD initiatives in Latin America and the Caribbean since
2004. Thus far, the 18 IDB-sponsored initiatives:
• Operate in 18 countries (Argentina, Barbados, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Dominican
Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, Mexico, Nicaragua,
Panama, Paraguay, Peru, and Uruguay).
• Benefit more than 89,000 people, the majority of whom were children and young
people, with more than 20 partners.
• Expand and replicate five interventions in many countries across the region.
• Focus on multifaceted initiatives that used sports to reach and retain young people
in programs with broader objectives including employability, skills for life, education,
health and well-being, violence prevention, and social and gender inclusion.
The literature includes few systematic and rigorous evaluations. This shortcoming
and the results coming from the few interventions are cause for concern. While some
Conclusions / 59
“Sports
programs can
be beneficial
only if welldesigned.
Piloting and
evaluating
programs is
key.”
interventions may have positive results, others could backfire if
not designed appropriately. For example, structured and caring
environments can improve behavior, while unstructured ones can
have the opposite effect. Sports can help reduce substance abuse
but can also engender even higher levels of alcohol and tobacco
consumption. Sports could boost academic achievement, but in
many societies parents and teachers see sports as a way out and
a replacement for formal education. Kids with even a little athletic
prowess are left behind educationally. Some sports programs can
reduce delinquency, while others can create the conditions for
higher levels of violence and delinquency through peer pressure, the
promotion of a machista culture in certain sports, and by bringing
together at-risk youth.
Given the lack of evidence, the lack of consensus about what works
and what doesn’t work, and the importance of designing programs
right, recommendations begin with increasing data collection, starting small with
projects that can be evaluated, and expanding once there is certainty that the projects
at least produce no harm. Given the imperative to improve children’s motor skills and
their knowledge of physical activities, and to enhance exercise levels for children and
adults alike, proven behavioral economics interventions offer a valuable tool. Nudging
individuals can increase physical activity with little negative fallout while providing
time to learn where the money can be better spent. Lastly, because investments in
other areas could have spillovers on physical activity, it is important to internalize
this as we have internalized the role of public policy on the environment and other
areas. For example, city design and city infrastructure affect physical activity. As
such, investments in roads, transportation, and construction regulation should take
into account their effect on physical activity as they already try to do regarding
environmental concerns. Luckily, the two go hand in hand and reinforce each other.
Sports embody crucial values, such as responsibility and teamwork, and are part of the
national identity of many countries—to wit, baseball in the Dominican Republic and
Venezuela or soccer in Argentina and Brazil. Sports can promote social integration
and economic development in different geographic, cultural, and political contexts,
and can boost human capital and productivity by improving physical and mental
health and encouraging better educational outcomes. Organized athletics can affect
capital accumulation, the workings of markets, and the workings of institutions
through their effect on social capital, trust, culture, and crime. These effects feed and
reinforce each other.
However, none of these positive impacts is automatic. Much like dunking a basketball,
kicking a goal, or hitting a home run, a lot of hard work goes into achieving success.
It’s not just a game, it’s a process. Thus, increasing public awareness about the role
of physical activity, nudging individuals to move more, internalizing the role that
physical activity has on society, improving data collection, starting with small pilots,
and designing projects so they can be evaluated, should be the guide for the IDB in
the next 10 years.
Sports for Development
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Ciclovia and Cicloruta Programs: Promising Interventions to Promote Physical Activity
and Social Capital in Bogota, Colombia”, February 2013, Vol 103, No. 2, American
Journal of Public Health.
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (2008): “2008 Physical Activity
Guidelines for Americans”. Chapter 2. Office of Disease Prevention and Health
Promotion. https://health.gov/paguidelines/guidelines/chapter2.aspx
Van Hout, Marie Claire & Phelan, David (2014): “A Grounded Theory of Fitness Training
and Sports Participation in Young Adult Male Offenders”, Journal of Sport and Social
Issues 2014, Vol. 38(2) 124–147, SAGE Publications.
Verhagen, Stijn & Boostra, Nanne (2014): “Bridging social capital through sports:
an explorative study on (improving) inter-ethnic contact at two soccer clubs in the
Netherlands”, Journal of Social Intervention: Theory and Practice – 2014 – Volume 23,
Issue 4, pp. 23–38 URN:NBN:NL:UI:10-1-114640.
Warner, Stacy & Leierer, Stephen (2015): “Building Community Via Sport for
Adolescents”, Journal of Applied Sport Management, Vol. 7, No. 4, Winter 2015.
References / 69
Appendix / 71
Sports for Development
Appendix
Table 1. IDB SFD Initiatives
Initiative
A ganar
(Programa de
empleabilidad
juvenil)
On Your
Marks,
Ready...
Inclusion
Light Up
Your Life,
Community
Light Centers
Fútbol Net
(Mexico)
Targeted
population
Description
Countries
Impact
Improve the
socioeconomic situation
of low-income youth by
helping them to find jobs,
learn entrepreneurial
skills, and re-enter the
formal education system.
Over 5,500
youth, between
16-24 years
old, and nearly
50 institutions
have
participated in
the program.
Throughout training,
youth are mentored by
local professionals and
they complete community
service projects as
volunteers.
Over a 7-9 month period,
youth complete three
phase of training: (i)
phase 1, which consists
of employability or life
skills training using an
interactive sport-based
curriculum; (ii) phase 2,
market-based vocational
technical training; and (iii)
phase 3, internships or
other practical experiences.
Following their internships,
youth participate in followon activities including job
placement support, known
as phase 4.
Argentina,
Barbados,
Brazil,
Colombia,
Ecuador,
Jamaica,
Mexico,
Uruguay,
St. Kitts
and Nevis,
St. Vicent
and the
Grenadines,
Dominican
Republic.
It has not been evaluated
at the moment.
Education and
Health
Promote the access
of persons with
disabilities to sports,
and consequently
to encourage their
social inclusion, by
strengthening national
Paralympic structures.
In each
country, two
zones of action
will be selected
based on its
high rates of
poverty and
exclusion, high
population of
people with
disabilities,
limited
Paralympic
development
and areas
characterized
by high rates
of violence.
Colombia will lead the
work, while Brazil will be
the mentor country and will
provide assistance to the
region.
Colombia,
El Salvador,
Ecuador,
Nicaragua,
Peru and
Brazil.
This program has not
been evaluated yet since
it has been recently
launched (May 2017).
Violence
prevention
Promote energy
efficiency and
sustainability, creating
more illuminated
community spaces,
improving safety
and integrating the
community.
Education,
Health, and
Gender equity
Promote values and
social inclusion among
children and young
people through an
innovative pedagogical
methodology that
reeducates through
sport, especially soccer,
and allows working
with youth on issues
such as coexistence,
discrimination and
gender equality.
Area
Sportsbased youth
employment
program
Goal
It has
benefited over
30,000 people
and 27 soccer
fields.
To illuminate soccer fields
in low-income communities
in Latin America.
Peru,
Mexico,
Colombia,
and Brazil.
The program has not
been evaluated so far.
However, it is expected
to increases the hours
of service of community
spaces as well as to
promote the participation
of children and young
people in night sports
activities in a safe
environment.
Over 232 girls
and boys,
between 8-15
years old, who
live near the
CIRMs.
Dialogue is a key element
of the program. Through
this, players not only enter
a relationship of respect
and mutual understanding,
but also acquire selfconfidence and a sense of
responsibility. Participants
attend two-hour classes
twice per week for four
months. Nearly 5,500
youths have participated.
Mexico
(Colonies of
el Terrero y
Santa Isabel
-Centros
Infantiles
Rafa
Marquez).
A quasi-experimental
(matching) evaluation
shows the program
avoids a decline in values,
decreases the support of
aggressive behavior, and
reduces the willingness to
belong to a gang.
(continues on next page)
Sports for Development
Appendix
Table 1. IDB SFD Initiatives (continuation)
Fútbol Net
(Brazil)
Fútbol Net
(Colombia)
Regional
Program for
Chagas Disease Control
La Banda
Celeste
Carrefour
Sporting
Center
(Haiti) – Pilot
program
Hope Sporting Center
Over 330
children and
adolescents
between 5-16
years old.
Reeducates through sport
and allows working with
youth groups such as
coexistence, discrimination,
gender equality, etc.
It focuses on dialogue.
Through this, players not
only enter a relationship of
respect and mutual understanding, but also acquire
self-confidence and a sense
of responsibility.
Brazil
(Rio de
Janeiro -Vila
Olímpica de
Maré-).
A quantitative (before-after treatment and control
group) evaluation shows
100% participant, family,
and educator’s satisfaction as well as 100%
perception of positive
changes in participants,
family, and educators.
Violence
prevention
and Gender
equity
Promote values and social
inclusion among children
and young people through
an innovative pedagogical methodology that
reeducates through sport,
especially soccer, and
allows working with youth
on issues such as coexistence, discrimination, and
gender equality.
Over 5,000
children and
youth from
vulnerable sectors, between
6 and 12 years
old, have been
reached, and
77 local coaches have been
trained.
Reeducates through sport
and allows working with
youth groups such as
coexistence, discrimination,
gender equality, etc.
It focuses on dialogue.
Through this, players not
only enter a relationship of
respect and mutual understanding, but also acquire
self-confidence and a sense
of responsibility.
Colombia
(Cartagena).
There is no evaluation
available at the moment.
Health
Prevent, treat, and control
Chagas disease, increasing
awareness of its causes
and preventive habits
through a sports intervention for development.
It has reached
over 12,000
beneficiaries.
Argentina,
Bolivia, and
Paraguay.
It has not been evaluated
at the moment.
Develop social skills
oriented to human integration and promotion,
in adolescents at risk,
through the educational
use of sport, for the
prevention of violence or
criminal behavior.
It targets at-risk
adolescents
aged between
13 and 18 years
who neither
study nor
work and who
present social
vulnerability
factors. So far,
it has reached
600 young
people.
The program is structured
in 3 weekly session of 90
minutes each. Activities
are carried out within the
framework of a program on
citizen security.
In summer, between 10 AM
and 12 PM. During the rest
of the year, between 2 PM
and 6 PM.
Uruguay
(Montevideo).
Although no rigorous
evaluation has been
conducted, the program
seems to be effective in
reducing violence among
youth.
Gender equity, Nutrition,
Health, and
Education
Provide Carrefour
children and youth with
enjoyable sport and
activity-based learning
opportunities that
enhance their physical,
cognitive and emotional development, basic
education, and health;
encourage them to play
an active and positive
role in their communities;
and assess the impact of
the program and lessons
learned for the purposes
of informing a national
sport for development
program.
The program
targets children aged 6-14
years living in
or attending
school within
a 1.5-kilometer
radius of the
Centre Sportif
de Carrefour,
Haiti. So far, it
has reached
approximately
14,500 children
(10% of the
population).
The program is structured in
a school year program and a
summer camp program.
The school year program
focuses on introducing
participating children/
youth to diverse sports skills
and disciplines and using
age-appropriate games
and educational activities
to foster positive values,
teach life skills, and educate
participating children and
youth about a range of
environmental and health
themes relevant to the
challenges they face in their
daily lives.
Participants in the summer
camp program will be
similar to those in the school
year program but with a
higher proportion of more
vulnerable children recruited
through community outreach and, consequently, a
higher proportion of out-ofschool children.
Haiti (Carrefour).
It has not been evaluated
at the moment.
Health,
Education,
and Gender
equity
Build a high-level sports
infrastructure operated
by the International
Olympic Committee, with
a team trained to provide
young people with
access to sport and other
programs.
The Center
will host 100
athletes in its
first phase
of construction and 180
athletes when
it is in full
operation.
Haiti.
It has not been evaluated
at the moment.
Education,
Health, and
Violence
prevention
Promote values and
social inclusion among
children and young people
through an innovative
pedagogical methodology
that reeducates through
sport, especially soccer,
and allows working
with youth on issues
such as coexistence,
discrimination, and gender
equality.
Violence
prevention
(continues on next page)
Appendix / 73
Appendix
Table 1. IDB SFD Initiatives (continuation)
Tree of Life
Program
Program
of social
inclusion and
sustainability:
Pescaíto
Girls Living
with Altitude
Training
of Public
Officials
in Sports
Management
Football for
Hope I
(Deportes
para la Paz)
Education
and Violence
prevention
Health, Job
Competencies,
Education and
Nutrition
Transform the lives of
children and young people from low-income and
at-risk communities.
Over 9,000
children and
adolescents,
between the
ages of 3 and
18 have been
reached.
This initiative uses sport as
a tool for social development.
Brazil (Betim).
Preliminary evidence
shows the program has
succeeded in reducing
the social vulnerability of
participants by improving
their social and educational conditions. Specifically,
analphabetism has been
reduced by 40%, and
primary and secondary
education assistance has
been increased by 24%
and 59%, respectively.
Promote equal opportunities through sports and
the development of skills
for work.
At-risk youth
belonging
to urban
settlements
characterized
by extreme
poverty and
high levels of
violence.
The program was launched
at the end of 2016.
Colombia
(Santa
Marta).
No evaluation available
due to its approval at the
end of 2016.
Bolivia.
Although no rigorous
evaluation has been
conducted at the moment, participants have
reported:
- From 34% to 55%
increase in leadership
ability to organize sports
skills
- From 33% to 59%
increase the ability to
promote the participation
of others in education in
sports initiatives
- From 66% to 79%
increase in the ability to
express autonomously
their interests in peers,
family and community.
- From 12% to 43%
increase in considering
sports as a free time
option.
Brazil,
Argentina.
There is no evaluation at
the moment.
Colombia
(Bogota,
Cali).
There is no evaluation at
the moment.
Gender
equity,
Nutrition,
Violence
prevention
Educate family members
and the general public
about the importance of
gender equality. Seeking
to empower girls to exercise their rights, develop
leadership skills and
prevent violence against
women.
Over 600 girls
have been
benefited and
it has also
reached 3,000
indirect beneficiaries.
Education
To train public officials in
the fields:
- New conceptual frameworks for management
and policy.
- Evaluation of new
models of collaborative
governance.
- Lessons learned in establishing public-private
partnerships.
Approximately
200 mid-level
public servants
have been
benefited.
Violence
prevention,
Health
Sport for the promotion
of social skills and values,
healthy lifestyles and
prevention of violence.
More than
1,400 children
and young
people
between the
ages of 5 and
18 have been
reached by this
program.
The program uses sports
as a way of strengthening
these girls’ leadership skills
and self-esteem. It further
helps them exercise their
rights and prevent violence
against women. The
program involves not only
the girls of El Alto, but also
incorporates their coaches,
teachers, and parents in
their sports education.
Support of crime prevention
activities in a municipal
facility through the provision of technical assistance
for the provision of social,
educational and health
services; support for the
establishment of strategic
partnerships between civil
society, government (at the
national and local levels)
and the private sector, as
well as the analysis and
documentation of experience through activities and
knowledge products.
(continues on next page)
Sports for Development
Appendix
Table 1. IDB SFD Initiatives (continuation)
Football for
Hope II
(Improvement
of Academic
and Life
Outcomes in
Children and
Youth)
Sport and
Inclusive
Education
as Tools for
Development
Education
and Skills for
work
Education and
Health
Improve academic and
life outcomes in children
through the promotion
of sport and physical
activity within the
education system.
- Implement the Unified
School model (Unified
Sports and Young
Athletes programs) in
public schools.
- Promote and share
knowledge and
experiences with civil
society, policymakers,
and government officials
regarding the best
practices in promoting
social inclusion through
sports.
- Generate knowledge
about the effectiveness
of interventions based on
sports as tools for social
inclusion.
Children and
young people
at risk.
The direct
beneficiaries
are individuals
with disabilities
studying in
elementary
school (6-14
years old) or
high school
(15-18 years
old).
Proposed operation seeks
to improve the equity
of opportunities and life
through the benefits
offered by sport and the
implementation of a series
of sports activities.
Colombia
(Manizales).
There is no evaluation at
the moment.
Panama.
Previous evidence shows
promising results that, if
confirmed with a rigorous
assessment, could turn
sports into an effective
platform for promoting
social inclusion of people
with disabilities in Latin
America. It is expected
the program contributes
to: (i) turn schools and
community into more
inclusive environments,
free of derision and
intimidation, (ii) increase
in the practice of sports
and social interactions
between young people
with and without
disabilities, and (iii)
promote leadership roles
among students with
intellectual disabilities.
Appendix / 75
Appendix
Table 2. Literature Review Synthesis Table
Topic 1
Social
capital,
inclusion,
and
community
building
Qualitative and quantitative empirical evidence
Article
Variables and causality
Findings
Effects of
sport
Type of
evidence
Langbein and
Bess (2002)
Effect of interscholastic
athletic participation
(independent variable)
on serious incidents and
suspensions (dependent
variable).
As schools grow larger,
sports participation
decreases disturbances.
POSITIVE
Quantitative
Delaney and
Keaney (2005)
Effects of sports
participation on building
social capital and civil
renewal.
Countries with high levels
of sports participation also
tend to have high levels of
social and institutional trust.
POSITIVE
Quantitative
Seippel (2006)
Effect of sports
organizations participation
on social trust and political
interest.
Being a member of
voluntary organizations
in general, but also sports
organizations, has a positive
effect on certain kinds of
general social trust and
some political attitudes and
activity (political voting).
POSITIVE
Quantitative
Seippel (2008)
Effect of sports
organizations and civil
society organizations on
social capital.
Sports seem less embedded
in civil society than most
other organizations and
thereby also to be weak in
bridging-social capital.
WEAK OR NO
EFFECTS
Quantitative
Sherry (2010)
Effect of sports programs
on the (re-) engagement of
marginalized people within
the broader community.
Positive benefits of
participants are focused
on the two key outcomes
of restoring self-esteem
and developing a sense of
belonging, both identifiable
indicators of social capital.
POSITIVE
Quantitative
Warin and
Mason (2010)
Effect of sport program
on the promotion of social
inclusion.
The program addresses
the policy objective of
seeking to increase sports
participation through
geographic targeting in
socially deprived areas.
POSITIVE
Quantitative
Prins et al.
(2012)
Effect of sports participation
on neighborhood social
capital (NSC).
NSC is significantly
associated with sports
participation (odds ratio =
3.5).
POSITIVE
Quantitative
Davidson et al.
(2012)
Effect of physical activity
on social capital through
parents’ support of
children’s physical activity
(PA).
Social capital predicts
higher parental support,
which in turn predicts
greater time spent outdoors.
WEAK OR NO
EFFECTS
Quantitative
Torres et al.
(2013)
Effect of pedestrian and
bicycle programs on safety,
social capital, and equity.
Ciclovia participants report
a higher perception of
safety (51.2% for traffic and
42.4% for crime) and social
capital (odds ratio = 2.0).
POSITIVE
Quantitative
(continues on next page)
Sports for Development
Appendix
Table 2. Literature Review Synthesis Table (continuation)
Topic 1
Qualitative and quantitative empirical evidence
Article
Variables and causality
Findings
Effects of
sport
Type of
evidence
Seaman et al.
(2014)
Effect of adolescents’
level of outdoor activity on
educational, community,
self-concept, and behavioral
domains.
Outdoor activities may
exacerbate existing uneven
distributions of social
capital, in part through
the influence more highly
educated parents exert on
children’s activity choices.
WEAK OR NO
EFFECTS
Quantitative
Effect of sports community
participation on trust.
Sports membership is
a strong and significant
predictor of trust. Trust is
generated from membership
of community sports
organizations rather than
the reverse.
POSITIVE
Quantitative
Verhagen and
Boostra (2014)
Effect of soccer on bridging
social capital.
Once people have joined
a club, data indicates that
playing soccer may help to
unify people from different
backgrounds.
POSITIVE
Quantitative
Andersen et al.
(2015)
Effect of physical exercise
on social capital at work.
Group-based physical
exercise at work contributes
to build social capital within
teams at the workplace.
POSITIVE
Quantitative
Effect of sports involvement
on social connectedness.
While involvement in one
or more community sports
organizations is a significant
but weak predictor of
higher levels of social
connectedness, involvement
in non-sports community
organizations is not
significantly associated with
social connectedness scores.
WEAK OR NO
EFFECT
Quantitative
Effect of sports on
subjective well-being
(SWB), health and social
capital.
Sports have a direct and
indirect effect on SWB and
health, with the latter acting
as a mediator. Nevertheless,
they did not found a relation, either direct or indirect,
between sports and social
capital.
WEAK OR NO
EFFECT
Quantitative
POSITIVE
Review
Brown, Hoye,
and Nicholson
(2014)
Social
capital,
inclusion
and
community
building
Hoye,
Nicholson, and
Brown (2015)
Downward,
Hallmand,
and Rasciute
(2017)
Conceptual papers and reviews
Bailey (2005)
Effect of children’s and
young people’s participation
in physical education
and sports on potential
contributions towards
social inclusion and the
development of social
capital.
There are some areas for
which there is a considerable
amount of evidence pointing
to a positive relationship
with participation in sports
activities (such as physical
and mental health), and
others for which further
research remains necessary
(such as cognitive and
academic development,
crime reduction, truancy and
disaffection).
(continues on next page)
Appendix / 77
Appendix
Table 2. Literature Review Synthesis Table (continuation)
Topic 1
Conceptual papers and reviews
Article
Misener and
Mason (2006)
Coalter (2007)
Variables and causality
Findings
Effect of hosting sporting
events on creation of community networks.
Construct of social capital
might offer an important
theoretical paradigm for
understanding how sporting
events can be used to build
community networks and
facilitate improved social
relations.
Effect of sports clubs on
the development of types
of capital, especially social
capital.
It is hard to draw conclusions
on the relationship between
sports and other important
variables. It is not clear what
contribution sports clubs can
make in the broader social
regeneration agenda. The
new policy agenda carries
dangers of undermining the
nature and strengths of the
voluntary sector in sports.
More research is required
to explore the processes of
social capital formation in
sports clubs.
Effect of sports on social
capital.
The relationship between
sports and social capital,
usually assumed to be no
different from other forms
of voluntary activity, is
in need of much greater
exploration. The distinctive
features of the kinds of social good generated through
participation in sports are
not well understood, and the
particular relationship that
exists between sports clubs,
social infrastructure and the
dynamics of neighborhood
poverty is absent in most
theoretical discussion.
Social
capital,
inclusion,
and
community
building
Dacombe
(2013)
Effects of
sport
Type of
evidence
Conceptual
paper
WEAK OR NO
EFFECT
Review
Conceptual
paper
Reverse causality
McNeal (1999)
Effect of school features on
athletics participation.
Students in schools with
larger student bodies or
problematic environments
are generally less likely to
participate in extracurricular
activities, and specifically
less likely to participate in
athletics.
NEGATIVE
QuantitativeReverse
causality
(continues on next page)
Sports for Development
Appendix
Table 2. Literature Review Synthesis Table (continuation)
Topic 1
Reverse casualty
Variables and causality
Findings
Effects of
sport
Type of
evidence
Lindström,
Moghaddassi,
and Merlo
(2003)
Influence of social capital
and individual factors on the
level of leisure time physical
inactivity.
The odds ratio of physical
inactivity was much higher
in the group with low social
participation compared with
the high social participation
reference group, 3.59 (2.95 to
4.35). The social participation
variable, measured at
the individual level, was
significantly associated
with physical inactivity,
and strongly affected the
neighborhood differences in
physical inactivity.
NEGATIVE
QuantitativeReverse
causality
Kim et al.
(2006)
Effect of social capital
measured at the US state and
county levels on individual
obesity and on leisure-time
physical inactivity.
At the state level, there are
modest protective effects
of social capital on obesity
and leisure-time physical
inactivity.
POSITIVE
QuantitativeReverse
causality
Effect of neighborhood
levels of social cohesion on
participation in recreational
programs and general physical activity.
Lower levels of social
cohesion at baseline in the
neighborhood was associated with increased likelihood
that a young person did not
participate in recreational
programming and did not
participate as frequently in
physical activity measured
in the following 2 years.
NEGATIVE
QuantitativeReverse
causality
Effect of social characteristics of individuals and
neighborhoods on physical
activity among women.
Women who participated in
local groups or events and,
less consistently, women
living in neighborhoods
where residents trusted one
another, were more likely to
participate in leisure-time
physical activity.
POSITIVE
QuantitativeReverse
causality
Effect of social environment
on physical activity among
the poorer communities.
The relationship between
low physical activity and
weak social networks and
low social support, observed
in general population studies, also occurs in deprived
communities in London.
NEGATIVE
QuantitativeReverse
causality
Effect of network social
capital on physical inactivity
and social participation.
Higher network diversity was associated with a
decreased likelihood of
physical inactivity (OR:
0.87; 95% CIs: 0.80-0.95).
Network diversity mediated
the association between
physical inactivity and no
participation.
NEGATIVE
QuantitativeReverse
causality
Article
Social
capital,
inclusion,
and
community
building
Cradock et al.
(2009)
Ball et al.
(2010)
Yu et al. (2011)
Legh-Jones
and Moore
(2012)
(continues on next page)
Appendix / 79
Appendix
Table 2. Literature Review Synthesis Table (continuation)
Topic 1
Reverse casualty
Article
Downward,
Pawloski,
and Rasciute
(2014)
Prins et al.
(2014)
Social
capital,
inclusion
and
community
building
Yu et al. (2015)
Novak et al.
(2016)
Kim et al.
(2016)
Variables and causality
Findings
Effects of
sport
Type of
evidence
Effect of associational
behavior and social capital.
Lack of generalized trust
can promote sports
association as voluntary
sports organizations and
clubs are organized along
long-standing traditional
and stable constituencies.
POSITIVE
QuantitativeReverse
causality
Effect of individual
cognitions and
neighborhood social capital
on engaging in sports at
least three times per week.
High importance of
neighborhood social capital
(NSC) for adolescent
sports participation as
neighborhood social
capital (adjusted for
demographics and
neighborhood confounders)
is associated with more
stringent definitions of
sports participation, namely
fit norm compliance (i.e.,
participating in sports at
least three times per week).
POSITIVE
QuantitativeReverse
causality
Effect of individual-level
social capital on perceived
mental and physical health.
Social participation predicts
subsequent change in
perceived mental health,
and vice versa, mental, and
physical health appearing
to be the dominant causal
factor with respect to the
prospective level of social
network.
POSITIVE
QuantitativeReverse
causality
Effect of family support,
informal social control, and
teacher-student personal
trust on physical activity.
Young people with
higher level of family
support, higher level of
neighborhood informal
social control and higher
level of teacher-student
interpersonal trust are likely
to be physically active.
POSITIVE
QuantitativeReverse
causality
Effect of social capital at the
individual level on physical
activity.
Social participation in
both informal and formal
organizations compared
with no social participation,
higher generalized trust
compared with lower trust
and higher perceived control
at both the community and
individual levels compared
with lower perceived control
at both levels increases the
odds of being physically
active.
POSITIVE
QuantitativeReverse
causality
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Appendix
Table 2. Literature Review Synthesis Table (continuation)
Topic 2
Qualitative and quantitative empirical evidence
Variables and causality
Findings
Effects of
sport
Type of
evidence
Effect of ice hockey
participation on
delinquency.
No significant difference in
total delinquency between
ice hockey players and nonathletes. However, when delinquency was categorized
by type, ice hockey players
reported more delinquency
of a physically violent nature
than nonathletes. Ice hockey
players at all levels report
more violent delinquency
than nonathletes.
NEGATIVE
Quantitative
Effect of leisure activities on
rates of serious crime.
Non-household activities will
be positively related to rates
of crime because non-household activities place
members of the population
at a relatively high risk for
criminal victimization.
NEGATIVE
Quantitative
Begg et al.
(1996)
Effect of mid-adolescence
sporting activity on
deterring delinquent
behavior in late
adolescence.
Females with moderate
or high levels of sporting
activity, and males with high
levels of sporting activity,
are significantly more likely
to be delinquent at age 18
years than those with low
levels of sporting activity.
These results support the
“athletic delinquent” hypothesis, which claims that
deviancy is the product of
an individual’s membership
of organizations, such as
sporting organizations.
NEGATIVE
Quantitative
Mahoney,
Stattin, and
Magnusson
(2001)
Effect of of participation
in youth recreation centers
on long-term criminality
(late childhood to midadulthood).
Frequent participation in
youth centers is linked to
high rates of juvenile offending and persistent offending
(i.e., registered for one or
several offences both as a
juvenile and as an adult).
NEGATIVE
Quantitative
McHale et al.
(2005)
Effect of sports-involved
youth on delinquent
activities.
Sports-involved youth
reports a slightly broader
range of delinquent activities than noninvolved youth.
NEGATIVE
Quantitative
Effect of midnight
basketball programs (during
high crime hours -10:00 p.m.
to 2:00 a.m.) on crime rates.
Cities that are early adopters of officially sanctioned
midnight basketball leagues
experienced sharper decreases in property crime
rates than other American
cities.
POSITIVE
Quantitative
Article
Segrave,
Moreau and
Hastad (1985)
Messner and
Blau (1987)
Crime,
delinquency, and
community
safety
Hartmann and
Depro (2006)
(continues on next page)
Appendix / 81
Appendix
Table 2. Literature Review Synthesis Table (continuation)
Topic 2
Qualitative and quantitative empirical evidence
Article
Caldwell and
Smith (2006)
Hartmann
and Massoglia
(2007)
Crime,
delinquency, and
community
safety
Faulkner et al.
(2007)
Miller et al.
(2007)
Kreager
(2007)
Variables and causality
Findings
Effects of
sport
Type of
evidence
Effect of leisure on crime
and delinquency.
Helping youth become more
intrinsically motivated by
having goal-oriented leisure
pursuits and decreasing
levels of motivation, learning
to overcome peer pressure,
and becoming more aware
of leisure opportunities may
reduce the risk of damaging
property.
POSITIVE
Quantitative
Effect of high school sports
participation on deviant
behavior (speeding, driving
drunk, and angry or violent
behavior at work) and delinquency (shoplifting, work
fraud, and minor citations
such as parking violations).
High school sports
participation is significantly
and consistently associated
with deviant
behavior—specifically,
drunken driving and
shoplifting—and this
relationship extends much
further into the life course.
Specifically, two distinct
patterns emerge: sports
participation is associated
with decreased shoplifting
but increased drunk driving.
NEGATIVE
Quantitative
Effect of vigorous physical
activity on self-esteem and
delinquent behavior among
adolescents.
Vigorous physical activity
was positively associated
with delinquent behavior;
this pattern of association
is observed only among
male adolescents. Physical
activity is not the solution
for reducing juvenile delinquency.
NEGATIVE
Quantitative
Effect of athletic activity on
delinquent behaviors.
None of three measures
of athletic
involvement—jock identity,
athlete status, or frequency
of athletic/exercise
activity—is associated with
a subsequent reduction in
delinquent behavior.
WEAK OR NO
EFFECT
Quantitative
Effect of participation in
high school interscholastic
sports on male violence.
There is a strong relationship between contact sports
and violence. Football
players and wrestlers,
as opposed to baseball,
basketball, tennis, and other
athletes, are significantly
more likely than nonathletic
males to be involved in a
serious fight. Some of this
relationship is explained by
selection effects (violent
people choose violent
sports) and peer effect
(especially in football).
NEGATIVE
Quantitative
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Sports for Development
Appendix
Table 2. Literature Review Synthesis Table (continuation)
Topic 2
Qualitative and quantitative empirical evidence
Article
Guest and
McRee (2009)
Gardner, Roth,
and BrooksGunn (2011)
Crime,
delinquency, and
community
safety
Veliz and
Shakib (2012)
Davis and
Menard (2013)
Spruit et al.
(2016)
Variables and causality
Findings
Effects of
sport
Type of
evidence
Effect of extracurricular
activities on delinquent or
depressed youths.
There are near-normal distributions across schools in
the proportions of delinquent or depressed youths
involved in extracurricular
activities. Relationships
between extracurricular activities, delinquent conduct
and depressive symptoms
among youth ultimately depend more upon micro-level
contextual factors.
WEAK OR NO
EFFECT
Quantitative
Effect of organized sports
participation on juvenile
delinquency.
There is no evidence that
sports participation deters
delinquency during adolescence. Rather, their study
suggests that, among urban
adolescent boys, the odds of
delinquency may be higher
among those who participate in organized sports
than among those who only
participate in nonathletic
activities.
NEGATIVE
Quantitative
Effect of school sports
participation on in-school
delinquent behaviors.
No significant relationship is
found between high schools’
athletic participation rates
and high schools’ total crime
incidence rates and minor
form of crime.
WEAK OR NO
EFFECT
Quantitative
Effect of sports involvement
on illegal behavior.
Contact sports appear to be
negatively related to minor
assault in the long-term,
and also negatively related
to other offenses. Youth
participation in contact
sports is associated with
reduced rather than the
hypothesized increased
levels of illegal behavior,
including short-term general
offending and polydrug use,
long-term marijuana use.
POSITIVE
Quantitative
Effect of sports participation on juvenile delinquency
There is no overall significant association between
sports participation and
juvenile delinquency,
indicating that adolescent
athletes are neither more
nor less delinquent than
non-athletes.
WEAK OR NO
EFFECT
Quantitative
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Appendix / 83
Appendix
Table 2. Literature Review Synthesis Table (continuation)
Topic 2
Conceptual papers and reviews
Variables and causality
Findings
Effects of
sport
Type of
evidence
Nichols and
Crow (2004)
Effect of several programs
on crime.
The sports programs operate
on crime through 3 mechanisms: diversion (keeping
the person away from time
and place where they might
otherwise be involved in
crime), deterrence (works
when the person thinks they
are more likely to be caught
if they commit an offence)
and pro-social development
(combines the theory juxtaposing risk and protection
factors, parallel increases in
self-esteem, locus of control,
and cognitive skills, directed
by pro-social values).
POSITIVE
Review
Lorenc et al.
(2012)
Effect of physical
environment on crime.
Crime may be influenced by
the physical environment,
although limited robust
evidence is available.
WEAK OR NO
EFFECT
Review
Effect of sport and physical
activity on crime.
Sport and physical activity
can combine with other interventions to reduce crime
in particular groups and
communities. It appears that
sport and physical activity
can reduce crime by providing accessible, appropriate
activities in a supportive
social context. In other
words, sport and physical
activity must be connected
positively within the social
fabric of groups and communities. Not all sports are
relevant for many vulnerable
and at-risk young people,
and there is a clear need to
adopt a needs-based rather
than product-led approach.
POSITIVE
Review
Effect of recreational
programming on juvenile
delinquency.
Afterschool programs,
particularly recreation-based
programs, are effective in
promoting positive youth
development (avoiding
delinquency, among others).
Peak time for juvenile crime is
during the after-school hours.
Active leisure, like exercise
or playing a sport, typically
results in more positive wellbeing outcomes than passive
leisure, which includes
reading, watching television,
and computer use. Also,
recreation based after-school
programs have substantial
potential to positively impact
youth development by
replacing passive leisure time
with active leisure time.
POSITIVE
Review
Article
Crime,
delinquency, and
community
safety
Ehsani,
Dehnavi, and
Heidary (2012)
Weinstein et al.
(2014)
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Appendix
Table 2. Literature Review Synthesis Table (continuation)
Topic 2
Reverse causality
Variables and causality
Findings
Effects of
sport
Type of
evidence
Effect of distance and
crime on adolescents’
outdoor physical
activity.
Distance to nearest open
play space was inversely and
significantly associated with
boys’ outdoor physical activity
(OPA) away from school, while
density of violent crime within
1/2 mi of home was inversely
and significantly associated with
girls’ OPA. Girls’ perceptions
that their neighborhood was
safe for physical activity were
also associated with higher
levels of OPA, while boys’
assessments of neighborhood
safety were not significantly
related to OPA.
NEGATIVE
Quantitative
Foster and
Giles-Corti
(2008)
Effect of perceived
safety on physical
activity.
Perceived safety tends to
affect the physical activity of
groups already known to exhibit
greater anxiety about crime;
and some elements of the built
environment that influence
safety appear to constrain
physical activity.
NEGATIVE
Review
Roman et al.
(2013)
Effect of fear,
victimization, and
perceived incivilities on
physical activity and
outdoor recreation.
Fear is associated with low
levels of physical activity and
outdoor recreation, while
incivilities are associated with
reduced levels of outdoor
recreation but not physical
activity.
NEGATIVE
Quantitative
de Almeida
Mendes et al.
(2014)
Effect of perception
of safety from crime
on leisure-time and
transport-related
physical activity in
adults.
There are no significant
associations between
physical activity (leisure-time
or transport-related) and
perceived insecurity from crime,
neither in unadjusted nor in
adjusted analyses. There is no
evidence that the perception of
safety from crime is associated
to higher physical activity levels
among Brazilian adults.
WEAK OR NO
EFFECT
Quantitative
Da Silva et al.
(2016)
Effect of physical
activity and safety from
crime.
Lack of association between
physical activity and safety
from crime.
WEAK OR NO
EFFECT
Review
Effect of neighborhood
greenspace, walkability
on moderate-tovigorous physical
activity (MVPA).
For women, but not men, under
the age of 65 years, living in
more walkable neighborhoods
is associated with more time
engaged in MVPA as compared
to their counterparts living
in less walkable areas. They
conclude that neighborhood
walkability may play a stronger
role on MVPA than accessible
greenspace or crime in lowincome urban communities.
POSITIVE
Quantitative
Article
Gomez et al.
(2004)
Crime,
delinquency, and
community
safety
Richardson et
al. (2017)
(continues on next page)
Appendix / 85
Appendix
Table 2. Literature Review Synthesis Table (continuation)
Topic 3
Qualitative and quantitative empirical evidence
Article
Lopez and
Moore (2006)
Fredricks and
Eccles (2006)
Variables and causality
Findings
Effects of
sport
Type of
evidence
Effect of sports on civic
engagement.
Young people who participate in high school sports
are also more civically
engaged than young people
who have not participated
in sports. Young people who
participate in high school
sports are more likely than
nonparticipants to have:
volunteered, volunteered
regularly, registered to vote,
voted in 2000, felt comfortable about making a statement in a public meeting,
watched the news closely
(especially sports news).
POSITIVE
Quantitative
Effect of sports
participation on education
and civic engagement.
Respondents involved in high
school sports complete more
schooling at 1 year after high
school than those respondents not involved in high
school sports. Participation
in both high school sports
and school clubs predicts
educational status 2 years
later. Involvement in both
high school clubs and prosocial activities predicts civic
engagement 2 years later.
POSITIVE
Quantitative
Effect of team sports
participation on
volunteering as a young
adult.
Sports participation during
adolescence indirectly
influences civic engagement
as a young adult. The influence of adolescent sports
participation on volunteering is non-significant when
controlling for adult sports
participation.
WEAK OR NO
EFFECT
Quantitative
Effect of hosting a
sports event or having a
professional sports team on
citizen’s civic pride.
It is not evident that hosting
a sports event creates economic impacts for the city,
but there are mixed results
on the magnitude of civic
pride it produces. 60.9% of
people surveyed believe that
a professional sports team
improves the image of a city,
which is consistent with the
civic pride literature. This
result is similar for the Winter Olympics, where 62.9%
of respondents believe that
hosting Olympic Games
improves the image of the
host country. These findings
suggest that individuals do
feel civic pride from having
a sports team or hosting a
mega-event.
POSITIVE
Quantitative
Education
and civic
culture
Ritz (2006)
Groothuis
and Rotthoff
(2014)
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Sports for Development
Appendix
Table 2. Literature Review Synthesis Table (continuation)
Topic 3
Qualitative and quantitative empirical evidence
Article
Blass Fisher
(2016)
Variables and causality
Findings
Effects of
sport
Type of
evidence
Effect of sports participation
on civic engagement.
Sports participation is not
a factor in the relationship
between participation pattern and civic engagement.
A relatively small number
of students report intense
involvement in a wide range
of activities, and report
very high levels of civic
engagement. These youths
also tend to have high mean
levels of participation in religious activities, which has
its own relationship to civic
engagement beyond that
accounted for by breadth
of activity participation.
Youth engaging in patterns
including high levels of
religious activity participation showed higher-thanexpected levels of civic
engagement, even when
their breadth of participation was low.
WEAK OR NO
EFFECT
Quantitative
POSITIVE
Quantitative
Education
and civic
culture
Reverse causality
Marquez et al.
(2015)
Topic 4
Qualitative and quantitative empirical evidence
Article
Labor
market and
job skills
Effect of civic group
participation on physical
activity.
Civic group participation
was associated with having
larger social networks,
which in turn, was related to
greater awareness of physical activity resources in the
community, which increased
the likelihood of meeting
physical activity recommendations.
Lechner
(2008)
Variables and causality
Findings
Effects of
sport
Type of
evidence
Effect of sports participation
on labor market
Sports activities have
sizeable positive longterm labor market effects
in terms of earnings and
wages. Active sports
increases earnings by about
1,200 EUR p.a. over a 16year period compared to no
or very low sports activities.
These results translate into
a rate of return on sports
activities in the range of 5%
to 10%,
POSITIVE
Quantitative
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Appendix / 87
Appendix
Table 2. Literature Review Synthesis Table (continuation)
Topic 4
Qualitative and quantitative empirical evidence
Variables and causality
Findings
Effects of
sport
Type of
evidence
Rooth (2010)
Effect of leisure sports on
the job hiring process.
Job applications which
signaled sports skills had
significantly higher callback
rates of about two percentage points for men, and
this effect is about twice as
large in physically demanding occupations. This indicates a health-productivity
interpretation of the results.
The result is mainly driven
by the return on sports such
as soccer and golf, and not
at all by more fitness-related sports like running and
swimming, which is indicative of alternative explanations for the labor market
sports premium.
POSITIVE
Quantitative
Stevenson,
(2010)
Effect of sports
participation on female
college attendance and
female labor participation.
The rise in state-level female
sports participation generates a 1 percentage point
increase in female college
attendance and a 1 to 2 percentage point rise in female
labor force participation.
POSITIVE
Quantitative
Kosteas (2011)
Effect of physical activity on
the salaries.
Those who engaged in
physical activities earn
salaries between 6%-10%
higher than the sedentary
participants.
POSITIVE
Quantitative
Effect of leisure sport
participation on the
unemployment duration.
Weekly sports participation
is positively correlated with
an increase in the exit rate
from unemployment for
sporty men who have at
least three years of work
experience. People who
choose to take advantage
of being unemployed to
spend time practicing sport
might be in a better state
of mind with respect to job
search and labour-market
reintegration than people
who decide not to be
sporty. Individuals’ mental
predisposition is relevant for
job search.
POSITIVE
Quantitative
Effect of physical activity on
earnings.
Physically active individuals’
salaries for white men are
between 15.0 and 31.0%
higher than those of their
sedentary counterparts.
However, this wage gain is
smaller for women, ranging
from 15.2 to 19.3%.
POSITIVE
Quantitative
Article
Labor
market and
job skills
Cabane (2013)
Godoy and
Triches (2016)
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Sports for Development
Appendix
Table 2. Literature Review Synthesis Table (continuation)
Topic 4
Qualitative and quantitative empirical evidence
Article
Blankenship
(2013)
Lechner (2015)
Variables and causality
Findings
Effects of
sport
Type of
evidence
Effect of physical education
on knowledge and skills
development.
It is important to help
children improve their motor
skills and knowledge about
physical activities while at
the same time enhancing
their physical activity levels.
POSITIVE
Review
Effect of sports and exercise
on the prime-age labor
force (after education and
before retirement).
Evidence for positive labor
market effects of sports
and exercise is very strong,
especially for earnings.
Earnings effects range from
about 4% to 17%. There is
also strong evidence that
the positive effects of sports
and exercise on human capital begin with children and
adolescents, as measured by
their cognitive and non-cognitive skills.
POSITIVE
Review
NEGATIVE
Quantitative
Labor
market and
job skills
Reverse causality
Ruopeng and
Liu (2012)
Topic 5
Qualitative and quantitative empirical evidence
Article
Health,
well-being,
and social
outcomes
Effect of local labor market
fluctuations on physical
activity.
Special attention has to
be paid to the potentially
detrimental impact of major
recessions on physical
activity. Deteriorating labor
market conditions predict
decreases in physical
activity—a one percentage
point increase in monthly
county unemployment rate
was on average associated
with a reduction in monthly
moderate-intensity physical
activity of 0.18 hours.
Mahoney and
Stattin (2000)
Variables and causality
Findings
Effects of
sport
Type of
evidence
Effect of structured leisure
activities participation on
social behavior.
Participation in highly
structured leisure activities
is linked to low levels of
antisocial behavior, while
participation in activities
with low structure (i.e., a
youth recreation center) was
associated with high levels
of antisocial behavior.
POSITIVE
Quantitative
(continues on next page)
Appendix / 89
Appendix
Table 2. Literature Review Synthesis Table (continuation)
Topic 5
Qualitative and quantitative empirical evidence
Article
Mahoney et al.
(2004)
Marlier et al.
(2015)
Health,
well-being,
and social
outcomes
Eitle et al.
(2003)
Mintzlaff et al.
(2004)
Variables and causality
Findings
Effects of
sport
Type of
evidence
Effect of unstructured leisure activities participation
on social behavior.
Unstructured participation
was associated with increased antisocial behavior.
Activities that lack structure
and skill-building aims
appear to attract high-risk
adolescents and the resulting social environment is
conducive to the development of antisocial behavior.
NEGATIVE
Quantitative
Effect of structured leisure
activities participation on
social behavior.
Participation in highly structured leisure activities (community-sponsored teams
and organizations) is linked
to low levels of antisocial
behavior, while participation in activities with low
structure (youth recreation
center, YRC) was associated
with high levels of antisocial
behavior.
POSITIVE
Quantitative
Effect of school sports
participation on adult
alcohol or drug use.
Playing sports in high school
does not appear to be a
protective factor that
lowers one’s alcohol or
drug use as a young
adult. Positive association
between sports
participation and alcohol
use appeared to exist only
for white males. Playing
football in 12th grade is
a significant predictor of
past year alcohol abuse or
dependence.
NEGATIVE
Quantitative
Effect of physical activity
(physically active—A—
and low active—LA) on
perceived health in US Air
Force (AF) members.
No significant differences
existed for self-perceptions
of physical health. However,
significant differences
existed for self-perceptions
of mental health. Higher
levels of physical activities
and mental health were
reported by A than LA
members. The greater
mental and physical scores
reported by active members
suggest that physical
activity is an important
variable in maintaining
emotional health of AF
population.
POSITIVE
Quantitative
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Sports for Development
Appendix
Table 2. Literature Review Synthesis Table (continuation)
Topic 5
Qualitative and quantitative empirical evidence
Variables and causality
Findings
Effects of
sport
Type of
evidence
Endresen and
Olweus (2005)
Effect of power sports on
social behavior.
The participation in power
sports actually leads to an
increase or enhancement of
antisocial involvement in the
form of elevated levels of
violent as well as nonviolent
antisocial behavior outside
sports. The negative effects
in boys seemed to stem
from both the practice of
power sports itself and from
repeated contact with macho
attitudes, norms, and ideals.
NEGATIVE
Quantitative
Mays and
Thompson
(2008)
Effect of sports participation
on alcohol-related risk
behaviors.
Male athletes were significantly more likely than
non-athletes to report heavy
drinking and driving after
drinking in the past month.
NEGATIVE
Quantitative
Effect of physical activity/
sports projects on tackling
youth disaffection and antisocial behavior.
Sports projects have a
positive impact on the
behavior and attendance
of large numbers of pupils,
and the programs improve
engagement in lessons and
relationships with both
teachers and peers.
POSITIVE
Quantitative
Effect of leisure-time
physical activity on
psychological well-being.
High leisure-time physical
activity is associated with
benefits on psychological wellbeing. The very high physical
activity group rated selfesteem higher than the other
three physical activity groups.
Men reported being more
active and rated self-esteem
and vitality higher than women.
POSITIVE
Quantitative
Effect of sports coaching
actions on young people
development.
Coaching actions and sport
motivational environments
have an important influence
on personal and social
development of young people.
This means that the more
coaches create caring, masteryoriented environments,
the more likely positive
developmental gains result.
POSITIVE
Quantitative
Effect of physical activity
on children’s self-reported
health.
Generally, children who link
outdoor physical activity and
who take part in the activity
had higher proportion of
good self-reported health
than those without. Boys
who express persisting liking
of outdoor physical activity
shared a high proportion of
good self-reported health
(85.7%) than those who had
no persisting liking of activity
(81.6%). It shows similar
trends in the girls.
POSITIVE
Quantitative
Article
Sandford et al.
(2008)
Health,
well-being,
and social
outcomes
Molina-García
et al. (2011)
Gould et al.
(2011)
Liu et al.
(2015)
(continues on next page)
Appendix / 91
Appendix
Table 2. Literature Review Synthesis Table (continuation)
Topic 5
Qualitative and quantitative empirical evidence
Article
Samek et al.
(2015)
Variables and causality
Findings
Effects of
sport
Type of
evidence
Effect of sports involvement
in high school on social
behaviour.
The association between
conduct disorder (CD)
and adulthood antisocial
behavior (AAB) is
significantly less for
those involved in sports
compared with those not
involved in sports. This
difference remained after
including known covariates
of antisocial behavior in
the model (age, gender,
adoption status), and
results were consistent
across males and females.
Involvement in other
extracurricular activities
(e.g., student government,
plays, clubs) did not
significantly moderate the
relationship between CD
and AAB.
POSITIVE
Quantitative
Effect of sport on liquor and
marijuana consumption.
The risk of hard liquor
consumption is significantly
less among youth who
spend at least four hours
a day engaged in sports
compared with non-sports
involved youth. Additionally,
marijuana use is less likely
among young men engaged
in at least three hours or
more of sport relative to
non-sports-involved young
men.
POSITIVE
Quantitative
Effect of a physical activity
program (P2 – Peaceful
Playgrounds) on social
behaviors in elementary
school.
Results from this study
suggest that P2 program
may be effective at
increasing moderate to
vigorous physical activity
(MVPA) and prosocial
behaviors (PSB) among
students, but that other
options may be just as
adequate. An intervention
school that participated
in the P2 program and a
control school that initiated
its own plan were successful
in increasing MVPA and
PSB among students. P2
program can be an effective
means to increasing
MVPA and improve social
behaviors among students.
POSITIVE
Quantitative
Health,
well-being,
and social
outcomes
Stansfield
(2015)
Mayfield et al.
(2017)
(continues on next page)
Apendix / 92
Sports for Development
Appendix
Table 2. Literature Review Synthesis Table (continuation)
Topic 5
Conceptual papers and reviews
Article
Morris et al.
(2004)
Health,
well-being,
and social
outcomes
Fullinwider
(2006)
Kulmatycki
and Surynt
(2015)
Spruit et al.
(2016)
Variables and causality
Findings
Effects of
sport
Type of
evidence
Effect of programs that use
sporting activities on social
behavior.
Research evidence suggests
that sport and physical
activity programs can
facilitate personal and social
development through which
behavior may be positively
affected. There are 7 good
practice program principles
that are important to take into
account when developing
these kinds of programs:
administrative, environment,
activities, youth involvement,
accessibility, external support,
underlying issues.
POSITIVE
Review
Effect of sports participation
on character.
Social scientists have made
some progress in illuminating
the effects of sports
participation on certain
aspects of character—but
the progress is limited and
checkered. It is not clear, in
fact, how social scientists can
penetrate very deeply into
character, something that
is formed and refined in the
microworld of everyday moral
life. Sports participation truly
involves “many intertwined
and interwoven threads of
influences, subtle and not
always easy to analyze.”
WEAK OR NO
EFFECT
Review
Effect of a multifactorial
environmental model on
behavior.
By implementing a multifactorial
environmental model program
focused on promoting physical
activity and sports, the authors
point out two basic groups of
benefits: emotional-motivational
ones (effects of sports and
physical activity as a natural and
tangible means strengthening
self-esteem and a sense of
community) and interpersonalidentity-related ones (the
ability to cope with difficult
situations and, above all, learning
assertive yet positive behavior
or how to establish meaningful
relationships with peers).
POSITIVE
Conceptual
Effect of physical activity on
psychosocial development.
Physical activity interventions can be effective in
improving psychosocial outcomes. Physical activity interventions were effective in
reducing externalizing and
internalizing problems, and
in improving self-concept
and academic achievement.
POSITIVE
Review
Sports for
Development