To Örebro University

Researchers have debated whether peer victimization and peer sexual harassment (PSH) are branches from the same tree and/or whether they are different constructs; yet no previous study has been able to clarify this issue. We used exploratory structural equation modeling to examine three different, theoretically informed ways of conceptualizing peer victimization and PSH. Annual three-wave questionnaire data included 997 participants at T1 (M age = 10.0 years, SD = 0.3). Results indicated that peer victimization and PSH should best be viewed as two distinct, yet related constructs - a proposition valid across both time (ages 10-12) and genders. The findings from the present study can inform future research on adolescents' adverse peer experiences.

Based on sexual revictimization theory, this study investigates the role of individual characteristics (e.g., depression and subjective well-being) and contextual factors (school and organized activities) in the development of sexual harassment revictimization among Swedish Grade 7 (46% girls; Mage = 14.09) adolescents who were followed over 3 consecutive years. The analytic sample comprises adolescents in the school context (T1 N = 678, T2 N = 563, and T3 N = 471) and in organized free-time activity contexts (T1 n = 443, T2 n = 400, and T3 n = 356). Our findings suggest that adolescents with experiences of sexual harassment victimization in Grade 7 were at an increased risk of being sexually revictimized the following 2 years across the two distinct developmental contexts. Further, our results reveal that adolescents are more sexually harassed by their peers in organized activity contexts both concurrently and over time if they were victims of sexual harassment in the school context and the other way around. The findings underscore the need for sexual harassment prevention interventions to consider different developmental contexts simultaneously and to focus on the history of adolescents' experiences of victimization.

Using short-term longitudinal data, the primary goal of the present study was to examine the interplay between adolescents’ sports-related intrapersonal (e.g., sports values) and interpersonal factors (e.g., perceived parental involvement) in relation to sports dropout. A secondary goal was to explore the direction of effects in the association between intra- and interpersonal factors. A total of 420 adolescents (39% girls, Mage = 14.06; SDage = 0.33) responded to a set of survey questions over two consecutive years. Results from structural equation modeling suggested that parental involvement predicted adolescents’ dropout one year later, via sports values. Further, the results suggested that the direction of influence is mainly from parents to adolescents. Overall, the findings indicate that adolescents whose parents attend their practices and games perceive sports activities as fun, important and useful; as a result, adolescents are less likely to dropout. The findings offer an improved understanding of how parents’ behaviors may influence adolescents’ dropout of organized sports.

Research has rarely focused on what might make adolescents less likely to engage in deliberate self-harm. Because the sports domain is an important context promoting positive adjustment, we proposed that engaging in organized sport activities could help adolescents refrain from self-harming through affecting their psychosocial well-being. Using two annual waves of longitudinal data from 998 Swedish adolescents in grades 7 and 8 (52% boys), we tested whether depressive symptoms and self-esteem mediated the link between organized sport activities and self-harm. Results showed that self-esteem, but not depressive symptoms, mediated the association between organized sport activities and lower self-harm. Our findings reinforce the idea that organized sport activities could be a viable way of promoting mental health, laying the foundation for future interventions.

BACKGROUND: Drawing on Eccles' expectancy-value model, we investigated the associations between parents' sports-related socialization behaviors in the family context, youth's sports' values, and youth's involvement in organized sports activities in the Nordic countries. More specifically, we tested the mediating effect of youth's sports' values on the link between socialization of sports in the family setting and youth's sports participation. Further, we examined whether any associations were moderated by youth's immigrant background or gender.

METHODS: Immigrant and Nordic adolescents (N = 678), in 7th-8th grade, were followed over two consecutive years and responded to surveys during regular class hours.

RESULTS: Supporting Eccles' model, we found that sports-related family co-activities significantly predicted youth's prospective sports-related behaviors through youth's sports' values. The mediation process was robust across both Nordic and immigrant youth and adolescent girls and boys. Further, our results revealed that parents' role modeling of sports activities was linked to both the amount of time youth currently spend on sports and their continuation in sports through youth's sports' values, although these associations were only significant for immigrant youth.

CONCLUSIONS: Our findings offer insights into how participation in organized sports activities can be promoted among both immigrant and Nordic youth and among boys and girls. Most importantly, the findings may have valuable implications for researchers, policymakers and practitioners interested in promoting youth's involvement in organized sports activities. This especially applies to immigrant youth, given that the literature consistently reports lower sports involvement among immigrant youth than their native counterparts.

The aim of the present study was (a) to investigate the effect of perceived parents’ disapproval of peer relations and perceived parental monitoring on youth’s engagement in organized sports activities, (b) to examine whether youth’s engagement in delinquent behaviors mediates the link between parents’ behaviors and youth’s participation in and dropout from organized sports, and (c) to test whether the mediation process is moderated by youth’s immigrant background. Data were collected from immigrant and Swedish adolescents (N = 687) in seventh grade over two consecutive years. Our main findings revealed that youth who disclose their whereabouts to parents and whose parents practice control are less likely to engage in delinquent behaviors, and, in turn, more likely to engage in organized sports. The findings were similar with respect to sports dropout. Most importantly, these results hold for both immigrant and Swedish youth.

There is a consensus among scholars that participation in organized activities, such as sports, can provide youth with opportunities for positive development. Yet, the amount of time that youth spend on sports decreases over time, especially during adolescence. Immigrant youth and girls, in general, are the most disadvantaged. Parents’ socialization behaviors are highlighted as important sources of influence. However, there are some gaps in knowledge that need to be addressed to better understand how adolescents’ involvement in organized sports can be promoted and maintained over time. Hence, building on the existing literature, the aims of this dissertation are: (1) to contribute to understanding of the underlying mechanisms that may explain how parents’ behaviors are linked to adolescents’ participation in sports activities, and (2) to see whether the underlying mechanisms linking parenting behaviors to adolescents’ involvement in organized sports differ according to their background (immigrant vs. Nordic) or their gender (boys vs. girls). The dissertation indicates that parents can use various behaviors to guide and facilitate their adolescents’ overall participation in organized sports. Through general behaviors that parents practice to oversee their adolescents’ whereabouts, parents can protect their adolescents from engaging in norm-breaking behaviors, and, in turn, create opportunities for them to participate in sports activities (Study I). In addition, through sports-related behaviors within the family (Study II), or within the sporting context (Study III), parents can influence their adolescents’ sports values, and, in turn, contribute to their participation in sports activities and reduce the likelihood of dropout. Finally, and perhaps most importantly, the findings suggest that parents’ behaviors have similar implications for adolescents’ involvement in sports activities regardless of their immigration background or gender.

Participation in organized sports activities is linked with positive developmental outcomes for youth. However, the literature consistently shows that immigrant youth are less likely to participate in organized sports compared to their native counterparts. Thus, they are at risk for missing of the positive benefits of sports. The aim of this study was to investigate why immigrant youth are less likely to participate in organized sports activities compared to their native counterparts. The data come from self-reports from 679 students in 7th grade. Immigrant youth were less likely (57%) to participate in organized sports activities compared to native youth (73%). Further, parents’ engagement in sports and fathers’ employment status significantly predict Nordic youths’ sports involvement (p < .05). For immigrant youth, only fathers’ employment status did (p < .05). These finding support Eccles’ expectancy-value model, which states that parents as role-models can influence youths’ participation in organized sports activities. However, this seems to only be the case for native youth.

Additional analysis will be run in order to find out other predictors that might explain the low rates of sports involvement of immigrant youth. The findings will supplement the scarce literature on immigrant youths’ low engagement in organized sports activities.