Does movement ability in adolescence matter in young adulthood? A longitudinal study of "taste for sport and physical activity"

The focus in this study is whether movement ability at the age of 15 matters for people’s interest in physical activities later in life. The study examines the possible long-term association between movement ability levels... [ view full abstract ]

The focus in this study is whether movement ability at the age of 15 matters for people’s interest in physical activities later in life. The study examines the possible long-term association between movement ability levels at the age of 15 and “taste for sport and physical activity” nine years later.

In 2001, 560 (283 girls, 277 boys) pupils completed a movement assessment tool and a lifestyle questionnaire. In 2010, the participants were contacted and asked to respond once more to a questionnaire. Central to this study were questions about physical activity, leisure time habits and attitudes towards physical activity. A total of 341 responded and form the sample for this study. 160 participants’ results were evenly divided into two groups: a low level group (LLG, n=80) and a high level group (HLG, n=80). Of specific significance to the analysis of a “taste for sport and physical activity” is Bourdieu’s concepts of habitus and capital. The assumption that an acquired high level of movement ability plays a central role for being physically active is challenged.

It should be noted that over 70 % in the LLG group listed the recreational activities that they enjoyed doing in their leisure time and 44 % regarded themselves as physically active in 2010. 73% of in the also viewed themselves as having been active in PEH in upper secondary school. Having friends who were physically active was more common in the HLG group (61%) than in the LLG (39%). Even though pupils aged 15 with a low level of assessed movement ability, it did not prevent them from acquiring a “taste for sport and physical activity” later in life. Unlike previous studies, this study indicates that the relationship between movement ability and the interest in physical activities is more multifaceted than straight forward.