Influence of Perceived Constraints and Social Factors on Sport-Participation after School among Korean Youths

This study investigated the differences in social factors and constraints of sport participation between youths participating in sports of after school programs and youths not involved in sports. 423 youths were selected by a multi-staged cluster sampling technique in the city of Daejon, South Korea. Subjects completed the constraint questionnaire containing seven dimensions (28 items) and social factors (social norm, modeling, and social support). Sport participants reported more social influences compared to the non-participants. No differences were found in the perceived constraints except for the lack of time. The study showed that social factors were shown to be very important predictors of sport participation, time factor might be the most influential constraint on youth's decision to participate in sport programs, and the other perceived constraints were not responsible for sports participation.