Associations Between the Sport Environment and Mental Health in a U.S. Sample of Adolescent Girls

Purpose : The purpose of the present study was to examine: (a) whether sport participation was related to mental health outcomes in a national sample of adolescent girls, (b) the influence of the sport environment on the relations between participation and mental health, and (c) what characteristics of the sport environment have the strongest association with girls’ mental health. Method : Data were used from a Women’s Sports Foundation national survey, carried out by YouGov, that explored how sport participation influenced mental health among female adolescents. Two thousand nine hundred fifty-six girls aged 12–17 years and their parents were surveyed with weights to reflect U.S. census proportions that are representative of children ages 12–17. Regression models were calculated to examine the associations of sport participation and mental health and how sport environmental characteristics affected this relationship. Results : Sport participants reporting high levels of autonomy, social cohesion, and coach closeness and low levels of ego-motivational climate had significantly better depression and anxiety scores than nonsport participants ( p < .001), whereas participants with the opposite profile reported similar or worse depression and anxiety scores as nonsport participants. Overall data suggested that motivational climate was the strongest predictor of both anxiety (β = 0.184) and depression (β = 0.205) scores. Discussion : Findings in the current study extend the body of literature by documenting that sport, when designed to maximize autonomy, support positive peer and coach relationships, and promote competence by, including a range of goals, can be supportive of mental health for adolescent girls.