Reasons for sports dropout in young women. Case study in Tenerife

Abstract

The physical, psychological, and social benefits that the practice of physical-sports activities brings to the health of the adolescent population are limited by their increasing dropout. This work tries to identify the reasons that we can find behind the dropout of physical-sports activity in young women in Tenerife. Students from different Secondary Education centres on the Island of Tenerife participated in this study. A descriptive and correlational design was used to explore both the physical-sports practice situation of the women, identifying those who practiced sports and those who did not, in addition to the reason for their dropout. 1,305 young people participated (M=14.65 and SD=1.52 years), 658 girls (M=14.51 and SD=1.50 years), practiced or practiced federated sports, with 50% dropping out. It was found that due to studies (335; 26.11%), because they stopped liking it (186; 14.50%), and/or due to injuries (178; 13.87%) were the main reasons why the participants they would abandon or abandoned physical-sports practice. Although the research focused on the island of Tenerife, the findings could inform preventive strategies and policies to promote an active and healthy lifestyle among young women, as well as to design more effective sports models.