Skip to main content

Table 4 Study characteristics for the qualitative studies included in the review

From: Barriers to voluntary participation in sport for children: a systematic review

Author & Year

Research Aim

Method

Sample

Country

Age (Years) or School Grade

Sport

Socioeconomic info

Barriers Identified

Negative causaul/association relationship

Armentrout 2011 [51]

To establish a clear and specific understanding of organisational barriers and personal reasons that may lead youth to discontinue sport participation and to determine changes that could be made to lead to continued involvement.

Survey open ended questions

237 parents/guardians of children who had been youth hockey players

USA Minnesota

4–17

Ice Hockey Outside school

NR

Lack of time

Cost too high

Location too far

Availability of ice rink

Politics affecting participation

Lack of enjoyment

Lack of interest

Causal

Azzarito 2013 [37]

To explore the geographical dimensions of ethnic-minority girls‟ moving bodies as manifested in relevant spaces and places of their daily lives

Visual ethnography with 2 interviews

20 females

United Kingdom Midlands

14–15

PE Inside School

19 ethnic minority F, 1 white F

Fear of humiliation Self-consciousness

Competitiveness

Negative appraisal

Conformity

Association

Barnett 2013 [38]

To explore adolescents’ perception of the relationship between movement skills, PA and sport, and whether their perceptions differed according to extent of participation in organised PA.

Focus groups

33 17

(52%) M 16 (48%) F

Australia

16–18

General Outside school

99% below average Australian socioeconomic status

Not being good at sport

Cost too high

Lack of time

No Encouragement

Lack of resources

Fear of being judged

Causal

Basterfield 2016 [54]

To investigate how perceived barriers to participation in school and outside school sports club change in the same cohort over 3 years. Three main hypothesis were tested: 1. Perceived barriers will change from 9 to 12 years, 2. Overweight children will perceive different barriers to children of healthy weight, 3.girls will perceive different barriers than boys

Survey with open ended questions

441,210 (48%) M 231 (52%)

England

9 and 12 years

General

Socioeconomically representative of Northern England

Cost too high

Distance to training

Lack of facility

Lack of time

Being shy

Doesn’t like being a teacher

Doesn’t like strangers

Being bullied

Lack of skill

Fear of getting hurt

Fear of making a mistake

Causal

Dismore 2010 [36]

To investigate children’s attitudes toward PE and school sport?,

Interview

10

5 M

5 F

United Kingdom

Year 7

PE Inside School

Mixed state and grammar schools

Conforming to social groups

Lack of access to (good) equipment

School PE curriculum

Causal

Eimear Enright 2010 [40]

To investigate what a negotiated PE curriculum process looks like, and how students’ increased involvement in curricular decision-making impacts on their engagement with physical education

Participatory action research

41 F

Ireland

14–19

PE

NR

Lack of voice and choice

Causal

Eime 2010 [39]

To use the socioecological model to investigate the broad range of factors which individually and interactively affect participation in sport and PA for currently active rural girls.

Focus groups

27 F

Australia

16 to 17

General

Socio-Economic Indexes for Areas index scores 913–1034

Lack of enjoyment

Lack of time

Lack of confidence

Self-conscious

Lack of motor skills

Willingness of parents to travel

Limited community support

Lack of opportunity

Limited sporting ability

Distance

Causal

Fisette 2013 [41]

To explore girls’ self-identified barriers to theirengagement in and enjoyment of PE.

Focus groups and interviews

7 F

USA

14–15

General

Middle class

Boys dominating sport

Conforming to gender stereotype

Risk of embarrassment

Causal

Holt 2011 [42]

To examine low-income parents’ and their children’s perceptions of the benefits associated with participation in youth sport.

Interviews

17 parents, 18 children

2 Fathers, 15 Mothers

11 (61%) M

7 (39%) F

Canada

Mean age

12.5

General Outside school

Lowest socioeconomic status bracket in receipt of specific funding to support child’s participation in sports

Cost (in addition to training)

Lack of time

Transport

Association

Kimm 2006

[52]

To identify barriers to activity participation during adolescence in a biracial cohort of sedentary girls

Questionnaire

2379 F

USA

9–19

General

NR

Lack of time

Tiredness

No one to go with

Embarrassment

May get hurt

Medical condition

Being bad at sport

Causal

Oliver 2009 [43]

To understand 5th-grade girls’ self-identified barriers to physical activity and ways of negotiating those barriers

Feminist active research

11 F

USA

10–11

General Inside school

96% and 81% in each school were economically disadvantaged

Conforming to gender stereotype

Boys domination of sport space

Boys attitudes to girls in sport

Causal

Quarmby 2011 [55]

To explore psychosocial and environmental factors that contributed to children’s participation in physical and sedentary activities.

Survey & Semi structured interviews

381 (30 from this participated in interviews)

United Kingdom Midlands

11–14

General

NR

Family (single parents, step parents, married parents etc.)

Causal

Stanley 2012 [44]

To explore children’s perceptions of the factors influencing their engagement in PA during the lunchtime period,

Focus groups

54

23 (43%) M

31 (57%) F

South Australia

10–13

General Inside school

Range purposefully sampled, 20% low socioeconomic background

Access to space

Perceived competence

Suitability of space

Lack of time

Weather

Cost too high

Dislike of uniform

Causal

Totaro Garcia 2011 [45]

To identify the physical activity characteristics of adolescents attending thePhysical Education service of CAAA, Department of Pediatrics, Universidade Federal de São Paulo,

Interview Data

118

51 (43%) M

67 (57%) F

Brazil

10–19

General Inside school

NR

Lack of support (situational)

Personal

Lack of resources (finance and material)

Causal

Wetton 2013 [53]

To gain a greater understanding of these issues which may help, in the future, to develop interventions to increasing team sports participation in girls.

Survey / semi-structured interview

60 F

United Kingdom Midlands

15–16

General Inside and outside school

NR

Conforming to stereotypes

Time

Bad experience in PE

Teacher not supportive

Lack of ability

Peer disapproval

Other hobbies

Gender Stereotype

Causal

  1. NR Not reported, M Male, F Female, PE Physical education