ArticleSports health
Changes in Sports Participation, Specialization, and Burnout From 7th to 12th Grade: Final Results From a 6-Year Longitudinal Study.
Article in Sports health. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
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Who cites it
2 citing papers in PubMed, 3 citations in OpenAlex.
- The many faces of athlete burnout in elite and amateur sport identified through cluster analysis.Discover mental health · 2026Article
- Early Sport Specialization in a Pediatric Population: A Rapid Review of Injury, Function, Performance, and Psychological Outcomes.Clinics and practice · 2025Review
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
4 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundPrevious studies show alarming rates of burnout and dropout from sports participation and physical activity in the youth population. Early sports specialization may increase the risk of injury, burnout, and eventual dropout from sports. HYPOTHESIS: Sports participation will decrease, specialization will increase, and burnout will increase from junior high to high school. STUDY
designProspective longitudinal study. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Level 2b.
methodsThe graduating class of 2023 was surveyed longitudinally in the fall of each school year from 7th to 12th grade (n = 35-77 from middle to high school based on new enrollment participants and attrition). Survey questions asked about sports participation, specialization, and burnout. Responses were analyzed by grade level using mixed effects linear and logistic regression accounting for repeated measures.
resultsThe number of days per week in which students engaged in at least 60 minutes of strenuous exercise progressively decreased from 7th through 12th grade from 4.0 to 2.3 days per week (
conclusionOrganized sports participation and general physical activity decreased from middle to high school, with the entry into high school at 9th grade being a time at which a significant number of students dropped other sports to specialize in a single sport or stopped participating. Burnout in sports did not appear to increase with age; however, there was an increase in school-related burnout as students transitioned from middle to high school. CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Our results highlight the need for continued research into sports participation, specialization, and burnout in adolescents. In addition, health professionals and the community (parents, coaches, teachers) supporting youth athletes may consider positive interventions during the periods of transition from middle to high school to include facilitating different tracks of sports participation (including a developmental or recreational model of play) to reduce dropout from sport and supportive measures to lessen burnout from sports and from school.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.