An Analytical Hierarchy Process Approach to Identifying Key Sports Application Factors for the Social Integration of Multicultural Adolescents

Objectives This study aimed to identify the key application factors of sports activities that promote social integration among multicultural adolescents and to determine their priority in order to provide foundational data for effective policy design and program development. Methods To this end, three rounds of in-depth interviews and Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) analysis were conducted with 40 experts in the fields of multicultural education, physical education, and community policy. Results The results of the study identified four key application factors essential for achieving social integration through sports participation among multicultural adolescents: cultural inclusiveness, tailored program development, social support, and consistent policy implementation. Additionally, the relative importance of the sub-factors within each category was analyzed. In the domain of cultural inclusiveness, "understanding individual students’ cultural backgrounds" and "reducing prejudice and bias" were considered most critical. Within the tailored program category, "reflecting the characteristics of multicultural students" ranked highest. For social support, "community-level support" emerged as the most important sub-factor. Lastly, under policy implementation, "developing concrete plans" and "securing realistic budgets" were identified as top priorities. Conclusions These findings confirm that sports participation among multicultural adolescents functions not merely as a physical activity, but as a significant means of enhancing intercultural understanding, fostering identity formation, and strengthening a sense of social belonging. Furthermore, they underscore the necessity of addressing not only individual characteristics but also structural and social environmental factors in order to effectively support their participation.