Assessing the Impact of Youth Sport Participation on Social Anxiety Levels Among Adolescents Ages 9-13

This quantitative research proposal is designed to discover and observe any effects on the social anxiety and wellbeing of adolescents from ages 9-13 based on participation in youth sport. According to the authors of the article “What to Know About Youth Anxiety,” recent years have seen a significant rise in rates of social anxiety in this age group. The research is aimed to find out if there is correlation between the rise in youth social anxiety and the positive and negative effects that result from participating in youth sport. This study will require randomly selecting children, both male and female, that fall into the 9-13 age range at a local private academy and having selected students complete identical surveys at the beginning and end of a selected sport season. With some of the students participating in sports and some not, the results of the surveys will allow us to accurately and effectively compare and contrast the findings and come to a conclusion on whether participating in youth sports as an adolescent from the developmental ages of 9-13 really does have an impact on one’s social anxiety and well-being. If our research proves fruitful and our hypothesis is supported, then we will be able to investigate why youth sport is affecting the mental state of adolescents and move to improve the social anxiety of adolescents in the future.