Idrottsvanor bland ungdomar : En kartläggning över föreningsidrott och spontanidrott

This master thesis examines sport habits among young people and a view of their future in sports. Research has shown that the majority of youth leave sport clubs during adolescence. The thesis questions were: How physically active are young people? Which sports do they practice? Regarding their future in sports, what kind of aspirations do the young people have? Are there any barriers that could complicate their involvement in these activities? These questions were examined by analyzing if there were any differences between boys and girls, youth in different grades and youth with Swedish or foreign backgrounds. Pierre Bourdieu´s theoretical framework about sports and economic capital has been used as a research framework. 248 students (6th to 9th grade) in Umeå answered a survey about their sport habits. The results showed that many adolescents participate in sports activities. Participation in sport clubs decreased with age, which lead to the fact that many young people do not meet the recommendation from WHO (2010) of one hour of physical exercise each day. Sport capital was an important factor for physical practice, while economic capital was important within sport clubs but not outside. Half of the studied population wanted to exercise more frequently but there were several factors that prevented them. The different groups that were analyzed showed varying results, especially about their habits within sport clubs. This study confirms research about drop-out during adolescence which could lead to large challenges for sport clubs and decision makers within sports in the future.