The Sociological Benefits Of Playing Sports

Growing up playing some sort of sport is an American tradition." More than forty million youth participate in organized sports nation wide (Le Menstrel and Perkins); that's about thirteen percent of the United States population. Three out of four families with children in the United States have one or more of them in sports (Merkel). Not only does this mass amount reflect the importance of sports in American culture, but it also raises the question of whether or not athletics is beneficial to these participants. Research provides evidence of the many sociological benefits of playing sports. First, athletics socializes youth. It helps these young players get integrated with and learn American culture, as well as develop their human potential/personality. Second, sports teach them the values that American society also prizes. These players then become more successful and accepted in society. Third, researchers have found an inverse relationship between participation in sports and suicide attempts/suicide (Taliaferro). Overall, athletes have a greater chance of experiencing these favorable
This is somewhat of an alarming statistic. However, researchers have regularly found inverse relationships between physical activity and suicide ideation and attempts (Taliaferro). Sports are a way to help socialize youth, and culturally integrate them as they become adolescents. Emile Durkheim was a sociologist who studied suicide, and he found that people who were more culturally integrated were less likely to take their own life (Macionis 5). Because sports offer an opportunity for social relationships to form, they also offer an opportunity for cultural integration. Because of this, another way that sports are beneficial in American society is that they can reduce the risk of suicide ideation/attempts for these participants