Citation

Sabo D, Miller KE, Melnick MJ, Farrell MP, Barnes GM. Int. Rev. Sociol. Sport 2005; 40(1): 5-23.

Affiliation

D'Youville College, USA.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2005, International Sociology of Sport Association, Publisher SAGE Publishing)

DOI

10.1177/1012690205052160

PMID

18846245

PMCID

PMC2563797

Abstract

Suicide is the third leading cause of death among US adolescents aged 15-24, with males incurring higher rates of completion than females. This study used hierarchical logistic regression analysis to test whether athletic participation was associated with lower rates of suicidal ideation and behavior among a nationally representative sample of over 16,000 US public and private high school students. Net of the effects of age, race/ethnicity, parental educational attainment, and urbanicity, high school athletic participation was significantly associated with reduced odds of considering suicide among both females and males, and reduced odds of planning a suicide attempt among females only. Though the results point to favorable health outcomes for athletes, athletic participation was also associated with higher rates of injury to male athletes who actually attempted suicide.

Language: en