Boys in sports less likely to have ‘oppositional-defiant’ symptoms: Montreal-Italian study

A new study has found another important reason for kids to join organized sports at a young age.

Aside from exercise, the study, which was conducted in Canada and Italy, found that children in organized sports between six and 10 years old were less likely to defy their parents, teachers, and other authority figures.

Researchers tracked data from the Quebec Longitudinal Study of Child Development, involving those born in 1997 and 1998. Nearly 1,500 children who participated in organized extracurricular sports between ages six and 10 conducted a self-report on symptoms of oppositional-defiant behaviour between 10 and 12.

“Oppositional-defiant disorder (ODD) is often under-diagnosed and can co-occur with other developmental disorders,” said the study’s lead author, Matteo Privitera, a doctoral student at the University of Pavia (UofP), supervised by Linda Pagani, a professor at Université de Montréal’s School of Psycho-Education.

“Symptoms of the disorder include persistent patterns of irritability, defiance, and hostility toward authority figures,” he said. “The disorder is over-represented by boys and often accompanies other neurodevelopmental disorders like ADHD and learning disabilities.

“These behaviours can interfere with learning, relationships and long-term mental health,” he added. “In our study, we wanted to look into the symptoms and try to identify accessible, community-based strategies that foster more adaptive behaviour in children.”

The study found that boys who were in sports were less likely to have oppositional-defiant symptoms.

“Boys who consistently participated in organized sport showed significantly fewer subsequent oppositional-defiant symptoms at both ages compared to boys with low or inconsistent participation,” said Privitera. “Sport may serve as a natural and influential context for learning self-regulation, cooperation, and respect for rules.”

However, this was not the case in girls, who ended up showing no link between oppositional-defiant symptoms and playing sports.

“Our findings support the idea that structured extracurricular activities can promote behavioural resilience,” said Harandian. “Sport offers a supervised and socially engaging environment that may help boys internalize adaptive behavioural norms.”

Researchers also looked at factors such as family income, maternal education, and the child’s behavioural profiles during their analyses.

Due to their findings, researchers are recommending that children partake in organized sports, as it “may reduce the burden of disruptive behaviour disorders and support long-term well-being.”