BAVLJENJE SPORTOM I MALOLETNIČKA DELINKVENCIJA
SPORTS PARTICIPATION AND JUVENILE DELINQUENCY

Summary/Abstract: Sport and physical activity play a significant role in adolescence. Many authors emphasize that doing sport can contribute in different ways to positive social development of youth. Sports participation contributes to youth autonomy, increasing self-confidence, strengthening social bonds with peers and adults involved in sports activities. Sports participation has a positive impact on quality of life, development of personality traits, self-esteem, development of leadership skills, acceptance by peers. Those benefits are primarily attributed to socio pedagogical role of sport. Some research has shown that youth who engage in organized sports activities have a lower risk of delinquent behavior. There are different theoretical explanations supporting this assumption. Preoccupation with sports lives less time for unstructured activities, idleness, and delinquency. However, there are examples of athletes who use drugs and alcohol, exhibit anti-social behavior, commit violent crimes. Certain sports activities may enhance the risk of juvenile delinquency. Some research has shown that children doing contact sports exhibit lower levels of moral judgment. The subject of this paper is the association between sports participation and juvenile delinquency. Previous research findings are inconsistent about the relationship between sports participation and juvenile delinquency. The aim of this paper is to gain knowledge about this relationship based on a review of the literature in this field, and to point out the possibilities of using sports in juvenile delinquency prevention.

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