Sports Involvement, Head Injury, and Delinquency: Evidence From a Sample of Juvenile Justice Involved Youth

Previous research suggests that youth sports participation is moderately associated with reduced delinquency. However, little is known about whether head injury dampens this protective role of sports involvement. This study analyzes data from a sample of juvenile justice involved youth to assess (a) the relationship between sports involvement and head injury, (b) whether groups of sports involved youth with and without a head injury report varying levels of general, violent, and/or nonviolent delinquency, and (c) potential sex differences across these group. Results suggest that sports participation is not associated with head injury. Nonsports involved youth with a head injury report higher levels of general and violent delinquency, compared to nonsports involved youth without a head injury. Sports involved females with a head injury report higher levels of general and violent delinquency, compared to sports involved males with a head injury. Implications and avenues for future research are discussed.

Winner of the 2023 American Society of Criminology’s Division of Biopsychosocial Criminology’s Rolf Loeber Student Innovation Award

Recommended citation: Block, K. & Connolly, E. J. (2024). Sports involvement, head injury, and delinquency: Results from a longitudinal sample of juvenile justice involved youth. Criminal Justice and Behavior, 51(8), 1219-1236.
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