Individual And Social Factors Related To Sport Commitment In Adolescent Athletes: A Systematic Review

Abstract

Examining sport commitment, which is a crucial structure in revealing the psychosocial factors that affect sport participation, persistence, and dropping out of sports, may provide a more comprehensive understanding of this concept, which has not yet been addressed in Turkish sport science literature, and may produce new research questions by revealing the gaps in the literature. In this context, this study aimed to systematically review the psychosocial factors related to sport commitment in the literature to date. A systematic review of articles published in English across PubMed, Google Scholar, SPORTDiscus, and Taylor-Francis Online databases was undertaken using Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines by the “sport commitment” keyword. The initial search yielded 1132 studies and 20 articles met inclusion criteria after the full-text articles were screened for eligibility. The Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool was used to assess the risk of bias and the quality of the studies included in the review. The studies were grouped under two headings as "individual" and "social" factors affecting sport commitment. The findings showed that the concept of motivation stands out as an important factor among the individual factors affecting sport commitment. In the part of the social factor, it has been seen that the environment/climate created by the coaches has a critical role in sport commitment. Revealing these factors can contribute to development of strategies about participation and persistence in sport and may have importance for new studies on sport commitment in our country.