Revisiting the `Physical Activity, Sexual Health, Teenage Identity Construction Nexus'

Abstract

Teenage sexual activity and pregnancy are aspects of a perceived health crisis among youth in the United Kingdom. One suggested `solution' to this `problem' is grounded in a belief that participation in sport may delay sexual activity and reduce teenage pregnancies. This study examines the validity of this specific proposal, and the surrounding rhetoric of risk, which justify increased surveillance of young people and may have implications for their emergent adult identity. The article suggests that there is a lack of convincing evidence for a clear relationship between sport and sexual activity, and questions the social construction of `youth' which frames these recommendations.