Athletic Participation and Seatbelt Omission Among U.S. High School Students: A National Study

Although seatbelts save lives, adolescents may be disproportionately likely to omit their use. Using data from the 1997 Youth Risk Behavior Survey, a national survey of more than 16,000 U.S. public and private high school students, the authors employed a series of logistic regression analysis to examine cross-sectional associations between past year athletic participation and regular seat belt omission. Controlling for the effects of gender, age, race, parental education, and school urbanicity, student athletes were significantly less likely than non-athletes to report seatbelt omission. Separate gender-specific analysis showed that this effect was significant for girls but only marginally significant for boys; in addition, the effect was strongest for adolescents who participated on three or more school or community sports teams. Possible explanations for the relationship between athletic participation and seatbelt omission, including Jessor’s problem behavior syndrome, prosocial sport subcultures, and sensation seeking, are considered.