• Posted December 9, 2025

Want To Avoid Having A Troublesome Teen? Get Boys Involved In Youth Sports, Study Says

Worried your boy is going to be a difficult teen, in constant friction with parents, teachers and other authority figures?

Get him involved in sports, a new study suggests.

Boys who participated in organized sports between 6 to 10 years of age were less likely to show signs of oppositional-defiant disorder in their tweens, researchers reported Dec. 8 in the journal European Child & Adolescent Psychiatry.

“Boys who consistently participated in organized sport showed significantly fewer subsequent oppositional-defiant symptoms at both ages compared to boys with low or inconsistent participation,” said lead researcher Matteo Privitera, a doctoral student at the University of Pavia in Italy.

“Sport may serve as a natural and influential context for learning self-regulation, cooperation and respect for rules,” he added in a news release.

For the study, researchers tracked nearly 1,500 boys and girls who participated in organized sports between ages 6 and 10, and then answered questionnaires at 10 and 12 to gauge oppositional-defiant disorder.

"Symptoms of the disorder include persistent patterns of irritability, defiance and hostility toward authority figures," Privitera said. "The disorder is over-represented by boys and often accompanies other neurodevelopmental disorders like ADHD and learning disabilities."

Importantly, "these behaviors can interfere with learning, relationships and long-term mental health," Privatera added. "In our study, we wanted to look into the symptoms and try to identify accessible, community-based strategies that foster more adaptive behavior in children.”

Results showed that boys who stuck with organized sports were likely to show fewer signs of defiance at 10 and 12, compared with those who participated less often.

No similar associations were found among girls, researchers said — not surprising, given that boys generally show more defiance in their tween years than girls.

“Our findings support the idea that structured extracurricular activities can promote behavioral resilience,” researcher Kianoush Harandian, a doctoral student at the University of Montreal, said in a news release. “Sport offers a supervised and socially engaging environment that may help boys internalize adaptive behavioral norms.”

Senior researcher Linda Pagani, a professor at the University of Montreal, pointed to long-term benefits.

“Encouraging sustained sport participation in middle childhood may reduce the burden of disruptive behavior disorders and support long-term well-being," she said in a news release. "It’s a simple, actionable strategy with benefits for families, schools and communities."

More information

The University of San Diego has more on the benefits of youth sports in child development.

SOURCE: University of Montreal, news release, Dec. 8, 2025