Relationships Between Youth Sports Participation and Mental Health in Young Adulthood Among Finnish Males

There is a growing body of evidence that higher level of physical activity is associated with a better state of mental health. Less is known about the relationships between youth competitive sports and mental health in the adulthood. The aim of the study was to examine whether retrospectively assessed sports participation (SP) and competitive sports (CS) at the age of 12 years is associated with mental health (mental well-being as well as mental distress) and health behaviour in young adulthood among males. The study sample consisted of 680 males aged between 20−35 years. The data were gathered with self-administered questionnaires in 2015 in Finland. Mental well-being was measured with The…