Twelfth International Conference on Sport & Society

Abstract

Many studies have highlighted the positive links between the psychological well-being of youth and extracurricular activities, such as sport and art (Kindelberger & al., 2007; Wiese & al., 2018). Nevertheless, these studies have mostly been conducted in the Global North, and do not therefore represent extreme development contexts. Indeed, the majority of young people in developing countries live in extreme conditions. Daily, these young people experience extreme poverty, child labour, epidemic diseases, child prostitution, malnutrition, etc. Research conducted in such contexts is rare and empirical knowledge on the effects of extracurricular activity programmes on the well-being of young people is lacking. It is therefore our goal to examine the effect of sport and art activities on the well being of youth developing in an extreme context. Participants, 14 to 17 years old, have, prior to starting a sport or art activity, taken a psychological survey. After four and nine months, they repeated the survey. The measurement over an extended period of time provides evolutionary data on the participants well being. The results are compared to a similar control group of Malagasy youth. This ongoing study expects to benefit populations living in extreme contexts of development by a) producing data on the effects of extracurricular activities on the well being of vulnerable youth, and b) helping to support program development, decisions, and policies of international institutions, local organisations, as well as, those that fund organisations.