The Role of Youth Sport Participation in Substance Use Prevention among Low-Income Filipinos: The Case of Keni Discs

Abstract

Youth sport participation has long been used as a tool in various social development programs. However, it has not been fully understood in substance use prevention applications. While there were no known sports-based substance use prevention programs in the Philippines, Keni Discs, an Ultimate Frisbee group in San Fernando, Pampanga catering to low-income Filipinos, presented an interesting case study. The capacity of sport to become effective in substance use prevention applications requires further investigation as previous studies have had varying and complex results. The purpose of the study was to explore the effectiveness of youth sport participation as a tool for substance use prevention applications catered to low-income Filipinos.

Drawing upon semi-structured interviews with seven members of Keni Discs and an interpretative phenomenological analysis, the research critically investigated the impact of sport participation in the lives of the participants, the relationship of youth sport participation and substance use prevention, and key factors of youth sport participation that aid in substance use prevention applications towards low-income Filipinos.

The research found that there is added value in using the sport of Ultimate Frisbee for substance use prevention applications as the sports spirit of the game culture builds character among the members. It also identified the coachs crucial role in creating a positive environment for the members to thrive and consider the group as their family. This effectively filled the void left by the members dysfunctional family relationships at home. The coach also played an important role in shaping the members perception of substance use.

Findings concerning the relationship of youth sport participation and substance use prevention were consistent with past studies in that sport participation is able to prevent the youth from using substances like cigarettes and illicit drugs but cannot fully prevent the youth from drinking alcohol. Moreover, youth sport participation can aid in substance use prevention by promoting health concern among the youth, providing an alternative activity to risk behaviors, surrounding the youth with good peer influences and introducing a role model in the person of the coach.

The research argues that there are three key factors that make youth sport participation an effective tool for substance use prevention. Firstly, sport participation builds character among the youth that make them resilient to risk behaviors such as substance use. Secondly, sport participation, if properly organized and supervised, provides the youth with positive peer influences that reduce risk of substance use. Lastly, sport participation provides an additional avenue where the youth can be informally educated about the harmful effects of substance use.

Youth sport participation is proposed as an ideal and effective way to not only reduce drug use but also substance use in the Philippines beginning with the low-income sector.

Keywords: Youth Sport Participation, Substance Use, Substance Use Prevention, Ultimate Frisbee, Sport-based Program