More knowledge about how to best combine and facilitate dual career pathways is needed, as current research is unclear. Therefore, the current study aims to retrospectively gain a deeper understanding of how former Swedish world-class athlete's experienced differentiated pathways in the upper secondary school period, both for those in dual-career support-international-level (DCS-IL) programs and in mainstream upper secondary school (MSSs). Ten former world-class Swedish athletes were purposively chosen for interviews, of whom five had taken part in a DCS-IL program and five had attended MSSs. The dual career development environment working model created by Henriksen et al. was used as the theoretical framework. Four main themes were generated: beliefs, values and motivations driving the choice of dual careers pathway; important key stakeholders in dual careers; a lack of balance in dual career pursuit; and dual careers and quality of life. Our findings showed that the advantage of studying in a DCS-IL program is that it offers access to coaches, sports peers, and training facilities within the sports domain, which in some sports is crucial for athletic development. The benefit of attending MSSs is that students engage in social contexts outside the sports domain, which can be advantageous in cases of athletic stagnation. It is important to note that DCS-IL programs can have a skewed focus on sports performance, which can inhibit academic development in favor of sporting success. Engaging with multiple social contexts can be advantageous in coping with various challenges in both study and sporting contexts.

Participation in organized sports is generally regarded as a highly valued activity, particularly due to its perceived potential to foster positive youth development, as well as its contribution to psychological and social health benefits. This is primarily attributed to the fact that sports provide opportunities not only for physical activity but also for the development of essential life skills, such as teamwork, goal-setting, managing adversity, conflict resolution, emotional regulation, and the ability to push personal boundaries.

Few intervention studies have combined in-person and digital components to facilitate coaches’ supportive interpersonal behaviors and promote positive youth outcomes. Grounded in self-determination theory (SDT), we examined whether a workshop, with or without smartphone-delivered boosters using a just-in-time adaptive intervention (JITAI) logic, improved players’ perceptions of need-supportive coaching, basic psychological need satisfaction, and enjoyment. Participants were 393 youth ice hockey players aged 12 to 16 years from 13 clubs whose coaches were allocated to a workshop-only (partial implementation), workshop plus digital boosters (full implementation), or control condition. Outcomes were assessed over 10 weeks and analyzed using multigroup multilevel growth models. Condition × time interactions showed that relatedness support was higher in both intervention arms compared with the control group. Only the partial-implementation group showed gains in autonomy support and autonomy satisfaction. No effects were observed for competence support, competence satisfaction, or enjoyment, and no significant differences emerged between the partial- and full-implementation groups. The findings highlight the potency of brief SDT-based youth coach interventions while underscoring the need for longer evaluation periods to determine whether JITAI digital boosters may help sustain or amplify intervention effects. 

Background: The escalating costs of sports equipment, coupled with socioeconomic disparities, hinder children’s participation in physical activities. The Leisure Equipment Library (LEL), a unique service in Sweden, addresses this challenge by providing free equipment lending. This study investigated the significance of providing free lending of sports and recreational equipment for children’s and youth’s opportunities to engage in physical activities during leisure time. Method: Utilizing a cross-sectional survey during the summer-2022 period, the study is based on data from 427 LEL users aged 7 to 25 years. User characteristics (demography, socioeconomic status, physical activity profiles), equipment usage patterns and perceived significance are also analyzed. The findings are discussed using the concept of consumer-brand identification. Results: The results showed that LEL reaches a broad and diverse group of children and young people in terms of gender, age, socioeconomic status, and physical activity profile. The borrowed equipment, primarily used for play and recreation, serves as an essential resource for children and youths and, in particular, for those with low socioeconomic status. LEL is considered highly important by all user groups, with a majority emphasizing its significance in facilitating leisure activities. Conclusions: The study suggests LEL’s success lies in its accessibility and that users identify with the brand of LEL. Users perceive LEL as a service catering to various recreational needs rather than sports, fostering inclusivity. The localization of stores in various types of areas, combined with high-quality products, enable children and young people from different socioeconomic areas to use the service. LEL’s success hinges on maintaining a positive brand image and promoting a recreation-oriented identity. Opportunities exist to strengthen emotional bonds with users, enhance branding strategies, and position LEL as a valuable resource for inclusive recreational activities. In conclusion, this study highlights the potential of free lending services, such as LEL, to bridge socioeconomic gaps in the promotion of physical activity among children and young people.

Background Older adults are insufficiently physically active, despite its importance for healthy aging. To develop appropriate physical activity interventions, it is necessary to understand their physical activity. This study applies a theoretical perspective, the COM-B model, and a mixed-method design to examine what influences older adults' physical activity levels with three questions: (1) What individual and external factors predict older adults' physical activity levels? (2) What do older adults perceive as influencing their levels of physical activity? (3) To what extent do the quantitative results on older adults' physical activity levels agree and disagree with the qualitative findings on older adults' physical activity levels? Methods A convergent mixed-method design was used with questionnaire (n = 334) and interview (n = 14) data from adults 65 years and older. Regression analyses were used for quantitative measurements: physical activity, age, subjective socioeconomic status, health status, capability, opportunity, motivation, and depression. Content analysis was applied to the qualitative data. The two forms of data were then integrated to provide greater insights than would be obtained by either dataset separately. Results The regression analyses showed that previous physical activity, current motivation, health status, and age significantly predicted older adults' physical activity levels. The content analysis revealed that participants addressed all subcomponents of the COM-B model, indicating its pertinence in understanding how older adults discuss their current physical activity levels. The integrated findings showed convergent and divergent results. Overall results indicated that previous physical activity engagement, present motivation, capability, and opportunity influenced older adults' physical activity levels. Conclusions This study is the first to use this mixed-methods design to examine factors influencing physical activity levels among older adults living in rental apartments with community hosts. The integrated result reveals convergence for findings on motivation and physical capability but divergence on psychological capability, opportunity, and previous physical activity. The findings underscore a complex interplay of factors influencing older adults' physical activity levels and indicate relevance for the COM-B model. The results can guide future research on theoretically informed interventions to promote physical activity and healthy aging. Future research should clarify the role of opportunity for older adults' physical activity.

Athletic injuries are common in youth sports, and much research has focused on the injury experience of athletes. However, less attention has been given to the impact of adolescent injury on relevant others within athletes' recovery orbit, particularly parents. This narrative review examines the impact of adolescent injury on parents using the Multilevel Model of Sport Injury (MMSI). Results revealed that parents' experience of their adolescent's injury is influenced by intra- and interpersonal factors (e.g., thoughts, emotions, behaviors, and interactions with coaches, and sport medicine providers), as well as institutional, cultural, and policylevel factors (e.g., lack of organizational support, internalization of sport norms about playing with pain, and sport injury policies and guidelines). The review provides a more nuanced understanding of the factors and interactions that parents have following adolescent sport injury. Further research using the MMSI can extend current conceptualization and theorizing regarding parents' experiences following adolescent injury.

The commercialisation of children's and youth sports has experienced a significant rise in recent decades. Currently, there is a lack of in-depth knowledge regarding the implications of this commercialisation for Swedish youth participating in sport as well as family members directly involved in the youth sport experience. As such, the purpose of this study was to investigate parents' perceptions of commercialisation processes in children and youth sports in Sweden. In particular, we sought to examine why some parents are willing to pay for commercial alternatives and how the increased commercialisation of youth sport are associated with youth sport participation. We also sought to investigate parents' views about the impact of commercialised alternatives on coaches and voluntary sports clubs, both now and in the future. A total of nine focus group interviews were conducted, including a total of 48 parents (22 men and 26 women) strategically chosen based on their children's participation in different strands of commercialised sports businesses. The findings indicate that the excessive demands from voluntary sports clubs combined with the desire to be considered a good parent appear to influence parents' willingness to pay for commercialised businesses.

In order to help talented athletes to combine sport and education, different forms of Dual Career Support (DCS) have been developed in many countries. The effectiveness of these support systems have been debated. Most studies have investigated young athletes in the beginning of their careers, less is known about athletes who reached the highest levels. Therefore, the aim of this study was to explore the extent to which former Swedish world-class athletes have attended dual career sport programs at upper secondary school. A retrospective design was used with 274 former world-class athletes who answered a questionnaire. In order to investigate whether there was a relationship between attending a dual career sport school and athletic characteristics, as well as post career educational and employment outcomes, a series of Chi-square tests were conducted. The main results show that more than half of the athletes did not take part in any DCS. These results indicate that DCS in Sweden is not a decisive factor for success in sports as intended. Half of all participants, regardless of whether they studied at DCS, have studied at university, and all participants had a job at the time of data collection. The majority also consider that their financial situation has improved after their sports career.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to examine the significance of a social innovation, free lending of sports and leisure equipment (Leisure Equipment Library, LEL), have for children’s and youths’ participation in sports and leisure activities. Further, we discuss whether this service can contribute to counteract socioeconomic segregation in the leisure sector.

Methods: Data consists of lending statistics kept by LELs and a questionnaire (n=427) distributed to all children and youth (7-25 years) who visited a LEL. The significance of LEL for socioeconomic segregation was analysed using the concepts of bridging and bonding social capital.

Findings: In regards of age, gender, socioeconomic background and sports habits, LEL was used by a heterogenous group of children and youth. Borrowers living in areas with socioeconomic challenges were overrepresented and came primarily from the same type of socioeconomic area in which LELs were located. In most cases, the equipment was used for play or informal sport with friends and family in their own neighborhood. Only 13 percent used the equipment for organized sports. 

Discussion: To counteract socioeconomic segregation, it was important that LEL was used by children and youths from different socioeconomic areas. However, since most borrowers used the equipment with familiar people in the same area as it was borrowed, it is likely that these activities produce binding rather than bridging capital.  

Conclusion: To produce more bridging social capital, free lending of equipment should be complemented with actions to secure that the places children and youth meet are socioeconomically diverse.