The contribution of club participation to adolescent health: evidence from six countries

Background – Social networks have been recognised as an important factor for enhancing the health of people and communities. Bridging social capital, characterised by numerous and varied weak ties, exemplifies a particular type of network which can help people reach their goals and improve their health. This paper seeks to contribute to the evidence base on the use of positive social networks for young people’s health by exploring the importance of club participation in predicting the health and health related behaviours of 15 year old girls and boys across Europe and North America. Methods – Data derive from the 2005-06 WHO collaborative “Health Behaviour in School-aged Children (HBSC)” study to establish the relationships between different types of club and a range of health outcomes (self perceived health, wellbeing and symptoms) and health related behaviours (smoking, drinking). We used multi-level logistic regression to assess the independent effects of club participation by controlling for gender and socio-economic position. We compared data across 6 countries to explore the consistency of the relationships found. Results – All the considered outcomes, both in terms of perceived health and wellbeing and health behaviours were associated with participation in formal associations. The associations are in the expected direction (participating corresponding to better health) except for some particular association types, but participating in any whichever association, or more than one, is always correlated with better health. Conclusions – Participation in formal associations seems supportive for good health and health behaviours in adolescence, and should be promoted in this age group.