Relative age effect and dropout causes in a multisport club setting: is there a special reason to give up?

• Autor(a) principal: Eduardo Macedo Penna
• Data de Publicação: 2018
• Outros Autores: Bruno Teobaldo Campos, Gabriela Gomes Pavan Gonçalves, Gustavo Henrique Pereira Godinho, Claudio Olívio Vilela Lima, Luciano Sales Prado
• Tipo de documento: Artigo
• Idioma: eng
• Título da fonte: Repositório Institucional da UFMG
• Texto Completo: https://doi.org/10.1590/S1980-6574201800040011; http://hdl.handle.net/1843/49470; http://orcid.org/0000-0003-0058-7967; http://orcid.org/0000-0002-1816-8325; http://orcid.org/0000-0001-6006-0425; http://orcid.org/0000-0003-2773-4795; http://orcid.org/0000-0001-5419-5024; http://orcid.org/0000-0001-7554-1926
• topic: Relative age effect; Dropout; Sport psychology; Idade; Atletas - Aspectos psicológicos; Psicologia do esporte

Aims: The aim of the present study was 1) compare the drop-out rates between athletes born in different trimesters of the competitive year from different sports and 2) identify the causes pointed by the dropped-out athletes born in different selection year trimesters to disengage from the competitive sports environment. Methods: Data from 966 athletes who left the competitive sports context were analyzed under the Relative Age Effect (RAE) theoretical framework during 3 consecutive seasons. The drop-out rate and the reason to quit the competitive environment were analyzed by a routine club questionnaire. Results: An expected reverse RAE on drop-out rates was identified, in which the early born athletes were overrepresented (p<0.001). Regarding the reasons to disengage from competitive sports environment, no reason emerged as the main cause to dropout between athletes born in different selection year trimester. Conclusion: It was concluded that despite the common assumption that personal psychological issues related to RAE in late born athletes are important factors influencing sports disengagement, the relationship between drop-out and RAE is more complex and multifactorial.