The Prevention Researcher, Volume 16, Supplement, 2009, Item# 165

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Participating in sports can have a number of positive effects on youth such as lessening the likelihood of obesity, reducing symptoms of stress and depression, and learning leadership and team building skills. Many of the topics covered in previous issues of The Prevention Researcher can be impacted by youth sports participaton. Thus, this Resource Issue is focused on supporting teen’s participation in healthy, drug-free sport.

The issue begins with an introduction by our editor, Steven Ungerleider. Dr. Ungerleider is the founder of The Prevention Researcher, wrote the book Faust’s Gold (about the systematic, secret doping of young athletes in East Germany in the 1970s and 80s), and worked to develop The Foundation for Global Sports Development, a non-profit organization promoting sportsmanship, fair play, and drug-free sport.

Two articles about preventing the use of performance-enhancing substances follow. The first is an interview with Dr. Gina Hijjawi of the Partnership for a Drug-Free America. In this interview, Dr. Hijjawi discusses the critical role that parents play in promoting healthy sports. The second is a Q&A with Mr. Travis Tygart of the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency. This Q&A features questions posed by our readers and board members about the role that the media, coaches, and parents play in preventing steroid use.

Our final article, by Dr. Ray Tricker, explores the power of peers, most notably the power of using collegiate athletes as peer educators for middle school students.

This issue is rounded out with several excellent book reviews covering topics important to healthy sports participation – eating disorders, body image, and obesity; helping youth become more active through programs designed to promote physical activity; curriculum planning for after-school programs; and an inspirational story about one man’s journey from gangs to basketball following a spinal cord injury.

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