Eimantas Pocius
Romualdas Malinauskas- Department of Physical and Social Education, Lithuanian Sports University, Kaunas, Lithuania
Introduction: The aim of this study is to evaluate the impact of a positive behavior skills development program on adolescents who participate in basketball sports schools.
Methods: Sixty-two adolescent athletes (Mage 15.83 ± 0.37) took part in this educational experiment. Participants were randomly selected from 2 basketball sports schools chosen from a list of basketball sports schools and divided into experimental (n = 30) and control (n = 32) groups. The experimental group participants were subjected to the effect of the positive behavior skills development program, which aimed to develop positive behavior skills among adolescents participating in basketball sports schools, including taking responsibility, positive self-evaluation, prosocial behavior with teammates, prosocial behavior with opponents, taking social responsibility, cooperation, assertiveness, empathy, self-control, ability to evaluate and convey emotions, ability to utilize one’s positive emotional experience, ability to comprehend and analyze emotions, and ability to control emotions. Positive behavior skills development activities were conducted by one of the researchers together with the sports school coaches. At the beginning and end of the educational experiment, participants from both the experimental and control groups completed the following questionnaires: Personal and Social Responsibility Questionnaire, Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale, The Prosocial and Antisocial Behavior in Sport Scale, Social Skills Rating System-Secondary Student form, and Schutte Self-Report Inventory.
Results: The positive behavior skills development activities implemented during the educational experiment had a positive and statistically significant impact on the positive behavior skills of the experimental group adolescents.
Discussion: The findings of the present study could be useful for educational programs developers who may consider integrating elements of this educational program into wider education systems.
1 Introduction
Positive behavior skills are defined as skills that allow individuals to create personal well-being by interacting with others or groups of people, adapting to the requirements of different environments or cultures (Pearson et al., 2021). Positive behavior skills are part of the paradigm of positive youth development, which is a conceptual approach to developmental research and practice emphasizing the cultivation of adolescent strengths and potential (Holt et al., 2020; Lerner, 2017). The results of scientific studies show that the development of positive behavior skills can prevent negative behaviors in adolescence and thus contribute to positive adolescent development (Qi et al., 2020). It has been found that through the development of positive behavior skills, individuals’ self-regulation increases, interpersonal skills strengthen, problematic and aggressive behavior decreases, and as a result, relationships with peers and adults improve (Catalano et al., 2002; Strachan et al., 2011). This is particularly important because adolescence exhibits perhaps the greatest expression of negative behavior compared to other stages of human life. Especially around the ages of 15–16, adolescents exhibit typical behavior related to seeking various sensations and a desire to experience new and risky experiences (e.g., using psychoactive substances, engaging in sexual behavior) (Ball et al., 2023). Unfortunately, half of the criminals commit their first offense between the ages of 14 and 17 (Ball et al., 2023; Bergin et al., 2018). The development of positive behavior skills is recognized as a crucial factor through which adolescents become productive members of society (Camire and Santos, 2019). The development of positive behavior skills focuses on the interaction between individuals and specific environments, such as teams, families, and schools. This interaction helps individuals apply their experiences across different settings (Qi et al., 2020). During the development of positive behavior skills, self-control, social skills (Hermens et al., 2017), teamwork (Lower-Hoppe et al., 2020), communication (Holt et al., 2017), personal and social responsibility skills are developed (Whitley et al., 2019). Sport is considered the primary activity for developing positive behavior skills (Bruner et al., 2022; Johnston et al., 2013; Larson et al., 2006). The success of skills development through sports depends on the time dedicated to the activity, the structure and rules of the sport, and whether the adolescent participates voluntarily rather than under coercion (Jones and Parker, 2013). Strachan et al. (2011) identify seven key factors that facilitate the opportunities for the development of positive behavior skills: (1) physical and psychological safety, (2) structured activity, (3) supportive relationships, (4) opportunities to belong to a group, (5) positive social norms, (6) support for efficacy and significance, (7) opportunities to develop skills that can be applied in other environments such as family, school, and community. It is evident that sports are an environment characterized by these factors: (1) sports allow individuals to feel physically and psychologically secure due to interaction with peers, (2) sports involve structured activities (e.g., sports programs) and discipline (e.g., rules), (3) there is support from coaches or team members, (4) individuals belong to various groups in sports (e.g., team, representatives of sports branches, national teams), (5) sports promote positive social norms (e.g., fairness, respect, values), (6) sports aim for results, so the activity must be effective and constantly meaningful (for the athlete, coach, and family members), (7) various skills can be developed during sports practices and competitions, which can be applied in other environments (e.g., collaboration, emotional control, perseverance). Various sports activities are oriented towards collaboration and working together towards a goal, thus sports provide an excellent environment for developing skills related to teamwork and decision-making (Perkins and Noam, 2007; Waid and Uhrich, 2020). Sports can create conditions for developing skills that are oriented towards interpersonal relationships, thus helping adolescents integrate into adult social networks (Hansen et al., 2010). According to Strachan et al. (2011), sports provide an excellent environment for studying positive behavior skills among young athletes. One of the sports branches where these factors can be implemented is basketball, which is the dominant and most popular sport among adolescents (especially boys) in Lithuania. Research data shows that risky and socially unacceptable behavior is more common among male adolescents (Lipowski et al., 2016; Schuster et al., 2013; Veselska et al., 2009; Zuckerman et al., 2021). Therefore, summarizing various scientific literature data, it can be assumed that positive behavior skills should be fostered in basketball sports schools. Given that ages 14–18 show the highest expression of negative behaviors, adolescents aged 13–18 are less focused on forming new attachments, and popular extracurricular activities like sports become important (Bergin et al., 2018), along with the peak in information processing speed occurring between ages 15–18 (Coyle et al., 2011), it is reasonable to assume that positive behavior skills should be fostered in 15-16-year-old adolescents in basketball sports schools. The aim of this study is to evaluate the impact of a positive behavior skills development program on adolescents who participate in basketball sports schools.
Opstoel et al. (2020), after conducting a comprehensive analysis of scientific literature, assert that various skills acquired through sports have a positive impact on personal and social development. However, most skills development programs are oriented solely towards physical education classes, with the greatest emphasis placed on fostering prosocial behavior and cooperation skills, rather than other important skills. In this study, we aim to address several existing gaps in the literature. Firstly, in Lithuania, adolescents tend to participate more frequently in various extracurricular sports activities (sports schools, sports clubs) while often skipping physical education classes. Consequently, there are barriers to fostering positive behavior skills among adolescents through physical education classes. Therefore, in this study, we developed a positive behavior skills development program tailored to adolescents who participate in basketball sports schools. Typically, youth development research emphasizes life skills that can be readily applied in various life contexts. In the scientific literature on positive behavior skills development (Hemphill et al., 2019; Holt et al., 2020; Napolitano et al., 2021; Soto et al., 2021; Filiz and Demirhan, 2019; Midura and Glover, 2005; Watson and Clocksin, 2013), it becomes evident that positive behavior skills encompass personal, social, and emotional skills that are crucial for achieving the goals of the positive youth development paradigm. Thus, our developed youth development program encompasses the main groups of positive behavior skills –– positive personal skills, positive social skills, and positive emotional skills. In doing so, we aim to address the scientific gap related to the limited skill development often encountered in skills development programs aimed at implementing the conceptual principles of positive youth development, which emphasize the “plasticity” of human development. At the same time, we recognize that all young people have the potential to change their behavior, and that this behavior change is not only crucial for preventing unwanted/problematic behavior (Armour and Sandford, 2013), but also essential for achieving socially desirable positive behavior (Majed et al., 2022). Based on the above-mentioned studies, we presume that a comprehensive program of positive behavioral skills development for adolescents playing basketball in schools would be effective if it included the development of the following skills: positive personal, positive social and positive emotional.
2 Methods
2.1 Context and participants
The sample size was calculated by the G*Power program (Kang, 2021), taking into account an alpha error rate of 5% and a beta error rate of 20%. The participants of the educational experiment were selected through probability sampling. A three-stage cluster selection was conducted (Cohen et al., 2018; Hutchison and Styles, 2010). Firstly, an alphabetical list of basketball sports schools in Lithuania was compiled. Then, a table of numbers was created, which was filled with school numbers obtained through a coded list of sports schools. Based on this table, selected sports schools were contacted, and all male adolescents (aged 15–16) from these schools were included in the study. The sample for educational experiment did not include both males and females, because men’s basketball is the dominant sport in the country and women’s basketball has only a few sports schools. It was decided to select only men’s basketball sports schools in order to avoid probability selection biases. Inclusion criteria required male students (aged 15–16) who are regular participants in a sports school and have given their consent to participate in the study, while exclusion criteria included those who discontinued attending training sessions.”
One sports school declined to participate in the educational experiment. In total, 63 adolescent athletes from 2 sports schools were included in the educational experiment. Then, all adolescent athletes were assigned to one of four groups through a random selection process. Finally, through random selection from those four groups, two were assigned to the experimental group (n = 31) and two to the control group (n = 32). During the educational experiment, one participant from the experimental group discontinued attending training sessions, resulting in a total of 62 adolescent athletes participating in the educational experiment: 30 in the experimental group and 32 in the control group. The mean age of the total sample of adolescents at the beginning of the study was 15.83 ± 0.37 years. The ages of participants in the experimental and control groups at the beginning of the study were homogeneous: 15.87 ± 0.35 years for the experimental group and 15.81 ± 0.40 years for the control group.
2.2 Instruments
During the study, reliable and locally adapted questionnaires were selected to assess the skill sets relevant to the study context or directly related (specifically developed tools) to the sets of positive behavior skills under investigation.
To assess Taking responsibility and Taking social responsibility skills, the Personal and Social Responsibility Questionnaire (PSRQ) by Li et al. (2008) was chosen. This questionnaire is a reliable tool for determining personal and social responsibility in a sports context and is recommended for use in research within the positive youth development paradigm, aimed at creating or improving skills development programs that aim to cultivate personal and social responsibility skills (Li et al., 2008). The questionnaire consists of 14 statements, with 7 statements assigned to each of the two questionnaire scales. The Taking responsibility scale comprises statements 1 to 7, while the Taking social responsibility scale comprises statements 8 to 14, with statement 14 being reverse-scored. All questionnaire statements are rated on a 6-point Likert scale: 1 – strongly disagree, 2 – disagree, 3 – slightly disagree, 4 – slightly agree, 5 – agree, 6 – strongly agree (Li et al., 2008; Martins et al., 2015). The Personal and Social Responsibility Questionnaire has been adapted in Lithuania, with a Cronbach’s alpha coefficient value of 0.81 (Juodsnukis and Malinauskas, 2014).
For assessing Positive self-evaluation skills, the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (RSES) by Ciarrochi and Bilich (2006) and Rosenberg (1965) was chosen. This questionnaire is the most widely used tool worldwide for assessing individuals’ positive self-esteem (Garcia et al., 2019; Jordan, 2020). The tool is used in research on positive behavior skills development among adolescents (Mohammadzadeh et al., 2017; Seema and Kumar, 2018) as well as in various sports-related studies (Dahiya and Gupta, 2021; Koszałka-Silska et al., 2021a; Šagat et al., 2021). The Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale consists of 10 statements. The statements are rated on a 4-point Likert scale as follows: for statements 1, 2, 4, 6, and 7, 3 – strongly agree, 2 – agree, 1 – disagree, 0 – strongly disagree, while for statements 3, 5, 8, 9, and 10, the scoring is reversed (Ciarrochi and Bilich, 2006; Rosenberg, 1965). The Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale has been adapted in Lithuania, with a Cronbach’s alpha coefficient value of 0.73 (Juodsnukis and Malinauskas, 2014).
To assess skills of Prosocial behavior with teammates and Prosocial behavior with opponents, The Prosocial and Antisocial Behavior in Sport Scale (PABSS) by Kavussanu and Boardley (2009) was used. Unlike other prosocial and antisocial behavior questionnaires, this scale was exclusively developed for the sports context. The first scale, antisocial behavior with opponents, consists of statements 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, and 20. The second scale comprises statements 8, 9, 10, 11, and 12, revealing antisocial behavior with the team. The third scale, Prosocial behavior with teammates, consists of statements 1, 2, 3, and 4. The fourth scale, Prosocial behavior with opponents, is associated with statements 5, 6, and 7. Each scale’s statements are summed and divided by the total number of statements. Each questionnaire statement is rated on a 5-point Likert scale: 1 – never; 2 – rarely; 3 – sometimes; 4 – often; 5 – very often (Kavussanu and Boardley, 2009; Kavussanu et al., 2013). The Prosocial and Antisocial Behavior in Sport Scale has been adapted in Lithuania, with Cronbach’s alpha coefficient values ranging from 0.79 to 0.85 (Šukys, 2010). Since this study focused on Prosocial behavior with teammates and Prosocial behavior with opponents, the corresponding scales from the PABSS questionnaire were utilized.
To assess cooperation, assertiveness, empathy, and self-control skills, the Social Skills Rating System-Secondary Student form (SSRS-S) by Gresham and Elliott (1990) was chosen. This questionnaire was selected for this study because the construct of positive social skills in this study was based on the authors’ conception of social skills (Gresham et al., 2011). Thus, the Social Skills Rating System-Secondary Student form is the most suitable and reliable instrument for assessing the positive social skills under investigation in this study. The questionnaire consists of 39 statements, with a certain number assigned to four scales: (1) cooperation scale includes statements 6, 9, 13, 14, 17, 20, 31, 35, 36, and 37; (2) assertiveness scale includes statements 1, 3, 4, 16, 23, 26, 30, 33, and 38; (3) empathy scale includes statements 2, 5, 8, 12, 21, 24, 25, 28, 29, and 39; and (4) self-control scale includes statements 7, 10, 11, 15, 18, 19, 22, 27, 32, and 34. Each questionnaire statement is rated on a 3-point Likert scale: 0 – never, 1 – sometimes, 2 – very often (Elliott et al., 2015; Gresham and Elliott, 1990). The Social Skills Rating System-Secondary Student form has been adapted in Lithuania, with a Cronbach’s alpha coefficient value of 0.70 (Akelaitis, 2015).
For assessing positive emotional skills (ability to evaluate and convey emotions, ability to utilize one’s positive emotional experience, ability to comprehend and analyze emotions, ability to control emotions), the Schutte Self-Report Inventory (SSRI) by Schutte et al. (1998) was selected. Through this questionnaire, emotional intelligence is measured as positive emotional skills (Palmer, 2003). This tool was developed based on the emotional intelligence model by Salovey and Mayer (1990), which forms the construct of positive emotional skills in this study. Additionally, the reliability and validity of this tool have been demonstrated in the field of sports research (Lane et al., 2009). The questionnaire consists of 33 statements and has four scales corresponding to emotional skills. Statements assigned to each scale are as follows: ability to evaluate and convey emotions scale includes statements 1, 5, 15, 18, 25, 29, 32, and 33 (with statements 5 and 33 scored in reverse), ability to utilize one’s positive emotional experience scale includes statements 2, 3, 4, 7, 10, 14, 16, 17, 20, 23, 24, 27, 28, and 31 (with statement 28 scored in reverse), ability to comprehend and analyze emotions scale includes statements 9, 10, 12, 19, 21, and 22, and ability to control emotions scale includes statements 11, 13, 26, 27, and 30. Two questionnaire statements are assigned to two scales: statement 10 to both ability to utilize one’s positive emotional experience and ability to comprehend and analyze emotions scales, while statement 27 to both ability to utilize one’s positive emotional experience and ability to control emotions scales. Each questionnaire statement is rated on a 5-point Likert scale: 1 – strongly disagree, 2 – disagree, 3 – neither agree nor disagree, 4 – agree, 5 – strongly agree (Palmer, 2003; Schutte et al., 1998). The Schutte Self-Report Inventory has been adapted in Lithuania, with a Cronbach’s alpha coefficient value of 0.76 (Akelaitis and Malinauskas, 2014).
2.3 Intervention
Experimental pretest-posttest design was chosen for the study. To evaluate the effectiveness of a positive behavior skills training program designed for adolescents who participate in basketball sports schools, we conducted an educational experiment. During the educational experiment, participants in the experimental research group were subjected to skills training activities, while participants in the control group did not receive any social skills activities. The positive behavior skills development program consisted of 13 activities. Each activity was aimed at the development of a specific skill (except for the prosocial behavior skill, which was additionally divided into two additional skills: prosocial behavior with teammates and prosocial behavior with opponents). The duration of each activity was 60 min, so in total, positive behavior skills for adolescents were trained for 13 h. The frequency of activities was once a week. Positive behavior skills for adolescents in the control group were trained before basketball practice. Positive behavior skills for adolescent athletes were trained in stages. First, the skill description stage was implemented, during which new sports exercises or special tasks were provided, and the young athletes were introduced to the effects of the exercise/task explanation. Then, at the skill demonstration stage, the skill was demonstrated practically to the young athletes, i.e., explained in practice. In the skill practice stage at basketball sports schools, adolescent athletes themselves tried to perform exercises correctly so that they could use them in other situations. Finally, in the skill consolidation stage, adolescents were encouraged to apply the acquired skill in another natural environment, for example, at home or at school, by giving them certain tasks (e.g., homework) (Bean et al., 2018; Bierman et al., 2017; Huysmans et al., 2021; Newman et al., 2021; Pierce et al., 2017). The first table provides more information about the skills comprising the training program (the structure of the training program), the goals of skill training, and the training methods. For example, when training the “taking social responsibility” skill for adolescents, the skill was explained and described. Then, adolescents were involved in a discussion during which a discussion question (situation) was asked, and they were also asked to provide feedback on how they imagine what the “taking social responsibility” skill is. After clarifying and discussing what the “taking social responsibility” skill entails, adolescents performed a skill training activity. Adolescent athletes divided into smaller groups and performed activity. During activity execution, they blindfolded one team member and instructed them to transport the ball from one side of the court to the other through various obstacles. Each group member could give one command at a time so that the common goal could be achieved – i.e., the group member blindfolded would complete the task as quickly as possible. After completing the activity, adolescents were encouraged to provide feedback on the experiences they had during the activity. Finally, the adolescent athletes were assigned homework. The homework assignment required adolescents to create a family household chores list at home, which each member should responsibly carry out for the common well-being of the family. Meanwhile, in training the “Ability to utilize one’s positive emotional experience” skill, methods such as the breathing method and imagery method were employed. To enable adolescents to utilize their previously experienced positive emotions, they performed breathing exercises, which allowed them to relax more deeply. Deep breathing exercises also helped them concentrate better during visualization. During visualization exercises, adolescent athletes closed their eyes and had to recall basketball games they lost, as well as negative emotions they experienced at that time. Remembering these emotions, they were encouraged to recall moments when they felt positive. Recalling these mental images, adolescents were encouraged to reinforce them in their minds by repeating various affirmations such as “I remember a time when I was in a good mood and calm,” “I remember a time when I was happy,” “I remember a time when I was relaxed,” “I am in a good mood, calm, and relaxed.” The activities of the training program were aimed at revealing adolescents’ potential to behave positively by emphasizing their strengths, and during skills training sessions, activities were aimed not only at training specific skills but also at reflecting on the importance of these skills in other life contexts and their application in them. This way, we implemented the conceptual attitudes of positive youth development paradigms (Holt et al., 2020; Lerner, 2017).
2.4 Data collection
Before conducting the study, necessary procedures were performed. The study adhered to the principles outlined in the Helsinki Declaration and obtained approval from the Ethics Committee of the Lithuanian Sports University, with approval number SMTEK-47, granted on June 3, 2021. The study was conducted in stages. Initially, a preliminary study was conducted, during which the experimental and control group participants completed skill assessment questionnaires provided for the study. Then, the experimental group participants underwent the intervention (development program). Finally, at the end of the intervention, a repeated assessment of both experimental and control group participants was conducted using the same questionnaires employed at the beginning of the study (the same questionnaires). The questionnaires were anonymous and only included general information about the participants (age) and their consent to participate in the study. Participants were given as much time as they wished to complete the questionnaires. On average, participants took between 20 to 30 min to complete the questionnaires.
2.5 Data analysis
Statistical analyses were conducted utilizing SPSS software (version 29.0). The study’s experimental setup involved quantitatively analyzing data from both the experimental and control groups. Mean (M) and standard deviation (SD) computations were conducted for each variable. Skewness and kurtosis coefficients were used to assess data normality via multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA), with skewness and kurtosis values typically falling between −2 and 2 for normal data. Pearson’s correlations (two-tailed) were computed for all variables. The independent samples t-test was employed to compare the means of the experimental and control groups to determine if there was a statistically significant difference between them. A repeated measures (RM) MANOVA was utilized, employing a 2 (Group: experimental and control) × 2 (Time: pre- and post-experiment) design, followed by one-way ANOVA, to investigate Group and Time interactions concerning positive behavioral skills. It must be noted that a more powerful ANCOVA procedure could not be applied in this study because it was determined using the G*Pover software (Kang, 2021), that if 52 participants are enough for RM MANOVA (the total sample size in the study is 62 participants, which is entirely sufficient), then at least 269 study participants would be required for ANCOVA. Preliminary examinations for multicollinearity, sphericity, homogeneity, and equality of variance/covariance matrices revealed no significant concerns. Multivariate effects were assessed using Wilks’ Lambda statistics, with a significance threshold of 0.05. The effect sizes for F-statistics were reported as partial eta-squared (ηp2) (Table 1).
Table 1. Description of a development program for positive behavioral skills for adolescents participating in basketball sports schools.
3 Results
To assess the impact of the educational program on the development of positive behavior skills among adolescents participating in basketball sports schools, we first conducted a descriptive statistical analysis of the overall study sample (Table 2). We calculated the mean, standard deviation, skewness, skewness standard error, kurtosis, and kurtosis standard error of the sample’s results before and after the intervention. The obtained data confirmed a normal distribution of the data both before and after the intervention, as all skewness values (ranging from −0.63 to 0.45) and kurtosis values (ranging from −0.94 to 1.62) fell within the range of −2 to +2 (Garson, 2012; George and Mallery, 2010).
Table 2. Means, standard deviations, and normality tests of the study variables (N = 62).
To establish the validity of the educational experiment, we compared the statistical indicators of positive behavior skills among adolescents in the experimental and control groups before and after the intervention. The application of the independent samples t-test revealed that prior to the educational experiment, the statistical indicators of positive behavior skills did not significantly differ between the experimental and control groups: taking responsibility (t60 = 0.02; p = 0.99), positive self-evaluation (t60 = −0.00; p = 0.99), prosocial behavior with teammates (t60 = 0.75; p = 0.46), prosocial behavior with opponents (t60 = −0.53; p = 0.60), taking social responsibility (t60 = −0.10; p = 0.92), cooperation (t60 = −0.04; p = 0.97), assertiveness (t60 = −0.01; p = 0.99), empathy (t60 =. 17; p = 0.87), self-control (t60 = −0.08; p = 0.94), ability to evaluate and convey emotions (t60 = 0.29; p = 0.77), ability to utilize one’s positive emotional experience (t60 = 0.75; p = 0.46), ability to comprehend and analyze emotions (t60 = 0.39; p = 0.70), ability to control emotions (t60 = 0.06; p = 0.95). So, the results confirm the validity of the intervention experiment.
We analyzed Pearson’s bivariate correlation coefficient to explore the relationships between variables. The correlation coefficients, illustrating these connections, are provided separately for the periods before and after the experiment in Table 3. This analysis aimed to investigate the associations between each dependent variable, taking into account the potential presence of multicollinearity. Importantly, none of the correlations exceeded 0.85, confirming the validity of assuming multicollinearity (Kline, 2005).
Table 3. Correlations of dependent variables.
To investigate the effects of the positive behavioral skills development program on adolescents participating in basketball sports schools, we conducted a repeated measures MANOVA with a 2 (Group) × 2 (Time) design. A crucial prerequisite for the univariate RM-MANOVA procedure is the assumption of sphericity. The requirement for Mauchly’s test of sphericity was satisfied since the RM variables have only two levels. The RM-MANOVA analysis demonstrated notable impacts of the positive behavioral skills development program on adolescents’ positive behavioral skills. Specifically, the Group by Time interaction exerted a significant influence (Wilks’ Lambda = 0.54; F (13,48) = 3.14; p < 0.01; ηp2 = 0.46). From the statistical indicators presented in Table 4, it is possible to observe a statistically significant effect of the development program on the development of taking responsibility (p < 0.01), positive self-evaluation (p < 0.01), prosocial behavior with teammates (p < 0.05), prosocial behavior with opponents (p < 0.01), taking social responsibility (p < 0.01), cooperation (p < 0.01), assertiveness (p < 0.01), empathy (p < 0.01), self-control (p < 0.01), ability to evaluate and convey emotions (p < 0.05), ability to utilize one’s positive emotional experience (p < 0.05), ability to comprehend and analyze emotions (p < 0.05) and ability to control emotions (p < 0.05) in adolescents participating in sports schools.
Table 4. Indicators of positive behavioral skills of adolescents participating in basketball sports schools before and after the educational experiment.
4 Discussion
The results of the intervention experiment confirmed the hypothesis that the positive behavior skills development program designed for adolescents would be effective if it consisted of positive personal, positive social, and positive emotional skills, and if the program were implemented in basketball sports schools. After the implementation of the training program, the experimental group adolescents, who were involved in basketball sports schools, showed statistically significantly higher skill scores compared to the control group adolescents in all skill scales: taking responsibility (a medium effect: ηp2 = 0.154), positive self-evaluation (a medium effect: ηp2 = 0.170), prosocial behavior with teammates (a small effect: ηp2 = 0.081), prosocial behavior with opponents (a small effect: ηp2 = 0.108), taking social responsibility (a medium effect: ηp2 = 0.162), cooperation (a large effect: ηp2 = 0.261), assertiveness (a medium effect: ηp2 = 0.189), empathy (a medium effect: ηp2 = 0.259), self-control (a medium effect: ηp2 = 0.229), ability to evaluate and convey emotions (a small effect: ηp2 = 0.089), ability to utilize one’s positive emotional experience (a small effect: ηp2 = 0.088), ability to comprehend and analyze emotions (a small effect: ηp2 = 0.080) and ability to control emotions (a small effect: ηp2 = 0.079). We did not find studies that have examined the impact of positive behavior skills development programs through sports on 15-16-year-old adolescents attending basketball sports schools. This is one of the arguments for the relevance of this study, aiming to fill this scientific gap. Nevertheless, our study results partially coincide with the findings of other authors who conducted research on this topic. Gülay et al. (2010) conducted a study with 9th-grade (15–16-year-old) adolescent athletes. During the intervention experiment involving 44 adolescents, it was found that a 12-week development program, consisting of 12 activities of 80 min each, was statistically significant for the ability to control emotions (a large effect: ηp2 = 0.94) (Gülay et al., 2010). In another intervention experiment involving 103 14–15-year-old rugby players, it was revealed that a 3-month post-school development program (frequency of once a week) was statistically significant for adolescents’ prosocial behavior in sports skills (a medium effect: ηp2 = 0.14) (Parise et al., 2015). Another intervention experiment with 11-15-year-olds was conducted by García-García et al. (2020). During the experiment, which involved 57 adolescents, the authors sought to determine the impact of a personal and social skills development program through sports. The authors confirmed the effectiveness of the development program, as a statistically significant effect was found in the skill scales of the participants: taking responsibility (a medium effect: ηp2 = 0.197), taking social responsibility (a small effect: ηp2 = 0.074), and prosocial behavior (a large effect: ηp2 = 0.572). The personal and social skills development program consisted of 29 activities, with each activity lasting 55 min, distributed over 5 months with a frequency of 2 times per week (García-García et al., 2020). Malinauskas and Malinauskiene (2021) investigated the impact of a 12-h (48 activities of 15 min each) social and emotional skills development program through sports on 16-17-year-old adolescents. The intervention experiment revealed a statistically significant effect of the training program on adolescents’ (n = 104) social and emotional skills development through sports in the following skill scales: cooperation (a small effect: ηp2 = 0.066), assertiveness (a small effect: ηp2 = 0.093), empathy (a small effect: ηp2 = 0.076), self-control (a small effect: ηp2 = 0.043), ability to evaluate and convey emotions (a small effect: ηp2 = 0.039), ability to utilize one’s positive emotional experience (a small effect: ηp2 = 0.048), ability to comprehend and analyze emotions (a small effect: ηp2 = 0.052), and ability to control emotions (a small effect: ηp2 = 0.124) (Malinauskas and Malinauskiene, 2021). Meanwhile, Koszałka-Silska et al. (2021b), who investigated the impact of a social skills development program through sports on 15–16-year-old adolescents, revealed that a 12-week program, consisting of 45-min training sessions conducted twice a week, was statistically significant only for the development of assertiveness skills (a small effect: ηp2 = 0.07). Another sports-based skills development program was effective in enhancing social skills in 15-year-old adolescents (Akelaitis and Malinauskas, 2016). During the intervention experiment involving 51 adolescents, it was found that a 35-activity (15-min duration each) social skills development program through sports was statistically significant for enhancing adolescents’ cooperation (a small effect: ηp2 = 0.09), assertiveness (a medium effect: ηp2 = 0.14), and self-control (a small effect: ηp2 = 0.01) skills (Akelaitis and Malinauskas, 2016).
We consider that discussion is necessary, how the content, or delivery of the positive behavioral skills development program might need to be modified if it were implemented with athletes involved in individual sports rather than team-based ones like basketball. Thus, if the aim is to develop a positive behavioral skills program for athletes involved in individual sports, content and delivery of the program itself would have to be slightly modified (Bessa et al., 2019). It is likely that the implementation of such a program should not be limited to the specific environment of an individual sport, as the skills developed in this curriculum can only be successfully developed in the context of a social relationship that is common in the context of sporting games (Bessa et al., 2019). The development of these skills would therefore require educational activities that are group/team-based (Bessa et al., 2019), but not exclusively focused on the elements of the basketball game. Consequently, the content of the educational activities would also have to change, as some of the activities in the present study focused on basketball. For example, the cooperation skill educational activity is exclusively focused on the basketball environment, so this activity should be adapted to suit the development of an athlete from individual sport.
There is also a need to discuss who should or could be responsible for implementation of behavioral skills training program in practice. We think that a positive behavioral skills program would be best implemented by any coach working in a sports school, as he or she would not only have the technical knowledge of the sport, but also the ability to develop positive skills such as cooperation, prosocial behavior or ability to control emotions (Newman et al., 2021). As a coach needs to have specialized knowledge of positive psychology principles and pedagogical strategies, he/she is best placed to combine sporting activities with activities to develop positive behavioral skills (Newman et al., 2021).
In summary, it can be stated that the results of our intervention study align with previous research (Fredricks and Eccles, 2006; Mahoney et al., 2005), which indicates that adolescents’ participation in extracurricular or leisure activities (in our case, sports schools) is associated with greater social competence, self-perception, and improved quality of life, facilitating easier formation of various social networks. Thus, integrating positive behavior skills development programs into sports schools allows for the realization of the goals of positive youth development paradigms (Holt et al., 2020; Lerner, 2017).
4.1 Contributions and implications
Taking into account the existing scientific gap related to the narrow spectrum of positive behavior skills development programs through sports, based on the results of our study, we propose the creation and implementation of comprehensive positive behavior skills development programs, consisting of positive personal, social, and emotional skills. The comprehensiveness of positive behavior skills is important for realizing the conceptual principles of positive youth development paradigms. The results of this study are significant because the structure and content of positive behavior skills development programs are tailored to 15–16-year-old adolescents. Many educational program studies are focused on other age groups, although as discussed in the literature review, ages 15–16 are crucial for positive behavior skills development. The effect sizes found in the study show that in 7 out of 12 cases (medium or large effect sizes), the positive behavioral skills training program is effective for adolescents aged 15–16 years old attending basketball sports schools. These effects suggest that our approach significantly improves the level of positive behavioral skills among 15–16-year-old adolescents attending basketball sports schools compared to traditional approaches. Such skills improvement through this educational program can lead to better behavioral outcomes, making it worthwhile for coaches to use this approach. Coaches can learn to incorporate social skills training into their coaching practices, helping athletes develop not only physically but also socially and emotionally. The findings of the present study could also be useful for educational programs developers who may consider integrating elements of this educational program into wider education systems. Moreover, findings can lead to the development of training modules that equip coaches with the tools to develop positive behavioral skills effectively. However, it is important to recognize that while the effects in this study are significant, they may vary in different sporting contexts, and this should be considered when applying these findings. Finally, the results of this study are significant because the educational program is oriented not towards physical education classes, which some students are inclined to skip, but towards sports schools, which adolescents choose to attend independently, which may contribute to better educational outcomes.
4.2 Limitations and future research
One of the limitations of this study is related to the fact that only male adolescents participating in basketball sports schools were included in the study. This limitation is associated with the data presented in the scientific literature on existing gender differences that lead to different expressions of positive behavior during adolescence. Previous studies (Lipowski et al., 2016) have shown that adolescent girls who participate in sport are more likely than their male counterparts to engage in risk-taking and socially unacceptable behaviors. To address the limitation of our study, future research should prioritize inclusivity by examining both male and female adolescents so that comparative analysis can be made. A study by Hopkins et al. (2022) suggests that mixed-gender studies and mixed-method approaches not only reveal interaction effects but also provide a richer understanding of the dynamics between genders, enriching the applicability of findings. We think it is essential to recognize the differences in emotional and behavioral skills development between the male and female adolescents, to understand their impact on sport and education initiatives, and to encourage future inclusive research. During this study, we also did not conduct a follow-up skill assessment after a period of time, thus failing to reveal whether the skill development program had a long-term impact on adolescents’ expression of positive behavior skills. Therefore, future studies should assess the long-term effects of the intervention through follow-up measurements. Control group of the present study did not receive a social skills training intervention, and this could have several limitations: participants in a passive control group might not feel involved in the study and may withdraw from the study as well as participants may have a preconceived notion that they will not be treated, which may affect their response and bias the results. In future studies, active control group (different intervention) or waiting list control group strategies may increase the rigor of the experimental design and improve the validity of the findings related to the educational intervention. Notably, future research could be carried out in other sports and with a larger number of individuals to make the findings more generalized. In this study, we assumed that the development of positive behavior skills through sports would be effective if implemented not in physical education classes, but in sports schools. In future research, comparative studies could be conducted in which a developed positive behavior skills development program, applied to adolescents of the same age and gender, would be implemented through physical education classes and sports schools, thus determining which sports environment is more suitable for the development of adolescents’ positive behavior skills. Finally, this study did not examine how the acquired skills were applied in other natural settings.
Data availability statement
The raw data supporting the conclusions of this article will be made available by the authors, without undue reservation.
Ethics statement
The studies involving humans were approved by Ethical Committee of the Lithuanian Sports University. The studies were conducted in accordance with the local legislation and institutional requirements. Written informed consent for participation in this study was provided by the participants’ legal guardians/next of kin.
Author contributions
EP: Writing – original draft, Writing – review & editing. RM: Writing – original draft, Writing – review & editing.
Funding
The author(s) declare that financial support was received for the research and/or publication of this article.
Conflict of interest
The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.
Publisher’s note
All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article, or claim that may be made by its manufacturer, is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.
References
Akelaitis, A. (2015). Vyresniojo mokyklinio amžiaus mokinių socialinių gebėjimų raiška per kūno kultūros pamokas [social skills expression of senior high school age students in physical education classes]. Sci. Process. Educ. 2, 5–10.
Akelaitis, A., and Malinauskas, R. (2014). Vyresniojo amžiaus mokyklinio amžiaus mokinių emocinių gebėjimų raiška per kūno kultūros pamokas [Emotional skills expression of senior high school age students in physical education classes]. Sci. Process. Educ. 2, 5–9. [In Lithuanian]
Akelaitis, A. V., and Malinauskas, R. K. (2016). Education of social skills among senior high school age students in physical education classes. Eur. J. Contemp. Educ. 18, 381–389. doi: 10.13187/ejced.2016.18.381
Armour, K., and Sandford, R. (2013). Positive youth development through an outdoor physical activity programme: evidence from a four-year evaluation. Educ. Rev. 65, 85–108. doi: 10.1080/00131911.2011.648169
Ball, J., Grucza, R., Livingston, M., Ter Bogt, T., Currie, C., and de Looze, M. (2023). The great decline in adolescent risk behaviours: unitary trend, separate trends, or cascade? Soc. Sci. Med. 317:115616. doi: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2022.115616
Bean, C., Kramers, S., Forneris, T., and Camire, M. (2018). The implicit/explicit continuum of life skills development and transfer. Quest 70, 456–470. doi: 10.1080/00336297.2018.1451348
Bergin, C. C., Bergin, D. A., Walker, S., Daniel, G., Fenton, A., and Subban, P. (2018). Child and adolescent development for educators. Australia: Cengage.
Bessa, C., Hastie, P., Araújo, R., and Mesquita, I. (2019). What do we know about the development of personal and social skills within the sport education model: a systematic review. J. Sports Sci. Med. 18, 812–829
Bierman, K. L., Greenberg, M. T., Coie, J. D., Dodge, K. A., Lochman, J. E., and McMahon, R. J. (2017). Social and emotional skills training for children: The fast track friendship group manual. New York: Guilford Publications.
Bruner, M. W., McLaren, C. D., Sutcliffe, J. T., Gardner, L. A., and Vella, S. A. (2022). Conceptualizing and measuring positive youth development in sport: a scoping review. Int. Rev. Sport Exerc. 17, 1–49. doi: 10.1080/1750984X.2022.2070861
Camire, M., and Santos, F. (2019). Promoting positive youth development and life skills in youth sport: challenges and opportunities amidst increased professionalization. J. Sport Pedag. Res. 5, 27–34.
Catalano, R. F., Berglund, M. L., Ryan, J. A., Lonczak, H. S., and Hawkins, J. D. (2002). Positive youth development in the United States: research findings on evaluations of positive youth development programs. Prev. Treat. 5:15. doi: 10.1037/1522-3736.5.1.515a
Ciarrochi, J., and Bilich, L. (2006) Acceptance and commitment therapy. Measures package. Unpublished manuscript, Australia: University of Wollongong.
Coyle, T. R., Pillow, D. R., Snyder, A. C., and Kochunov, P. (2011). Processing speed mediates the development of general intelligence (g) in adolescence. Psychol. Sci. 22, 1265–1269. doi: 10.1177/0956797611418243
Dahiya, U., and Gupta, L. (2021). Dahiya, U., and Gupta, L. Role of resilience and self-esteem in determining sports performance. Int. J. Indian Psychol. 9, 1647–1654. doi: 10.25215/0904.158
Elliott, S. N., Frey, J. R., and Davies, M. (2015). “Systems for assessing and improving students’ social skills to achieve academic competence” in Handbook of social and emotional learning: Research and practice. eds. J. Durlak, C. Domitrovich, R. Weissberg, and T. Gullotta (New York: Guilford Press).
Filiz, B., and Demirhan, G. (2019). Use of personal and social responsibility model in bringing responsibility behaviors: sample of TVF sports high school. Egit. Ve Bilim 44, 391–414. doi: 10.15390/EB.2019.7238
Fredricks, J. A., and Eccles, J. S. (2006). Is extracurricular participation associated with beneficial outcomes? Concurrent and longitudinal relations. Dev. Psychol. 42, 698–713. doi: 10.1037/0012-1649.42.4.698
Garcia, J. A., Olmos, F. C., Matheu, M. L., and Carreno, T. P. (2019). Self esteem levels vs global scores on the Rosenberg self-esteem scale. Heliyon 5, 1–17. doi: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2019.e01378
García-García, J., Manzano-Sánchez, D., Belando-Pedreño, N., and Valero-Valenzuela, A. (2020). Personal and social responsibility programme effects, prosocial behaviours, and physical activity levels in adolescents and their families. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 17:3184. doi: 10.3390/ijerph17093184
George, D., and Mallery, P. (2010). SPSS for windows step by step: A simple guide and reference 17.0 update. 10th Edn. Boston: Pearson.
Gresham, F. M., and Elliott, S. N. (1990). Social skills rating system: Manual. Circle Pines: American Guidance Service.
Gresham, F. M., Elliott, S. N., Vance, M. J., and Cook, C. R. (2011). Comparability of the social skills rating system to the social skills improvement system: content and psychometric comparisons across elementary and secondary age levels. Sch. Psychol. Q. 26, 27–44. doi: 10.1037/a0022662
Gülay, O., Mirzeoğlu, D., and Çelebi, M. (2010). Effects of cooperative games on social skill levels and attitudes toward physical education. Eurasian J. Educ. Res. 40, 77–92.
Hansen, D. M., Skorupski, W. P., and Arrington, T. L. (2010). Differences in developmental experiences for commonly used categories of organized youth activities. J. Appl. Dev. Psychol. 31, 413–421. doi: 10.1016/j.appdev.2010.07.001
Hemphill, M. A., Gordon, B., and Wright, P. M. (2019). Sports as a passport to success: life skill integration in a positive youth development program. Phys. Educ. Sport Pedagogy 24, 390–401. doi: 10.1080/17408989.2019.1606901
Hermens, N., Super, S., Verkooijen, K. T., and Koelen, M. A. (2017). A systematic review of life skill development through sports programs serving socially vulnerable youth. Res. Q. Exerc. Sport 88, 408–424. doi: 10.1080/02701367.2017.1355527
Holt, N. L., Deal, C. J., and Pankow, K. (2020). “Positive youth development through sport,” in Handbook of sport psychology: Social perspectives, cognition, and applications (4th ed.). eds. G. Tenenbaum, R. C. Eklund, and N. Boiangin (John Wiley & Sons, Inc.), p. 429–446.
Holt, N. L., Neely, K. C., Slater, L. G., Camire, M., Cote, J., Fraser-Thomas, J., et al. (2017). A grounded theory of positive youth development through sport based on results from a qualitative meta-study. Int. Rev. Sport Exerc. Psychol. 10, 1–49. doi: 10.1080/1750984X.2016.1180704
Hopkins, C. S., Hopkins, C., Kanny, S., and Watson, A. (2022). A systematic review of factors associated with sport participation among adolescent females. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 19:3353. doi: 10.3390/ijerph19063353
Hutchison, D., and Styles, B. (2010). A guide to running randomised controlled trials for educational researchers. Slough: NFER.
Huysmans, Z., Whitley, M. A., Clement, D., Gonzalez, M., and Sheehy, T. L. (2021). “The relationship was a big success–the bond”: exploring coaching strategies to foster life skills development in Eswatini. J. Appl. Sport Psychol. 34, 751–779. doi: 10.1080/10413200.2021.1872734
Johnston, J., Harwood, C., and Minniti, A. M. (2013). Positive youth development in swimming: clarification and consensus of key psychosocial assets. J. Appl. Sport Psychol. 25, 392–411. doi: 10.1080/10413200.2012.747571
Jones, M. I., and Parker, J. K. (2013). What is the size of the relationship between global mental toughness and youth experiences? Pers. Individ. Differ. 54, 519–523. doi: 10.1016/j.paid.2012.10.024
Jordan, C. H. (2020). “Rosenberg self-esteem scale,” in Encyclopedia of personality and individual differences. eds. V. Zeigler-Hill and T. K. Shackelford (Cham: Springer).
Juodsnukis, D., and Malinauskas, R. (2014). Futbolo sporto mokyklų mokinių socialinė atsakomybė [social responsibility of football sports school students]. Sci. Process. Educ. 2, 10–15.
Kang, H. (2021). Sample size determination and power analysis using the G* power software. J. Educ. Eval. Health Professions 18, 1–12. doi: 10.3352/jeehp.2021.18.17
Kavussanu, M., and Boardley, I. D. (2009). The prosocial and antisocial behavior in sport scale. J. Sport Exerc. Psychol. 31, 97–117. doi: 10.1123/jsep.31.1.97
Kavussanu, M., Stanger, N., and Boardley, I. D. (2013). The prosocial and antisocial behaviour in sport scale: further evidence for construct validity and reliability. J. Sports Sci. 31, 1208–1221. doi: 10.1080/02640414.2013.775473
Kline, R. B. (2005). Principles and practice of structural equation modeling. New York: Guilford Publications.
Koszałka-Silska, A., Korcz, A., and Wiza, A. (2021a). Correlates of social competences among polish adolescents: physical activity, self-esteem, participation in sports and screen time. Sustain. For. 13:13845. doi: 10.3390/su132413845
Koszałka-Silska, A., Korcz, A., and Wiza, A. (2021b). The impact of physical education based on the adventure education programme on self-esteem and social competences of adolescent boys. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 18:3021. doi: 10.3390/ijerph18063021
Lane, A. M., Meyer, B. B., Devonport, T. J., Davies, K. A., Thelwell, R., Gill, G. S., et al. (2009). Validity of the emotional intelligence scale for use in sport. J. Sports Sci. Med. 8:289.
Larson, R. W., Hansen, D. M., and Moneta, G. (2006). Differing profiles of developmental experiences across types of organized youth activities. Dev. Psychol. 42, 849–863. doi: 10.1037/0012-1649.42.5.849
Lerner, R. M. (2017). Commentary: studying and testing the positive youth development model: a tale of two approaches. Child Dev. 88, 1183–1185. doi: 10.1111/cdev.12875
Li, W., Wright, P. M., Rukavina, P. B., and Pickering, M. (2008). Measuring students’ perceptions of personal and social responsibility and the relationship to intrinsic motivation in urban physical education. J. Teach. Phys. Educ. 27, 167–178. doi: 10.1123/jtpe.27.2.167
Lipowski, M., Lipowska, M., Jochimek, M., and Krokosz, D. (2016). Resiliency as a factor protecting youths from risky behaviour: moderating effects of gender and sport. Eur. J. Sport Sci. 16, 246–255. doi: 10.1080/17461391.2015.1024755
Lower-Hoppe, L. M., Anderson-Butcher, D., Lo, M., and Turner, B. A. (2020). The influence of organizational climate and process on youth outcomes: a case study of a community youth sport organization. Leis./Loisir 44, 489–520. doi: 10.1080/14927713.2020.1815564
Mahoney, J. L., Larson, R. W., Eccles, J. S., and Lord, H. (2005). “Organized activities as developmental contexts for children and adolescents,” in Organized activities as contexts of development: Extracurricular activities, after-school and community programs. eds. J. L. Mahoney, R. W. Larson, and J. S. Eccles (Lawrence Erlbaum Associates Publishers), p. 3–22.
Majed, E., Ruiz, Y., Amireault, S., Reed, J. B., Snyder, F. J., McDonough, M. H., et al. (2022). Examining positive youth development interventions with a physical activity component to address bullying among pre-and early adolescents: a critical review of the literature. J. Early Adolesc. 42, 389–413. doi: 10.1177/02724316211036748
Malinauskas, R., and Malinauskiene, V. (2021). Training the social-emotional skills of youth school students in physical education classes. Front. Psychol. 12:741195. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2021.741195
Martins, P., Rosado, A., Ferreira, V., and Biscaia, R. (2015). Examining the validity of the personal-social responsibility questionnaire among athletes. Motriz Rev. Educ. Fis. 21, 321–328. doi: 10.1590/S1980-65742015000300014
Midura, D. W., and Glover, D. R. (2005). Essentials of team building: Principles and practices. Stanningley: Human Kinetics.
Mohammadzadeh, M., Awang, H., Hayati, K. S., and Ismail, S. (2017). The effects of a life skills-based intervention on emotional health, self-esteem and coping mechanisms in Malaysian institutionalised adolescents: protocol of a multi-Centre randomized controlled trial. Int. J. Educ. Res. 83, 32–42. doi: 10.1016/j.ijer.2017.02.010
Napolitano, C. M., Sewell, M. N., Yoon, H. J., Soto, C. J., and Roberts, B. (2021). Social, emotional, and behavioral skills: an integrative model of the skills associated with success during adolescence and across the life span. Front. Educ. 6:679561. doi: 10.3389/feduc.2021.679561
Newman, T., Black, S., Santos, F., Jefka, B., and Brennan, N. (2021). Coaching the development and transfer of life skills: a scoping review of facilitative coaching practices in youth sports. Int. Rev. Sport Exerc. Psychol. 16, 619–656. doi: 10.1080/1750984x.2021.1910977
Opstoel, K., Chapelle, L., Prins, F. J., De Meester, A., Haerens, L., van Tartwijk, J., et al. (2020). Personal and social development in physical education and sports: a review study. Eur. Phys. Educ. Rev. 26, 797–813. doi: 10.1177/1356336X19882054
Palmer, B. R. (2003) An analysis of the relationships between various models and measures of emotional intelligence. Doctoral dissertation, Swinburne University.
Parise, M., Pagani, A. F., Cremascoli, V. C., and Iafrate, R. (2015). Rugby, self-perception and prosocial behaviour: evidence from the Italian “rugby project for schools”. Rev. Iberoam. Psicol. Ejerc. Deporte 10, 57–61.
Pearson, D., Kennedy, F. C., Talreja, V., Bhat, S., and Newman-Taylor, K. (2021). Thriving in adversity: do life skills programs work for developing world children? A pragmatic randomized controlled trial. Soc. Behav. Pers. 49, 1–13. doi: 10.2224/sbp.10493
Perkins, D. F., and Noam, G. G. (2007). Characteristics of sports-based youth development programs. New Dir. Youth Dev. 2007, 75–84. doi: 10.1002/yd.224
Pierce, S., Gould, D., and Camire, M. (2017). Definition and model of life skills transfer. Int. Rev. Sport Exerc. Psychol. 10, 186–211. doi: 10.1080/1750984X.2016.1199727
Qi, S., Hua, F., Zhou, Z., and Shek, D. T. (2020). Trends of positive youth development publications (1995–2020): a scientometric review. Appl. Res. Qual. Life 17, 1–26. doi: 10.1007/s11482-020-09878-3
Rosenberg, M. (1965). “Rosenberg self-esteem scale (RSE)” in Acceptance and commitment therapy. Measures package, 61–18.
Šagat, P., Bartik, P., Lazic, A., Tohanean, D. I., Koronas, V., Turcu, I., et al. (2021). Self-esteem, individual versus team sports. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 18:12915. doi: 10.3390/ijerph182412915
Salovey, P., and Mayer, J. D. (1990). Emotional intelligence. Imagin. Cogn. Pers. 9, 185–211. doi: 10.2190/DUGG-P24E-52WK-6CDG
Schuster, R. M., Mermelstein, R., and Wakschlag, L. (2013). Gender-specific relationships between depressive symptoms, marijuana use, parental communication and risky sexual behavior in adolescence. J. Youth Adolesc. 42, 1194–1209. doi: 10.1007/s10964-012-9809-0
Schutte, N. S., Malouff, J. M., Hall, L. E., Haggerty, D. J., Cooper, J. T., Golden, C. J., et al. (1998). Schutte self-report inventory. Pers. Individ. Differ. 25, 167–177.
Seema, G. B., and Kumar, G. V. (2018). Impact of social skills training on self-esteem among male and female adolescent students. Indian J. Psychol. 9, 147–151. doi: 10.15614/ijpp.v9i01.11761
Soto, C. J., Napolitano, C. M., and Roberts, B. W. (2021). Taking skills seriously: toward an integrative model and agenda for social, emotional, and behavioral skills. Curr. Dir. Psychol. Sci. 30, 26–33. doi: 10.1177/0963721420978613
Strachan, L., Cote, J., and Deakin, J. (2011). A new view: exploring positive youth development in elite sport contexts. Qual. Res. Sport Exerc. Health 3, 9–32. doi: 10.1080/19398441.2010.541483
Šukys, S. (2010). Prosocialaus ir antisocialaus elgesio skalės bei jaunimo vertybių sportinėje veikloje klausimyno adaptavimas lietuviams [adaptation and validation of the prosocial and antisocial behavior in sport scale and youth sport values questionnaire for Lithuanians]. Educ. Phys. Train. Sport/Ugdymas. Kūno Kultūra. Sportas 3, 97–104.
Veselska, Z., Geckova, A. M., Orosova, O., Gajdosova, B., van Dijk, J. P., and Reijneveld, S. A. (2009). Self-esteem and resilience: the connection with risky behavior among adolescents. Addict. Behav. 34, 287–291. doi: 10.1016/j.addbeh.2008.11.005
Waid, J., and Uhrich, M. (2020). A scoping review of the theory and practice of positive youth development. Br. J. Soc. Work. 50, 5–24. doi: 10.1093/bjsw/bcy130
Watson, D. L., and Clocksin, B. D. (2013). Using physical activity and sport to teach personal and social responsibility. Stanningley: Human kinetics.
Whitley, M. A., Massey, W. V., Camire, M., Boutet, M., and Borbee, A. (2019). Sport-based youth development interventions in the United States: a systematic review. BMC Public Health 19:89. doi: 10.1186/s12889-019-6387-z
Keywords: adolescents, basketball sports schools, positive emotional skills, positive personal skills, positive social skills, skills training program
Citation: Pocius E and Malinauskas R (2025) Developing positive behavioral skills among adolescents participating in basketball sports schools. Front. Psychol. 16:1444333. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1444333
Edited by:
Miguel-Angel Gomez-Ruano, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, SpainReviewed by:
Zvjezdan Penezić, University of Zadar, CroatiaRemigijus Bubnys, Vilnius University, Lithuania
Asta Beniusiene, Klaipėda University, Lithuania
Copyright © 2025 Pocius and Malinauskas. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
*Correspondence: Romualdas Malinauskas, cm9tdWFsZGFzLm1hbGluYXVza2FzQGxzdS5sdA==