In an important new contribution to the sociological literature,
M.F. Stuck explores both the place of sport in adolescent society
and, more specifically, the ways that drug use or non-use fits into
the lives of and is talked about by youths who participate in
sports and those who do not. The study breaks new ground both in
its subject matter and in its methodology--virtually no studies
exist which deal with the question of drug usage among adolescent
athletes and most previous studies of adolescent drug use rely on
survey data rather than on the adolescents' own descriptions of
their drug use or non-use. In addition to examining specific
questions related to adolescent drug use and sports, the author
utilizes several theoretical perspectives drawn from sociology to
illuminate the study findings: Sutherland's theory of differential
association; Cohen's notion of the concept of subcultures; and the
social control theories of Hirschi and Sykes and Matza. Throughout,
Stuck focuses particularly upon how the actors--the adolescents
themselves--explain drug use or non-use and involvement or
non-involvement in sports.
The study begins by introducing appropriate literature in
sociology and the sociology of sport and goes on to describe the
research methodology. The bulk of the volume is devoted to an
extended analysis of the findings. Among the specific questions
examined are: What is the meaning of sport in the lives of the
adolescents in the study? Is the popular conception that sports and
clean living go hand in hand upheld? What are the explanations
offered by adolescents regarding their drug use? Is sport a form of
individually chosen social control? What part does the peer group
play in an adolescent's social world? Is involvement in sport a
mechanism for the prevention or limitation of drug use among
adolescents? Stuck concludes by offering broad policy
recommendations based on the study's findings. Students and
professionals in the fields of sociology-sport, deviance,
qualitative methodology-adolescent psychology, and education will
find this volume enlightening reading.
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