The Covid-19 pandemic has had an unprecedented impact on everyone’s lives, but little research has focused on how teenage girls have been affected, especially in relation to sport and physical activity. Here this impact is analysed.
The Covid-19 pandemic has had an unprecedented impact on everyone’s lives, but little research has focused on how teenage girls have been affected, especially in relation to sport and physical activity.
The teenage years are a critical life stage for girls and their formative experiences of the pandemic will likely shape their attitudes and behaviours for years to come.
The pandemic restrictions have deeply affected their lives: school closures, exam uncertainty, increased time online, the inability to see friends and family, and to do the things they enjoy and find meaning in such as playing sport, have resulted in anxiety and stress for many.
However, the pandemic has also opened their eyes to what’s really important to them and how sport and physical activity can, and do, play a pivotal role in helping them to be healthier and happier teens.
In 2019 Women in Sport released Reframing Sport for Teenage Girls, our foundational research into the lives of teenage girls in the UK.