The effect of sports on academic performance : a study of the AUB community

Abstract

The ongoing debate about the importance of sports and its effect on the human mind has left people with questions about the effect on the academic performance of students, which this paper aims to answer. Researchers have found positive relationships between the two variables, seeing the advantages that sports can achieve. Others have found a negative relationship explained by the increased time and commitment required that reduces available time for studying. Some have found no significant relationship between the two. In this study, a linear regression model is used, and after controlling for various variables, the effect of being an athlete on academic performance turns out to be significantly negative. However, sports will enhance the students’ health, and increase their self-esteem and well-being levels, which will in turn increase GPA. This makes the overall effect a positive one, where the negative impacts are balanced out by the more optimistic ones.