Table 2. Comparison of cost and benefit considerations in sport participation by income tertiles.

		Low income		Middle income		High income
Variable	Level of importance1 or concern2	n	%	n	%	n	%	p
Benefits
Be physically active (n = 1023)	1	245	71%	263	69%	219	73%	0.742
	2	82	24%	105	28%	73	24%
	3	10	3%	8	2%	6	2%
	4	6	2%	3	1%	3	1%
Develop teamwork skills	1	234	68%	257	68%	199	66%	0.801
	2	98	29%	107	28%	90	30%
(n = 1021)	3	7	2%	6	2%	8	3%
	4	3	1%	8	2%	4	1%
Keep out of trouble	1	219	64%	182	48%	120	40%	<0.001
(n = 1022)	2	80	23%	114	30%	92	31%
	3	29	8%	48	13%	67	22%
	4	14	4%	35	9%	22	7%
Improve strength and stamina	1	193	57%	179	47%	140	47%	0.066
	2	115	34%	162	43%	136	45%
(n = 1019)	3	26	8%	32	8%	21	7%
	4	7	2%	5	1%	3	1%
Obtain a college athletic scholarship	1	87	26%	51	13%	25	8%	<0.001
	2	102	30%	75	20%	45	15%
(n = 1020)	3	95	28%	153	40%	134	45%
	4	56	16%	100	26%	97	32%
Make friends	1	189	55%	204	54%	160	53%	0.964
(n = 1021)	2	128	37%	139	37%	115	38%
	3	20	6%	29	8%	21	7%
	4	5	1%	7	2%	4	1%
Learn how to be a good winner/loser	1	236	69%	235	62%	185	61%	0.286
	2	90	26%	123	32%	94	31%
	3	11	3%	13	3%	17	6%
(n = 1023)	4	6	2%	8	2%	5	2%
Have fun	1	274	80%	296	79%	247	82%	0.950
(n = 1021)	2	63	18%	73	19%	48	16%
	3	4	1%	4	1%	3	1%
	4	3	1%	4	1%	2	1%
Cost
Time for other activities	1	99	29%	81	22%	58	19%	0.015
	2	164	48%	177	47%	154	51%
(n = 1019)	3	60	17%	92	24%	76	25%
	4	20	6%	26	7%	12	4%
Cost of sport participation	1	141	41%	104	28%	47	16%	<0.001
	2	148	43%	159	42%	112	37%
(n = 1018)	3	41	12%	82	22%	107	36%
	4	11	3%	33	9%	33	11%
Getting child to practices/games	1	106	31%	80	21%	53	18%	<0.001
	2	128	37%	123	33%	110	37%
(n = 1020)	3	70	20%	119	31%	101	34%
	4	38	11%	56	15%	36	12%
Risk of concussion	1	190	55%	143	38%	123	41%	<0.001
(n = 1019)	2	99	29%	133	35%	104	35%
	3	40	12%	86	23%	59	20%
	4	14	4%	15	4%	13	4%
Risk of injury (other than concussion)	1	179	52%	123	33%	108	36%	<0.001
	2	108	31%	167	44%	109	36%
(n = 1021)	3	48	14%	77	20%	71	24%
	4	8	2%	11	3%	12	4%
Emotional stress of sport	1	108	31%	85	22%	48	16%	<0.001
	2	146	43%	144	38%	122	41%
(n = 1021)	3	64	19%	120	32%	105	35%
	4	25	7%	29	8%	25	8%
Impact on schoolwork	1	174	51%	146	39%	114	38%	0.011
(n = 1021)	2	118	34%	155	41%	125	42%
	3	41	12%	59	16%	52	17%
	4	10	3%	18	5%	9	3%

¹Importance levels: 1 = very important, 2 = somewhat important, 3 = not very important, 4 = not at all important.

²Concern levels: 1 = very much a concern, 2 = somewhat of a concern, 3 = not very much of a concern, 4 = not at all a concern.