Sport, Physical Activity, and Young People Who Are Incarcerated: A Scoping Review

Abstract

We present a scoping review of qualitative scholarly publications on sport and physical activity in secure custody facilities for young people published over a 22-year period, finding the literature remains geographically, substantively, and theoretically scant. We identify and assess predominant themes in the following four areas: (1) sport’s potential contribution to young persons’ rehabilitation and desistance; (2) the structure and organization of sport programs; (3) sport and coping with the experience of incarceration; and (4) other themes, including health outcomes and gender and race. Our scoping review provides a foundation for researchers and policymakers to advance knowledge about sport-based interventions in the lives of young people who are incarcerated.