Relative Age Effects Across and Within Female Sport Contexts: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis
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SYSTEMATIC REVIEW
Relative Age Effects Across and Within Female Sport Contexts: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis Kristy L. Smith1 • Patricia L. Weir1 • Kevin Till2 • Michael Romann3 Stephen Cobley4
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Ó Springer International Publishing AG, part of Springer Nature 2018
Abstract Background Subtle differences in chronological age within sport (bi-) annual-age groupings can contribute to immediate participation and long-term attainment discrepancies; known as the relative age effect. Voluminous studies have examined relative age effects in male sport; however, their prevalence and context-specific magnitude in female sport remain undetermined. Objective The objective of this study was to determine the prevalence and magnitude of relative age effects in female sport via examination of published data spanning 1984–2016. Methods Registered with PROSPERO (No. 42016053497) and using Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analysis systematic search guidelines, 57 studies were identified, containing 308 independent samples across 25 sports. Distribution data were synthesised using odds ratio meta-analyses, applying an invariance random-effects model. Follow-up subgroup category analyses examined whether relative age effect magnitudes
Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (https://doi.org/10.1007/s40279-018-0890-8) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users. & Stephen Cobley [email protected] 1
Faculty of Human Kinetics, University of Windsor, Windsor, ON, Canada
2
Institute for Sport, Physical Activity and Leisure, Leeds Beckett University, Leeds, UK
3
Swiss Federal Institute of Sport Magglingen, Magglingen, Switzerland
4
Exercise and Sport Sciences, Faculty of Health Sciences, The University of Sydney, Cumberland Campus, 75 East St, Lidcombe, Sydney, NSW 2141, Australia
were moderated by age group, competition level, sport type, sport context and study quality. Results When comparing the relatively oldest (quartile 1) vs. youngest (quartile 4) individuals across all female sport contexts, the overall pooled estimate identified a significant but small relative age effect (odds ratio = 1.25; 95% confidence interval 1.21–1.30; p = 0.01; odds ratio adjusted = 1.21). Subgroup analyses revealed the relative age effect magnitude was higher in pre-adolescent (B 11 years) and adolescent (12–14 years) age groups and at higher competition levels. Relative age effect magnitudes were higher in team-based and individual sport contexts associated with high physiological demands. Conclusion The findings highlight relative age effects are prevalent across the female sport contexts examined. Relative age effect magnitude is moderated by interactions between developmental stages, competition level and sport context demands. Modifications to sport policy, organisational and athlete development system structure, as well as practitioner intervention are recommended to prevent relative age effectrelated participation and longer term attainme
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