Published as a separate and in The Journal of Things, 2000, 94, 70-75

EFFECTS OF SKATE BOARDING ON CRIMINAL BEHAVIOR AND PHYSICAL FITNESS^{1 2}

Departments of Skateboarding and Crime , T-Bone University

BEA O’PROBLEM, IVANA HUMALOT, JOE TOURTLOTTE³

SUMMARY

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of skate boarding on a regular basis on criminal behavior and physical fitness. Fifty randomly picked kids (Ss) were randomly divided into a control group ( had no previous encounters with skateboards) and an experimental group ( skateboarded regularly)
At the end of a 20 week skate boarding lifestyle the two groups were significantly different in skateboard abilitys, indicating the efficacy of the experimental treatment. There was a decrease in criminal behavior from pretest to post test for the experimental group only. Also, the experimental group had a small change from the pretest to the post test in physical fitness compared to the control group.

A. INTRODUCTION

Most people in todays society do not tend to promote much approval of different pass times that many teenagers tend to do. One of these pass-times that seem to get a bad wrap is skate boarding. Many people seem to think that skate boarding is not even a sport but a reason for kids to get together and cause trouble but in reality this is not true at all. Empirical studies have substantiated these beliefs in part. Choholic (8) found that skate boarding is a great way to relax you and make people forget about their worries. In a similar study Hug’nkiss (10) shows how skate boarding is a sport where people become stronger in the legs and have higher endurance after skate boarding. Freely (2) finds how skate boarding is dangerous but is also good for the mind in that it teaches us how to figure out problems on our own. Ss that skateboard seem to not participate in illigall activity where as Ss that did not skateboard did participate in activities that included breaking the law
These studies suggest that by giving teenagers a hobby that they can do on their own and is physically active keeps them busy and their mind on something somewhat positive and they do not find themselves bored with nothing to do but cause trouble. The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of criminal behavior and physical fitness with teens on skate boarding.

B. METHOD
1. SUBJECTS

Ss were fifty tenth grade students attending We’re-All-High School in Topsham, Idaho.

2. MEASURING INSTRUMENTS

a. Joe’s Skate Park. Bone (1) Joe’s skate park is a place made for people of all ages to skateboard or anything else in that genre. Here, the experimental Ss can skate as long as they want and as much as they want.
b. Idaho’s Crime Measure. Invented by Case (158), this is a lie detector test that has never failed and will never fail. Someone puts this “helmet” on and after a few minutes either a red light or a green light will appear. If a red light appears then it will print out a list of what illegal things that person has done.
c. Sadam’s Fitness Shower. Sadam’s fitness shower was made by Hussan (4) and shows the muscles before a certain time period and after the certain time period.

3. PROCEDURE

During the end of the school year at We’re-All-High School in June of 1998, 50 randomly picked kids were set up in sets of 25.Those who were picked were told of what was their program and they had the opertunity to not participate if they chose not to.
The students who were selected to participate in the experiment were randomly assigned to one of two groups- an experimental group and a control group. The25 students in the experimental group were set up into a skate board program where they skate a minimum of 1 hour a day but can skate as much as they want. The other set of 25 (the control group) had to walk around the streets for a minimum of 1 hour a day or as long as they want. The Ss in the experimental group went together to Joe’s Skatepark for a minimum of one hour a day. At the begining they had to build up their skill and learn on their own. At the begining they were obviously bad at the sport having no previous skate boarding ability’s. They learned fast and seemed interested in the sport. After about 2 weeks the majority of the Ss learned the basic “Ollie”. They felt more comfortable on the ramps and seemed so occupied in their skating that they had no time for illigal activities. Freely’s testing proves to us how skate boarding is good for indiviual work and gives the skater confidense boosts when they figure out a trick.
Meanwhile, the control group was just walking around with nothing to do and they were starting to get bored. When they found themselves with nothing to do they started to get desperate with ideas. Eventually on of the Ss suggested that they participate in an illegal activity. So, some of them tried some drugs. Some of the Ss that tried the drugs had no prior encounters with drugs. Some of them robbed stores or just caused ruckuss on the streets.
At the end of the 20 week period the control group and the experimental group were retested on Idaho’s Crime Measure Test, and Sadam’s Fitness Shower.

C. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

Following the 20 week period the experimental group experienced mostly no crime and continued to skate. (t = 8.89), indicating the efficacy of the experimental testing. There also was an increase in physical fitness (t = 5.0), There was a little differance in crime from pretest to postest in the control group. Thus, it may be concluded that participating in activities such as skate boarding keeps kids out of trouble and keeps them in shape.

REFERANCES

1. Bone, Joe. Joe’s Skatepark. Idaho: 1995
2. Case, Justin. Idaho’s Crime Measurer. Sandpoint, Idaho: Counsel. Recordings & Tests, 1987.
3.Choholic, Al. The Effects of Skate Boarding on Relaxing. Diss Abst. Internat., 1981,52, 3216-3217.
4. Freely, I.P. Adventures In the Bathroom. Res. Quart. 1990, 45, 128-129.
5. Hug’nkiss, Amanda. Wow, Skate Boarding Isn’t Exactly a Bad Thing. Diss. Abst. Internat., 1991, 75, 1900-1922.
6.Hussan, Saddam. Maybe I really Am A Bad Guy. Diss. Abst. Internat., 1989, 101, 1234-1235.

Department of Skate Boarding
T-Bone’s University
1234 FSC
Place, Idaho

¹ Recieved in the Editorial Office on July 29, 1995, and published immidiately at Place, Idaho, Copyright by The T-Bone Press.

² This experiment was supported in part by a Reasearch Fellowship granted to Bea O’Prablem and Ivana Humpalot by T-Bone University.

³ Requests for reprints should be sent to the third auther at the address shown at the end of this article.