Adolescents' Perspectives on Skateboarding and Injury Risk: The Benefits Outweigh the Risks.

This article focuses on Canadian adolescents' perspectives on the benefits and risks of skateboarding, particularly why youth return to the sport after sustaining medically attended injuries. Through interviews with 26 skateboarders aged 14–17 who had experienced serious injuries, the study found that participants valued skateboarding for its interpersonal connections, mental and physical health benefits, enjoyment, personal growth, and identity development. Despite acknowledging injury as a major risk and experiencing significant psychosocial costs during recovery—such as loss of social contact and challenges to self-identity—participants consistently reported that the benefits of skateboarding outweighed these costs, motivating their return to the sport. The findings suggest that injury prevention efforts may be more effective if they address not only physical risks but also the psychological and social impacts of injury, and that providing psychosocial support during recovery could help mitigate negative mental health outcomes.