The Hidden Worries of Inequality: The Effect of Family Capital on Sports Skills Development Among College Students in China.

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Title: The Hidden Worries of Inequality: The Effect of Family Capital on Sports Skills Development Among College Students in China.
Authors: Qin, Yiming1 (AUTHOR), Tao, Hanxiao2 (AUTHOR), Zou, Zhaozhao1 (AUTHOR), Liang, Huailiang3 (AUTHOR) lhl20@mails.tsinghua.edu.cn, Liu, Xinqiao (AUTHOR) xinqiao.liu@tju.edu.cn
Source: New Directions for Child & Adolescent Development. 3/24/2026, Vol. 2026, p1-19. 19p.
Subject Terms: *College students, Social capital, Matthew effect, Physical mobility, Social reproduction, Social stratification
Geographic Terms: China
Abstract: The transition from late adolescence to early adulthood is a critical developmental turning point, where sports skills as a key dimension of physical activity exert long‐lasting impacts on youth′s health, social adaptation, and developmental trajectories. To clarify the inequality in sports skills development during this transitional stage, this study examines how family capital shapes sports skills development among college students (a typical group in early adulthood) and the underlying mechanisms. Using data from the Beijing College Students Panel Survey and ordinary least squares regression models, we find that family economic capital, family social capital, and family cultural capital are each positively associated with sports skills. Family cultural capital fully mediates the associations of family economic capital and family social capital with sports skills, suggesting that both cultural reproduction and capital conversion operate through family cultural capital. We also identify significant cumulative advantage effects: Family capital contributes to higher sports skills in college partly by fostering a stronger skill foundation during high school (late adolescence). The findings reveal that sports skills disparities during the late adolescence to early adulthood transition are shaped by three interrelated mechanisms: cultural reproduction, capital conversion, and cumulative advantage, through which class‐based differences in family resources translate into stratified opportunities for developing sports skills. From an equity perspective, policymakers and educational institutions should strengthen targeted support for disadvantaged students to narrow early skill gaps, ensuring that transitional stage inequalities do not persist into adulthood as disadvantages in health, social participation, and educational attainment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Copyright of New Directions for Child & Adolescent Development is the property of Wiley-Blackwell and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
Database: Education Research Complete
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An: 192476774
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  Data: The Hidden Worries of Inequality: The Effect of Family Capital on Sports Skills Development Among College Students in China.
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="JN" term="%22New+Directions+for+Child+%26+Adolescent+Development%22">New Directions for Child & Adolescent Development</searchLink>. 3/24/2026, Vol. 2026, p1-19. 19p.
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  Data: *<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22College+students%22">College students</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Social+capital%22">Social capital</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Matthew+effect%22">Matthew effect</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Physical+mobility%22">Physical mobility</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Social+reproduction%22">Social reproduction</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Social+stratification%22">Social stratification</searchLink>
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  Data: The transition from late adolescence to early adulthood is a critical developmental turning point, where sports skills as a key dimension of physical activity exert long‐lasting impacts on youth′s health, social adaptation, and developmental trajectories. To clarify the inequality in sports skills development during this transitional stage, this study examines how family capital shapes sports skills development among college students (a typical group in early adulthood) and the underlying mechanisms. Using data from the Beijing College Students Panel Survey and ordinary least squares regression models, we find that family economic capital, family social capital, and family cultural capital are each positively associated with sports skills. Family cultural capital fully mediates the associations of family economic capital and family social capital with sports skills, suggesting that both cultural reproduction and capital conversion operate through family cultural capital. We also identify significant cumulative advantage effects: Family capital contributes to higher sports skills in college partly by fostering a stronger skill foundation during high school (late adolescence). The findings reveal that sports skills disparities during the late adolescence to early adulthood transition are shaped by three interrelated mechanisms: cultural reproduction, capital conversion, and cumulative advantage, through which class‐based differences in family resources translate into stratified opportunities for developing sports skills. From an equity perspective, policymakers and educational institutions should strengthen targeted support for disadvantaged students to narrow early skill gaps, ensuring that transitional stage inequalities do not persist into adulthood as disadvantages in health, social participation, and educational attainment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
– Name: AbstractSuppliedCopyright
  Label:
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  Data: <i>Copyright of New Directions for Child & Adolescent Development is the property of Wiley-Blackwell and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract.</i> (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
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        Value: 10.1155/cad/5538512
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        Text: English
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      – SubjectFull: College students
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Social capital
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      – SubjectFull: Matthew effect
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      – SubjectFull: Physical mobility
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      – SubjectFull: Social reproduction
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      – SubjectFull: Social stratification
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      – SubjectFull: China
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      – TitleFull: The Hidden Worries of Inequality: The Effect of Family Capital on Sports Skills Development Among College Students in China.
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              Text: 3/24/2026
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              Y: 2026
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