Developmental overview of child and youth sports for the twenty-first century.

This article presents an overview of sporting participation for children and adolescents from psychological, physical, social, developmental, and historical perspectives. The following areas are reviewed: (1) normal developmental readiness and sporting participation; (2) benefits and risks of athletic participation for the child and adolescent; (3) self concept and sporting participation; (4) adverse psychophysiological and somatoform effects of sports; (5) interactional and systemic contributions to adverse physical and psychological effects; (6) a historical/social perspective of sport in the United States; (7) the current and future role of psychiatrists in conjunction with sports medicine physicians; (8) the sports psychiatry interview of the child, family, and coach; and (9) summary and future challenges.