Disruptive Behaviors in Physical Education: A Matched Study of Social Skills and Sport Practice in a Region of Spain

Disruptive behaviors in physical education cause conflicts among students and, consequently, an abnormal development of classes. Therefore, finding the variables that can solve them is an urgent aspect to achieve an adequate learning environment in the 21st century school. The aim of this study was to analyze what happens to disruptive behaviors in relation to systematic and regulated sports and social practice in a sample of Spanish primary school students. Five hundred and forty-eight schoolchildren (276 were girls (50.4%)) participated with a mean age of 10.98 (SD = 0.71). The results show a significant main effect in terms of social skills in relatedness (p < 0.001), irresponsibility (p < 0.001), failure to follow directions (p < 0.001), distracting or disturbing others (p < 0.001), and in poor self-management (p < 0.001) with higher scores in disruptive behaviors in students with lower social skills. Regarding sports practice, only a significant main effect was found in relatedness (p < 0.001) and in poor self-management (p < 0.001), with the highest scores the schoolchildren who do not practice sports. Schoolchildren with high social skills obtain lower scores in disruptive behaviors. Likewise, schoolchildren who play sports have lower scores in relatedness and poor self-management.