Parental Involvement in Youth Sports
Summary
Parental involvement in youth sports encompasses the spectrum of behaviours and attitudes exhibited by mothers and fathers as they support, guide and influence their children’s engagement in physical activity and organised sports. Such involvement ranges from practical assistance, such as transport and attendance at training and competition, to emotional support, motivational encouragement and the shaping of long-term aspirations. Research highlights that supportive involvement is associated with enhanced enjoyment, improved performance and sustained participation, while excessive control or pressure may lead to anxiety, decreased motivation and premature dropout. Cultural norms, socioeconomic status and gender roles interplay to shape parental approaches, from the prioritisation of academic and sporting excellence to the negotiation of traditional expectations regarding sons and daughters. Effective partnerships between parents, coaches and sport organisations have emerged as critical to creating a positive environment that balances competition and development, promotes mental and physical health and fosters both individual talent and collective well-being.
Research from Nature Portfolio
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Parental Involvement in Youth Sports publication trend
The graph below shows the total number of articles in parental involvement in youth sports across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).
Technical terms
Parental involvement: The range of practical, emotional and motivational behaviours by parents that shape a child’s sports experience.
Structural equation modelling (SEM): A statistical technique for testing complex relationships among observed and latent variables.
Sports-related values: Beliefs and attitudes held by athletes regarding the importance, enjoyment and usefulness of sport participation.
References
- The role of parental involvement in academic and sports achievement. Heliyon (2024).
- Parents’ Involvement in Choosing Extracurricular Sports Activities: A Gendered Perspective from Israel. Education Sciences (2024).
- The interplay between parental behaviors and adolescents' sports-related values in understanding adolescents' dropout of organized sports activities. Psychology of Sport and Exercise (2023).
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