Youth sports have a lot of positive implications for young kids. However, the dynamics of competitive sports has changed the long-term mental health of young athletes. For my research proposal I will be reviewing literature and completing a survey of the impact of parent support and/or pressure that is put on young children/athletes ages 8-12 years-old in competitive sports
Existing research includes many positive implications of young kids playing sports, but it is essential to review the family dynamics of the relationship between parent-child. Children are being asked to join competitive sports at earlier ages than in the past. Parents are paying exorbitant amounts of money for their children’s sports activities. There are many young athletes that leave a sport or sports all together due to a collection of mental health concerns. This can include outside pressure, self-pressure, sports fatigue, or other factors. It is important to examine children in sports between the 8–12-year-old range and see how they perceive parent support in their sport(s) from a young age.
Extensive research has been completed in the area of youth sports and active participation showing sports participation is developmentally important for children (Dorsch et al, 2015). Sports participation as an extracurricular activity for young children have been associated with a range of advantages for athletes, such as physical, psychological, emotional, social, and intellectual benefits (Dorsch et al., 2022). Approximately 80% of North American and European youth participate in some form of organized sports (Dorsch, 2020). For the positive benefits to be evident in the future and not impede progress, it is crucial that the necessary elements are in place. For a child to feel connected and supported in sports, they must have a connection with their peers, coach, and family (Dorsch et al., 2022). Dorsch presented a model that incorporates past theoretical contributions and integrations to explain how proximal (e.g., parent pressure and support, sibling modeling and differentiation, peer social comparison and expectations, coach-relationships and leadership) and distal (e.g., organizational culture and standards, community infrastructure and access, societal traditions and values) aspects of the youth sport system can be studied in a more integrated way. (Dorsch et al., 2022, p. 106)
There is significant literature on young athletes in competitive sports and it is vital to look at the various aspects within this realm. Athletes can be internally motivated within a sport or externally motivated, possibly by a parent or coach. Different parenting styles can be correlated with sports pressure and/or support and it is important to determine where the motivation is originating in order to correctly associate factors and implications on a child’s mental health (Fleming, 2022). Parental support and being emotionally present at a child’s practices and games is important to develop and maintain positive relationships between the parent-child which can also support internal and external motivation (Kaye et al, 2019).
Parental pressure can be put on a young athlete due to outside factors such as cost, time the parent is putting into the sport, perception, status, all of which can weigh on a child and how they feel they have to perform within the sport. There are authors that argue that perfectionism dimensions have an impact on a child psychological process that can lead to positive and negative outcomes (Appleton et al., 2011). It is known that the parent pressure can lead to many different factors within a young athlete’s life including but not limited to sports burnout, injuries, broken family relationships, negative self-talk, as well as many other factors (Whitley et al., 2021). As stated in Appleton’s work (2011) the parent’s attitude, expectations, pressure, and support towards the development of their child’s perfectionism are key contributing factors.
Many times, children perceive words, emotions, ideas, and body language when adults do not realize they are even reacting to a situation. When a parent put s a child in a sport it is for the hopes of a positive outcome. Parents will provide love, encouragement, praise, and many other forms of support for the child during their sports career. When the support is transferred in a positive manner it is likely to impact a child positively within that experience, when the attitude changes to negative then it can impact a child negatively within the sports experience (Knight et al, 2016). This shows that parents can change the outcome for the child within an activity and sport when they don’t even realize it. Children place a significant importance on their parent’s attitudes and involvement within their sport in one way or another. At times this can be the emotional support and at other times it may be combined with technical support. Children’s parents who have high knowledge of athletics and sports have a higher success rate of giving and the child actively receiving the technical support than the parents who are the child perceived as less sports savvy (Knight et al, 2016).
There has been a change in focus within youth development that has gone from a deficit-based development to a strength-based approach (Vella et al., 2013). There are assumptions that putting your child in a sport will result in positive outcomes but that isn’t always the case. There is a relationship and self-view that comes into the correlation between positive sports experiences and an athlete’s mental health. The positive sports experiences include relationships between family members, coaches, and peers. The parent who puts significant pressure on their athlete through their own questioning and correction as well as the allowing the coach to control this dynamic can significantly impact a child’s outcome within the sport itself as well as how much they like the sport and continue long term in the sport (Vella et al., 2013).
Parent education in the youth sports area is lacking within the current research (Dorsch et al, 2019). It would be important for future research to focus on understanding a variety of stakeholders within youth sports in order to develop a research-based parent education training to keep sports at the heart of the child and not in the hands of the adult driving the participation and desire (Dorsch et al, 2019).
With all of the different relationships that happen naturally within the sports arena, arguably, the most important and impactful relationship a child has is the one from their parents (Dorsch, 2020). It is important to know how the relationship between a parent and child (that participates in competitive sports) can create an environment that remains positive, and fosters improved mental health. As such, this study will serve to identify the effective ways in which a parent can best support their child to better the family relationship, keep the child active in sports, and increase mental health well-being of their child. The end goal of this project will create a systematic parent education training and on-going parent development that can be adopted by sports organizations across the United States.