Abstract
BackgroundDrawing on Eccles’ expectancy-value model, we investigated the associations between parents’ sports-related socialization behaviors in the family context, youth’s sports’ values, and youth’s involvement in organized sports activities in the Nordic countries. More specifically, we tested the mediating effect of youth’s sports’ values on the link between socialization of sports in the family setting and youth’s sports participation. Further, we examined whether any associations were moderated by youth’s immigrant background or gender.MethodsImmigrant and Nordic adolescents (N = 678), in 7th–8th grade, were followed over two consecutive years and responded to surveys during regular class hours.ResultsSupporting Eccles’ model, we found that sports-related family co-activities significantly predicted youth’s prospective sports-related behaviors through youth’s sports’ values. The mediation process was robust across both Nordic and immigrant youth and adolescent girls and boys. Further, our results revealed that parents’ role modeling of sports activities was linked to both the amount of time youth currently spend on sports and their continuation in sports through youth’s sports’ values, although these associations were only significant for immigrant youth.ConclusionsOur findings offer insights into how participation in organized sports activities can be promoted among both immigrant and Nordic youth and among boys and girls. Most importantly, the findings may have valuable implications for researchers, policymakers and practitioners interested in promoting youth’s involvement in organized sports activities. This especially applies to immigrant youth, given that the literature consistently reports lower sports involvement among immigrant youth than their native counterparts.
Highlights
Drawing on Eccles’ expectancy-value model, we investigated the associations between parents’ sportsrelated socialization behaviors in the family context, youth’s sports’ values, and youth’s involvement in organized sports activities in the Nordic countries
We asked the same question about participation in sports activities at both Time 1 (T1) and Time 2 (T2): “Are you involved in after-school sports activities, for example, soccer, ice-hockey, horse riding, athletics, running?” We identified the youth who were involved in sports activities at T1 and who continued to be involved at T2
Our findings extend previous research [5], and the propositions derived from the expectancy-value model [15], by demonstrating that, regardless of family background, socialization of sports in the family context plays an important role in immigrant and native youth’s sports’ values and their participation in organized sports activities over time
Summary
Drawing on Eccles’ expectancy-value model, we investigated the associations between parents’ sportsrelated socialization behaviors in the family context, youth’s sports’ values, and youth’s involvement in organized sports activities in the Nordic countries. In light of the expectancyvalue model [15], which emphasizes the socializing role of parents and family in youth’s choice of activity participation, the aim of the current study is to examine the links between immigrant and native Nordic youth’s sports-related experiences in a family context, their subjective valuations of sports activities, and their involvement in organized sports. It is argued that socialization processes play a central role in shaping youth’s values with regard to activities, which in turn influence youth’s enrolment in and continuation with a specific activity (e.g., sports). These ideas have received support across a range of longitudinal studies [18,19,20]
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