The Role of Parental Involvement in Youth Sport Experience: Perceived and Desired Behavior by Male Soccer Players.

Valerio Bonavolontà,Gioacchino Mastrorilli,Stefania Cataldi,Francesca Latino,Francesco Fischetti,Michele De Candia,Antonino Patti,Giulia Messina,Roberto Carvutto

doi:10.3390/ijerph18168698

Abstract

Parents play a key role in the youth sports educational experience. They are responsible for the introduction of their children to physical or sporting education and their involvement has been associated with sport participation in early stages. The aims of this cross-sectional study were, first, to assess the perceived and desired parental involvement by children and, secondly, to examine their satisfaction or dissatisfaction with any specific behavior. 80 male soccer players filled the Parental Involvement in Sport Questionnaire (PISQ) before or after a training session in presence of a coach. PISQ results revealed excessive active involvement and pressure, insufficient praise and understanding and satisfactory directive behavior from children’s parents. Our findings suggest that excessive parental involvement can cause pressure on children who would prefer parental participation characterized by praise and understanding. A balance between a supporting involvement without putting too much pressure is needed by the parents. To prevent burnout and dropout and to facilitate future practice, parents should be counseled (possibly by a sport educator) on how to positively support their children concerning their sport experience.

Highlights

Published: 17 August 2021As it has been strongly emphasized during the last decade, a physically active lifestyle benefits health and social domains [1,2]
Results this as theanalysis correlation analysis found that desired active confirmed thisconfirmed relation as therelation correlation found that desired active involvement involvement positively related both pressure with desired and discrepancy
The pressure This discrepwas positivelywas related both with desired and pressure the pressure could ancy. This could be interpretated as children desiring lower levels of parental involvement be interpretated as children desiring lower levels of parental involvement and, lower and, lower parent pressure

Summary

Introduction

Published: 17 August 2021As it has been strongly emphasized during the last decade, a physically active lifestyle benefits health and social domains [1,2]. Parents play an important role in this participation, as they usually contribute to children’s initial sport involvement and provide concrete and emotional support throughout children’s sport careers [8] Parents are those responsible to introduce their children to physical and sporting activity (PSA) [9] providing transport, access [10], educational, and emotional and economic support. Parents bring their children to the competition venue and remain there, which means that parents can potentially affect the child and their behavior with several instances [11]

Objectives

Results

Discussion

Conclusion