Understanding enjoyment in youth sport: A developmental perspective

Abstract

Objectives Historically, the youth sport emotional response literature focused mainly on stress and enjoyment. Although research on these emotional responses has been significant, no systematic examination of these responses from a developmental perspective has been undertaken and therefore, developmental influence and implications for competitive youth sport are largely unknown. To begin to address this issue, the present study examined the developmental progression of sources of enjoyment among youth sport participants. Design A multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) was used to examine the developmental differences in sources of enjoyment among younger (under 11 years) and older (over 11 years) children participating in individual and team sports. Methods Participants ( n=152) aged 8–15 years were categorized into groups of younger and older children based on underlying cognitive-developmental criteria. Self-report measures of enjoyment, sources of enjoyment, perceived sport competence, and task and ego goal orientation were recorded. Results Older children reported significantly greater enjoyment and other-referenced competency and recognition than younger children. Although all sources of enjoyment predicted enjoyment among younger children, no single source added a unique proportion of variance to the model. Competitive excitement (CE) and other-referenced competency and recognition significantly predicted enjoyment among older children. Team sport participants reported significantly greater self-referenced competency (SRC), affiliation with peers (AP), competitive excitement (CE), positive parental involvement (PPI) and enjoyment compared with individual sport participants. Finally, aligned with previous research, task orientation and perceived competence significantly predicted enjoyment. Conclusions The results of the present study underline the importance of understanding the developmental progression of sources of enjoyment among children and adolescents in sport. Furthermore, consideration should also be given to the nature of the sport (team or individual) children participate in for long-term enjoyment and commitment to sport.