Parental Involvement in Youth Sports

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine the perceptions of parents and their children regarding the child's involvement in sports. The perceptions of the parents and their children were then compared in order to further examine discrepancies. 189 adolescents, ranging from eleven years old to nineteen years old, and 108 of their parents responded to a survey about their involvement in basketball. Using basketball as a medium over 29 variables, the child's perceptions of his/her parent, and the parent's perception of himself/herself and his/her relationship with the child we reviewed. Research showed the differences between the parents perceptions and the child's perceptions, gauging how parental support and parental pressure affected a child's success in and enjoyment of basketball. Parents tended to have more positive perceptions of themselves and their involvement in their child's extracurricular activities than what the child indicated he/she perceived. This suggests a gap in the parent-child relationship that can be further studied and used to educate parents and coaches. Recommendations for future study include expanding on this research and focusing on elite athletes in revenue sports in order to gauge their perceptions pressure and its effect on their enjoyment of and success in the game.