Developing features of sport parenting expertise: an investigation and intervention

My intention for this thesis was to explore the influence of parent sport communications on children’s development, and to embed resulting understanding within established theories and knowledge from wider fields of psychological enquiry. The aim was to guide the development and examination of an intervention aimed at improving parental fostering of children’s optimal development through sport. Initially, I conducted a review of literature relating to wider fields of psychological enquiry relevant to parenting in youth sport contexts. This led to the identification of four key themes proposed as informing the shaping of parent sport communications: a) the importance of parent sport communications to child development, b) benefits of parental support of children’s basic psychological needs (BPNs), c) barriers to parental BPN support, and d) how to skill parents to apply recommended communications via mindfulness training. In Study 1, I explored Australian coaches’ and junior sport administrators’ perspectives regarding their observations of, and interactions with, sport parents in their roles through the use of individual semi-structured interviews to explore the nature of parent sport communications in Australia. I recruited 12 coaches and administrators (eight males, four females; eight coaches, four administrators; Mean age = 42 years) from a variety of sports (tennis, cricket, rugby union, football, swimming), and levels (high school to national). Study participants recounted various parent communications, but detrimental parent communications were most regularly reported. Of the noted detrimental communications, coaches and administrators most frequently recalled parental anger and complaints targeted at them in their roles as coaches and administrators, and observed parents who offered support for their own children conditionally based on performance. Guided by Study 1 results and the abovementioned research themes, in Part A of Study 2, I developed and examined an eight-hour (four-sessions; two hours per session over eight weeks) sport parenting intervention designed to improve parental basic psychological need (BPN) support in tennis. I hypothesized that parental BPN support of children would increase post intervention participation and that improved parental mindfulness would be associated with increased BPN support. Quantitative and qualitative data relating to my hypotheses and research questions were collected with parents (N= 9) and children (N= 7) prior to, during, and following the intervention. Overall, regarding BPN support, quantitative results were mixed while qualitative data suggested most parents achieved improved communications, particularly regarding the relatedness dimension. Parents reported perceived improved mindfulness ability both qualitatively and quantitatively. Next, in Part B of Study 2, I examined the link between parental BPN support and factors relating to children’s tennis performance. This involved exploring the influence of Part A parent intervention participation (with two parent-child dyads) on children’s fear of failure, avoidance-focused coping mechanisms, and performance. Results indicated that both children experienced decreased fear of failure, decreased venting of unpleasant emotion, and increased effort. Measures of mental distraction remained unchanged while performance measures were inconclusive. The impetus for a final study came when, at the conclusion of the previously mentioned group parent intervention, an analysis of data revealed that one parent did not achieve desired improved communications with his daughter. Therefore, in Study 3 I conducted a seven-session (approximately one hour per session over 16 weeks) individual intervention designed to extend and individualize elements of this parent’s previous group intervention participation. Results indicated that the participant improved BPN support for his daughter post-intervention.