Background anger in youth sport: a perfect storm?

Angry adult behavior at youth sport events is documented in scholarly literature (Kidman, McKenzie, & McKenzie, 1999), popular press sport parent books (Murphy, 1999), and the media (Abrams, 2006). Background anger (BA) involves the presence of an angry verbal, nonverbal, or physical interaction between two or more people that does not directly involve the observer (Cummings, 1987). Sustained exposure to BA is distressing for children and may result in long-term health consequences (Grych & Fincham, 1990), but little is known about how BA influences the sport experience and performance of children. Given recent interest in the behavior of youth sport parents, this paper adapts the BA construct to youth sport to further understanding of the influence of angry parent behaviors on children. Evidence that coaches, parents, and children frequently observe background anger in some youth sport environments is presented and implications for future research and educational intervention are discussed.
For many youth, sport and family life work together to promote positive development, but for some the influence of parents in youth sport may be less than positive. In addition [...]