Toward a Conceptualization of Good Parenting in Female Youth Sport

• Author / Creator

  Pynn, Shannon R

• The purpose of this study was to produce a conceptualization of good parenting in female youth sport. A two-phase approach was used. In phase one, individual semi-structured interviews were conducted with eight coaches (3 females, 5 males, M age= 40.1 years, SD = 15.1 years) with at least five years of experience coaching female ice hockey (n = 2), volleyball (n = 2), basketball (n = 1), soccer (n = 1), lacrosse (n = 1), and softball (n = 1). Coach interviews focused on what they perceived good parenting to be in youth sport. Coaches were then asked to nominate parents they had dealt with in the past who were exemplars of good parenting. In phase two, individual semi-structured interviews were conducted with 10 exemplary parents (7 mothers, 3 fathers, M age= 48.5 years, SD= 4.0 years). Parents were asked a range of questions about their involvement in their daughters’ sport, their general parenting style, and the specific parenting practices in which they engage. Data were analysed using Thorne’s (2016) interpretive description methodology. The results were organized into three categories, guided by Knight and Holt’s (2014) grounded theory of optimal parental involvement in youth tennis. The three main categories were labeled shared goals, principles of an understanding emotional climate, and enhancing practices surrounding competitions. Results revealed that good sport parents are attentive to their children’s emotional needs and understand their children, themselves, and the sporting context. They understand what to do, and when and how to do it, within a complex sporting milieu. Implications that arose from these findings are discussed, including suggestions for future research in autonomy supportive parenting and emotional intelligence, as well as the development of sport parent education interventions and applied initiatives aimed at improving sport parenting practices.

• Subjects / Keywords

  • Parenting
  • Females
  • Youth
  • Sports

• Graduation date

  Fall 2017

• Type of Item

  Thesis

• Degree

  Master of Arts

• DOI

  https://doi.org/10.7939/R3901ZW1R

• License

  This thesis is made available by the University of Alberta Libraries with permission of the copyright owner solely for non-commercial purposes. This thesis, or any portion thereof, may not otherwise be copied or reproduced without the written consent of the copyright owner, except to the extent permitted by Canadian copyright law.