(PS5-60) Youth Experiences in Sport and Intentions to Continue Participation

Youth sport participation can promote positive mental health, particularly by reducing symptoms of anxiety and depression (Panza et al., 2020). Both positive and negative youth experiences may predict intention to continue participating in sports for youth and their families. Additionally, multiple barriers exist for youth regarding sports participation, including availability of programming and financial obstacles (Pandya, 2021). Understanding factors that influence parental decisions for youth to is essential for optimizing the positive impact of sports engagement. The current study aims to explore the impact of parent perceptions of youth experiences and intentions to continue sport participation.

Method: Participants included 118 parents of youth participating in sports in community organizations. Parents provided demographic information about their children (76.7% female; 22.3% male; 53.4% White/European American; 23.7% Black/African American; 9.3% Hispanic/Latinx; 3.4% Asian/Asian American; 0.8% Native American; 2.5% another race). Children of participants ranged in age from 8-14 (M = 10.83; SD = 1.99). This project was part of a larger IRB approved research study designed to understand the social climate amongst youth sport organizations after COVID-19. For this study, youth experience was measured using the Youth Experiences Scale, which assessed 21 various positive (e.g., social skill building) and negative (e.g., exposure to bullying) experiences youth may have during sport participation (McDonald et al., 2012). Intention to continue participating was assessed using a three item Likert type scale (Wekesser et al., 2019). Multiple linear regressions were conducted in SPSS to analyze the relationship between experiences and intention to continue participating, controlling for youth gender and race/ethnicity.

Results: Results suggested, counterintuitively, a greater number of parent-reported positive experiences is linked to a decreased intention to continue participating in their sport (B = -.875, p < .001). Simultaneously, as participants report more negative experiences for their children, their reported intention to continue participating in their sport increases (B = .507, p < . 001).  

Discussion: Taken together, these results suggest a complex relationship between parent perspectives of their child’s experiences and their reported intention to continue participating in sports. While counterintuitive, these main effect findings may suggest a disconnect between parent perceptions of their child’s experiences and the factors that may influence their intention to continue participating (Schwab et al., 2010). Further, it is possible that other considerations beyond the experiences assessed in this study, such as structural barriers, are more influential in determining intention to continue playing. These findings reveal influential factors that may contribute to the link between youth sport participation and symptoms of anxiety and depression. In addition, implications for designing behavioral interventions (e.g., coach training) will be presented.