Jessica Fraser-Thomas -York University, Post-Doctoral Stipend 2006
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Project Summary
Currently, there is considerable public concern about youths’ healthy physical and psychosocial development. As such, researchers in both developmental and sport psychology highlight a need to better understand how organized sporting activities may be contributing to youths’ positive or negative development. The purpose of this study was to gain understanding of adolescents’ positive and negative developmental experiences in sport. Athletes suggested their sport involvement facilitated many positive developmental experiences related to challenge, meaningful adult and peer relationships, a sense of community, and other life experiences. Athletes also highlighted negative developmental experiences related to poor coach relationships, negative peer influences, parent pressure, and the challenging psychological environment of competitive sport.
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Organized activities have been proposed as an effective vehicle to foster positive youth development (Larson, 2000). Past studies (e.g., Hansen et al., 2003) have examined adolescents’ development across different activity contexts, but there is a need to further understand youths’ development through sport, given programs’ popularity and diversity. The purpose of this study was to gain understanding of adolescents’ positive and negative developmental experiences in competitive swimming.
High-investment adolescent competitive swimmers (N=22) of mixed genders, competencies, and clubs were purposefully sampled (Patton, 2002). Participants engaged in a semi-structured interview focused on positive and negative developmental experiences in competitive swimming during adolescence. Content analysis followed previously established guidelines (Tesch, 1990).
Athletes suggested swimming fostered primarily positive developmental experiences related to a strong work ethic, meaningful adult and peer relationships, a sense of community, and other life attributes. Athletes also outlined negative experiences related to poor coach relationships, negative peer influences, parent pressure, and the psychological challenges of competitive sport. Dichotomous experiences were of particular interest. While many athletes reported a solid work ethic facilitated by the challenging sport environment, others were unable to overcome challenges of their sport. Although some athletes developed meaningful relationships with coaches, many also spoke of poor coach relationships. Finally, while many athletes spoke of the meaningful relationships with parents, others were burdened by parent pressure.
Further research is required to determine how coaches can facilitate adolescents’ positive adaptations to sport-related challenge, to gain deeper understanding of adolescents’ negative experiences in sport, and to better understand the complex nature of parent-adolescent relationships in sport. Findings highlight the need for additional emphasis on coach training in adolescents’ psychological, social, and emotional development, and coaches engaging in ongoing self- and peer-evaluation. Findings also suggest coaches can play an important role in facilitating adolescents’ positive adaptations to competitive sports’ challenging environments .
Context
With growing concern for youths' healthy development, it has been suggested that
extracurricular programs such as sports can serve as contexts to foster positive development
(Larson, 2000). While sport programs are often assumed to foster positive attributes among
youth (e.g. character), little research has examined the processes and mechanisms by which
this may occur. The purpose of this study was to gain understanding of how one youth sport
context fosters positive development and negative outcomes during adolescence.
Method
Twenty-two current and former adolescent competitive swimmers participated in a semistructured
interview. Main questions were open-ended focusing on swimmers’ experiences.
Probing and follow-up questions focused on sport structures, club dynamics, and coach, parent,
and peer influences. Interviews were digitally recorded, transcribed verbatim, and analyzed
following previously established guidelines (Tesch, 1990).
Results
Athletes suggested swimming fostered positive developmental outcomes in five specific areas:
work ethic (e.g., coaches pushed athletes with high expectations), meaningful adult
relationships (e.g., coaches served as role models), meaningful peer relationships (e.g., sport
provided opportunities to mix with different age groups), sense of community (e.g., clubs were
family focused), and other life skills (e.g., athletes learned to overcome stress). Athletes also
reported negative experiences related to coaches (e.g., poor communication skills), peers (e.g.,
negative influences), parents (e.g., excessive pressure), and the mental challenges of sport
(e.g., difficulty coping with stressful situations).
Discussion
Findings suggest that sport organizations, clubs, and coaches must work together to assure
positive developmental outcomes among youth. For example, clubs play an important role in
fostering a sense of belonging in athletes, while coaches play a critical role in developing
athletes’ self-concept and facilitating their ability to cope in stressful situations. Future research
should examine means of fostering positive youth development in different sport contexts at
different sport levels, with youth of different socio-economic backgrounds.
SCRI 2007 Presentation Slides
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