Parent-athlete relationships: A central but underexamined consideration within sport psychology

Abstract

Parent-athlete relationships are central to athletes’ optimal wellbeing and experiences in sport. Nonetheless, despite being considered within numerous theories and models, parent-athlete relationships are often only studied implicitly. Thus, the purpose of this review is to critically examine theory and research pertaining to parent-athlete relationships in youth sport and provide suggestions regarding how to move this area of research forwards. Specifically, a review of the family-systems theory, the bioecological model, competence motivation theory, expectancy-value theory, self-determination theory, achievement goal theory, parenting styles, and attachment theory is provided. Subsequently, arguments for the potential benefit of utilising Reis at al.’s (2004) construct of responsiveness (i.e. how people in a relationship attend and support each other’s needs and goals) to improve understanding of parent-athlete relationships are presented. Finally, a model for studying parent-athlete relationships based on Feeney and Collins’ (2015) thriving through relationships is suggested. We believe that this model may be useful for integrating key elements of existing theories as they pertain to parent-athlete relationships while also providing fruitful avenues for more in-depth and explicit examinations of parent-athlete relationships within youth sport.