Parental Attitudes and Children's Experiences in Soccer: Correlates of Effort and Enjoyment

Abstract

To examine the relation between parental childrearing attitudes and children's experiences in sport, 49 families of 6-to 8-year-old male soccer players were studied. Mothers and fathers completed questionnaires about their childrearing practices; children, coaches, fathers, and mothers provided information on the child's enjoyment, effort, ability, competitiveness, and/or co-operativeness. Mothers and fathers showed very different patterns of involvement in their child's soccer experience: Whereas maternal support and expectations were positively associated with the level of child enjoyment, paternal expectations and directiveness were highest when child ability or effort was low. Moreover, regardless of the actual nature of reported parental behaviour, mothers and fathers showing the highest levels of involvement had children showing the lowest level of co-operation with the coach. The findings suggest that fathers and mothers differ in the responsibility that they feel for helping the child who is experiencing difficulty in sport, and that, in some cases, fathers' attempts to help may actually undermine the child's effort and enjoyment.