A Social Identity Perspective on Parental Involvement in Competitive Youth Sport

Abstract

Parental involvement is integral to the functioning of youth sport, as their varying roles facilitate program logistics and athlete participation (Fredricks & Eccles, 2004). Beyond their personal involvement, parents form a social group with their peers, facilitated by the considerable time spent together (Dorsch, Smith, & McDonough, 2015; Wiersma & Fifer, 2008). Indeed, conceptualizing sport parents as a social group yields valuable insights into their behaviours and attitudes, specifically through the lens of social identity theory (Sutcliffe et al., 2020, 2022). However, most current literature on social identity in sport has been conducted with a quantitative methodology to test hypotheses or examine outcomes associated with groups having different social identity levels. While a few studies have used qualitative designs to explore the beliefs and perceptions of individuals that experience social identity in sport groups (e.g., Bruner, Boardley, Allan, Forrest, et al., 2017; Cacagnette et al., 2021; Herbison et al., 2020), this lens has not yet been extended to the study of sport parents. As such, the present study aimed to qualitatively investigate the factors in the youth sport context that contribute to or detract from perceptions of social identity in parents. Guided by the Social Identity Questionnaire for Sport Parents (SIQS-P; Sutcliffe et al., 2022), semi-structured interviews were conducted with 13 youth sport parents. The ensuing data was then analyzed using reflexive thematic analysis (Braun & Clarke 2006, 2021). Three themes were constructed through the analytical process: 1) What return can I expect from nurturing relationships with other parents, 2) How do other parents view me?, and 3) How do I fit in with other parents?. These results demonstrate that perceptions of social identity in sport parents stem largely from the perceived material and social outcomes of the relationships formed within the context. Obtaining these benefits results in a collective ‘buy-in’ to the group’s culture. As such, youth sport organizations should facilitate socialization opportunities for parents to develop connections with their peers and leverage feelings of social identity to positively influence parental behaviours and attitudes.