Perceived parental gender bias and youth sport withdrawal

Early childhood and adolescence are remarkably informing developmental periods. They help determine personal identity, self-esteem and attachment patterns. By gaining deeper knowledge of the processes and interactions that occur during individuals' early years, it may be possible to help children and adolescents achieve their goals and develop healthy relationships.;This dissertation integrated information concerning child and adolescent growth, resiliency, gender socialization, development of gender stereotypes as well as the benefits and disadvantages of athletic involvement. Literature was explored that related to the preventative capacities that team sports provide, in that for girls sports have been shown to prevent teenage pregnancy, high-risk sexual behaviors, drug and alcohol use as well as to increase self-esteem and body image. The literature also demonstrated that parental expectations, values and beliefs affect those of their children.;In this study, both quantitative and qualitative methodologies were used through an online questionnaire consisting of 68 questions. The purpose was to gain insight into how parents influence their children's activity choices. Specifically, it examined whether parents may inadvertently influence their sons and daughters differently in regards to athletic activity. The original hypotheses stated that adolescent female student athletes currently participating in organized team sports would report a similar level of perceived parental gender bias when compared to their male counterparts. Secondly, that participants who withdrew from team sports at a young age would experience a higher level of parental gender bias than those who were still participating in team sports and lastly, that a higher rate of female participants would report withdrawing from team sports at a younger age. In spite of the fact that these hypotheses were not supported, other very engaging and useful data was discovered that is worthy of full consideration.;Specifically, it was found that parents who offer encouragement, focus on the physical health benefits of sports, emphasize having fun rather than winning games and feel that sport involvement is valuable characterize healthy and supportive parent-child interactions. Reasons for withdrawal were also examined, the results indicated that loss of enjoyment, lack of perceived competence, lack of parental support, over-involved parents and time commitment were all significant factors.;Initially, there were no apparent differences between the genders, however upon further analysis, preliminary indications of differences became apparent. Such differences included the fact that more females than males identified parental involvement to be important. In addition, females were more likely to say that they discontinued sports because they felt they weren't good enough. Whereas males were more likely to state that they withdrew due to the time commitment. It is hoped that this study will illuminate ways to allow parents to better support their children, help them become aware of their biases and how they may unintentionally influence their children's perceptions and activity choices.