An Intervention to Address Youth Sport Parent Spectator Behaviors in Louisiana: Lessons for Future Research and Social Work Practice

Abstract

Parent spectator behaviors present significant challenges within the youth sports environment. The role of parents in the youth sport experience is often overlooked, despite its documented importance to the family’s youth sports experience. In order to better understand parental spectator behavior, a family systems approach guided an intervention study conducted within the state of Louisiana after a new law passed in 2019 to address these concerns. Using an adapted measurement version of the background anger instrument, results documented the role of education in addressing these concerns. The study prompts further examination of behaviors, in light of disparities between parent observations and their own personal behaviors. Implications for future intervention research on spectator behaviors and social work practice in the youth sport setting are highlighted.

Virtual Spaces and Emotional Places: Parent Spectator Behaviors & Sport Social Work Practice Implications

“…Within this capacity, they serve four key functions, which are to assess, engage, plan, and use appropriate interventions informed by evidence. Research on spectating interactions is plentiful (Goldstein & Iso-Ahola, 2008;Omli & Lavoi, 2009Reynolds, 2020Reynolds, , 2021), yet existing studies on virtual spectating is limited to the experiences of pubgoers and soccer fans in England and exterior to the COVID-19 pandemic. (Weed, 2007(Weed, , 2008(Weed, , 2020.…”

“…Given the youth sports activities involve multiple interactions between various stakeholders, family systems theory is an appropriate framework to evaluate spectator behaviors and understand interactions within the sport system (Reynolds, 2021;Stainback & Lamarche, 1998;Zimmerman & Protinsky, 1993). Important assessment areas include an individuals' functioning within their family system and factors such as emotional demands, role definitions and expectations, boundary issues, culture, and belief systems emerging as a result of participation in sports (Dorsch et al, 2020;Hellstedt, 2005;Watson, 2012).…”

“…However, recent study by Legg & Rose (2021) found parents often experience more negative, rather than positive emotions as spectators. Observational studies have noted parent aggression and anger exhibited in this context (Goldstein & Iso-Ahola, 2008), linked parent behaviors in the sports setting to broader parenting practices (Trussell & Shaw, 2012), measuring the frequency parent spectating behaviors (Omli & LaVoi, 2009;Reynolds, 2020Reynolds, , 2021, and developing educational initiatives and interventions to address spectating behaviors (Dorsch et al, 2019;Reynolds, 2021). This is also timely, given the fluidity and long-term changes to the sport environment as a result of the pandemic (Kelly et al, 2020).…”

“…The emergence of sport social work has sparked scholarship in several areas from those within the social work such as youth development (Anderson-Butcher et al, 2011, 2016, athlete transitions across the life span (Kidd et al, 2018), and interventions in sport-based settings (Moore & Gummelt, 2018). More recently, authors have focused upon spectator behaviors (Reynolds, 2020;Reynolds, 2021) and suggested therapists delve into these behaviors to explore broader family dynamics (Jeanfreau et al, 2020). Because of health concerns and restrictions to spectator attendance, COVID-19 caused parents consider other forms of engagement to promote the continuity of youth sports and parent spectating.…”

Youth Sport Spectating among Parents During the COVID-19 Pandemic

“…Within the framework of family systems theory, a growing body of research begun to focus on the spectator behaviors of parents involved in youth sport (Fraser-Thomas et al, 2013;Reynolds, 2021). Studies focused on observing parent behaviors such as aggression and anger (Goldstein & Iso-Ahola, 2008), connecting sportbased behaviors to parenting practices (Trussell & Shaw, 2012), measuring parent spectating behaviors (Omli & LaVoi, 2009;Reynolds, 2020Reynolds, , 2021, and developing educational initiatives and interventions to address spectating behaviors (Dorsch et al, 2019;Reynolds, 2021).…”