“It Might Also Be Good for Your Brain”: Cognitive and Social Benefits That Motivate Parents to Permit Youth Tackle Football

Abstract

Concussions in youth sports are a rising health concern. Between 1.7- and 3-million concussions occur each year in youth sport and recreation settings. This qualitative study investigated how parents assess the physical and social risks of allowing their children to participate in tackle football. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 12 sets of parents ( N = 24) who had permitted their middle school aged children to play on tackle football teams. Guided by the theory of planned behavior, findings illustrate the complex risk decisions parents must make regarding football participation. Although parents in our study acknowledged the risk of concussions, they identified cognitive and social benefits of football participation that shaped positive attitudes toward football outcomes. Participants also noted social factors that limited control over their children’s football participation, including community pressures. The findings indicate key factors that motivate football enrollment, as parents must consider competing goals for their child of protection and development. Future research directions, theoretical implications, and practical applications are discussed.

Education, Political Party, and Football Viewership Predict Americans' Attention to News About Concussions in Sports

“…To better understand sociodemographic divisions, future researchers ought to ask a range of questions about the respondents' children and their potential sports involvement, as well as the respondents' own current participation in a sport as a player or coach. A wider set of questions about the preferred news sources might allow future research to better pinpoint which types of coverage spark interest in or successfully convey information about concussions in sports, with explicit attention to the messages that consumers receive and take away from this coverage (McGlynn et al, 2020 ). Knowledge about concussions should be examined in other countries to determine whether cultural, social, and political contexts play a role in this aspect of the concussion crisis (Malcolm, 2020 ).…”

Customer satisfaction assessment and brand perception of a football school

“…Já McGlynn et al (2020) identificam no seu estudo que os benefícios cognitivos e de socialização configuram-se como as principais motivações para a inscrição dos seus educandos no desporto. Por outro lado, no estudo de Antwi & Hauso (2018), os principais benefícios das escolas de futebol para os encarregados de educação passam pelo aprimoramento das habilidades do atleta, a qualidade das equipas técnicas e das instalações, e o melhoramento das habilidades mentais.…”

America’s Most Divided Sport: Polarization and Inequality in Attitudes about Youth Football

“…We have neither the expertise nor the intent to weigh in on this medical debate. However, "concussion" is the most frequently word used in media coverage (Ahmed and Hall 2016) and is frequently used by laypeople (McGlynn, Boneau, and Richardson 2020). Through this paper, in instances where we cite existing literature, we employ their terminology, including "head trauma," "head injury," and "traumatic brain injury."…”

“…In addition to programs aimed at youth, the NFL's outreach to women is likely not only an attempt to increase its current fanbase, but also an effort to create a future generation of mothers who support their children's participation in tackle football (Montez de Oca and Cotner 2018). There is some recent evidence that these campaigns have been particularly successful in convincing parents that the social benefits of youth tackle football may outweigh the potential costs associated with concussion risks (McGlynn et al 2020).…”