Parent Involvement in Young Adults’ Intercollegiate Athletic Careers: Developmental Considerations and Applied Recommendations

Abstract

Student-athletes have to balance their sport, academic, and social lives during the transition to college and parent involvement is an integral, but potentially problematic, aspect of this transition. The present study investigated how key parent involvement factors may be associated with positive developmental outcomes in NCAA Division I student-athletes. Student-athlete participants (N = 514) were 46% male, ranged in age from 18 to 25 years (M = 19.76, SD = 1.43), and were recruited from athletic departments at two NCAA Division I member-institutions. Participants completed online surveys with items assessing their perceptions of parent involvement (support from parents, contact with parents, academic engagement, athletic engagement) and student-athlete development (academic self-efficacy, athletic satisfaction, well-being, individuation). After controlling for individual and family demographic factors, parent academic and athletic engagement positively predicted student-athlete academic self-efficacy and athletic satisfaction; parent athletic engagement negatively predicted student-athlete depressive symptoms; all aspects of parent involvement were strong negative predictors of emotional independence; support from parents and parent academic engagement were strong negative predictors of functional independence; and support from parents was a negative predictor and athletic engagement a strong positive predictor of student-athletes' attainment of adult criteria. The present research enhances understanding of the role parent involvement may play in student-athlete development and thus may inform the creation of evidence-based policy and programming at NCAA Division I member-institutions.

Parental involvement in the lives of intercollegiate athletes

“…Involvement can be more communication-focused, where parents talk to their emerging adult and give advice or chat about daily events (Cullaty, 2011;Dorsch et al, 2016a;Fingerman et al, 2012;Lowe & Dotterer, 2017). Another avenue of involvement is action-focused, such as when parents do things for or with their child, such as assisting with academic work or practicing a sport (Cullaty, 2011;Lowe & Dotterer, 2017;Odenweller et al, 2014).…”

“…Multiple researchers have studied this time frame in regard to parental involvement because of the uniqueness of this developmental period (Dorsch et al, 2016a(Dorsch et al, , 2016bHill, Burrow, & Sumner, 2016;Lowe, Dotterer, & Francisco, 2015;PadillaWalker, Nelson & Knapp, 2014;Segrin, Woszidlo, Givertz, & Montgomery, 2013). However, few have examined parental involvement during this developmental period among intercollegiate studentathletes (Dorsch et al, 2016a).…”

“…However, this involvement may go too far, which can be termed over-involvement, and may lead to negative outcomes (BradleyGeist & Olson-Buchanan, 2013;Givertz & Segrin, 2014;Schiffrin et al, 2014;Segrin, Woszidlo, Givertz, Bauer, & Murphy, 2012). Previous studies show that parental involvement has an impact on child outcomes, however, one consistent definition of parental involvement and overinvolvement has been lacking, especially with reference to student-athletes (Dorsch et al, 2016a;Dorsch, Lowe, Dotterer, Lyons, & Barker, 2016b).…”

“…Overall, most researchers agree that parental involvement is beneficial to their offspring (Dorsch et al, 2016a;Odenweller, Booth-Butterfield, & Weber, 2014). However, this involvement may go too far, which can be termed over-involvement, and may lead to negative outcomes (BradleyGeist & Olson-Buchanan, 2013;Givertz & Segrin, 2014;Schiffrin et al, 2014;Segrin, Woszidlo, Givertz, Bauer, & Murphy, 2012).…”

“…It could also include spending time and attention on their child (Ratelle et al, 2005). When including all types of involvement, studies have found that parental involvement is on the rise, especially in regard to parents with collegeaged children (Cullaty, 2011;Dorsch, Dotterer, Lowe, & Lyons, 2016a).…”