Parent and child car-ride interactions before and after sport competitions and practices: Video analysis of verbal and non-verbal communication

Objective: Parents' behaviours have important implications for youth athletes' sport experiences, and researchers have begun to examine parental communication with youth athletes. However, there is a lack of information about the range of behaviours in parent-child interactions, and much of the existing research has focused on parental verbal comments. Thus, there is a need to better understand the quality, quantity, and types of sport-related communication between parents and athletes that occurs before and after sport events. The purpose of the present study was to examine the nature of parent-child communication during the car ride to and from sport practices and games. Design: Video recordings (N = 98 videos) of interactions during the car ride to and from sporting events were collected from 28 parent-child dyads (30 h of video in total). Sport-related conversations were analyzed to identify verbal and non-verbal behaviours and patterns of responses between parents and athletes. Results: The amount of time spent talking about sport-related topics was minimal (12.9%) compared to non-sport-related conversations (28.5%) or periods of silence (59.0%). Parents provided more praise about their child's performance than athletes did themselves. Parents' praise and criticism typically consisted of general or task-oriented comments, with few instances of ego-oriented praise or criticism. Parents asked closed/descriptive questions most frequently, while open/reflective questions were asked least often. In several instances, parents interjected before athletes could respond to parents' comments. Conclusions: The results of this study identify a wider range of verbal and non-verbal behaviours than previously reported in the literature on parent-athlete communication in sport. The patterns of interactions and responses identified in this study provide a starting point for further research to understand parent-athlete communication and its contribution to positive developmental outcomes for youth athletes.

Automated summary

The study found that in parent-child communication during the car ride to and from sporting events, discussions about sports were minimal compared to other topics. Parents tended to provide more praise for their child's performance than athletes themselves, with praise and criticism being mostly general or task-oriented.