Investigating the relations between youth sport participation and parental mental health

Parents are active participants in their child’s youth sport endeavours and can influence their athlete’s experience through their parenting practices, styles, and interactions. However, parents experience their own range of outcomes as a result of their involvement in their child’s sport activities. In fact, recent decades have brought forth a rich body of literature that point to the benefits and challenges of having a child involved in organised sport. Despite this, the mental health experiences of parents in youth sport have yet to be investigated explicitly. As such, the overarching purpose of this doctoral research was to further the understanding of the relationship between youth sport participation and parents’ mental health and wellbeing. To achieve this aim, a five-study program of research was conducted.