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Positive youth development and gender differences in high performance sport
Donna O'Connor1, Lauren Gardner1, Paul Larkin2
1Sydney School of Education and Social Work, The University of Sydney , Sydney, Australia.
Journal of Sports Sciences
|December 1, 2019
Summary
High performance sport environments foster positive youth development, with young football players reporting high self-confidence, competence, and prosocial behaviors. Male athletes showed higher scores in several key developmental areas compared to females.
Area of Science:
- Sport Psychology
- Youth Development Studies
- Adolescent Psychology
Background:
- Positive youth development (PYD) is crucial for adolescent well-being.
- High-performance sport environments can influence adolescent psychosocial development.
- Understanding PYD in elite youth sport contexts is essential.
Purpose of the Study:
- To examine positive youth development (PYD) in a high-performance youth football setting.
- To assess self-confidence, competence, coach-athlete relationships, and prosocial/antisocial behaviors.
- To identify gender differences in these developmental aspects.
Main Methods:
- Survey research with 455 youth football players (315 males, 140 females).
- Utilized validated questionnaires: Youth Experiences Survey for Sport, Competitive State Anxiety Inventory-2 Revised, Sport Competence Inventory, Prosocial and Antisocial Behaviour in Sport Scale, and Coach-Athlete Relationship questionnaire.
- Statistical analysis to compare player reports and identify gender differences.
Main Results:
- Players reported high self-confidence, competence, and positive youth experiences.
- A strong coach-athlete relationship was evident.
- Prosocial behaviors exceeded antisocial behaviors.
- Males scored significantly higher than females on self-confidence, perceived self-competence, antisocial behavior, coach relationship, and cognitive skills.
Conclusions:
- High-performance sport environments appear to support positive youth development.
- Youth football players demonstrate key indicators of positive psychosocial growth.
- Gender differences exist within this high-performance sport context, particularly in self-perceptions and social behaviors.
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