An exploratory qualitative investigation of psychosocial determinants of parental decisions to support sport participation for youth with a mobility impairment.
Parent risk feelings and plans decide sport entry for kids with mobility limits—target these in intake meetings.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Researchers talked to parents of kids with mobility impairments. They asked why some parents sign their child up for sports and others do not.
The team used the HAPA model. HAPA looks at risk feelings, goals, and plans. They wanted to see if these ideas explain sport choices.
What they found
Parents of kids already in sports had strong goals and clear plans. Parents of non-athletes felt bigger risks and fewer strategies.
Risk thoughts and volitional plans were the key difference between the two groups.
How this fits with other research
Keawutan et al. (2014) show that better motor skills lead to more activity. Doughty et al. (2015) add the parent piece: even skilled kids need parent buy-in.
Robertson et al. (2013) warn we still lack a solid way to measure how much these kids move. Without good data, parent reports stay crucial.
Bassett-Gunter et al. (2017) argue parent stress and self-efficacy should count as program outcomes. The HAPA findings echo this by showing parent cognitions drive sport entry.
Why it matters
You can boost sport sign-ups by talking to parents first. Address their safety worries and give clear step-by-step plans. Use short handouts or quick videos that show how to handle transport, gear, and emergencies. When parents feel ready, kids get to play.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
INTRODUCTION: Parents of youth with a mobility impairment (MI) have an important influence on their children's sport participation. The current study consists of an exploratory qualitative investigation of the relevance of HAPA for understanding parental support behaviours for youth with MI's sport participation. METHODS: Parents of youth athletes (Mage=11.10; SD=2.77) and non-athletes (Mage=11.50; SD=3.84) participated in semi-structured interviews with question development guided by the Health Action Process Approach (HAPA). RESULTS: Constructs from HAPA were expressed as relevant to parental decisions, with differing subthemes emerging based upon parental group (i.e. parents of non-athletes or parents of athletes). Other constructs that emerged included barriers, facilitators, and resources. DISCUSSION: Constructs from the motivational phase of HAPA were relevant for parents of athletes and non-athletes, while the volitional phase demonstrated utility for understanding the views of parents of athletes. Differences between the patterns of responses of both groups were apparent in how the constructs were expressed. Findings identify key areas for research, as well as practical applications. For example, future programs can target parental positions on specific HAPA constructs (e.g. risk perceptions) where differences were found between both groups of parents in order to promote parental decisions that support their children's sport participation.
Research in developmental disabilities, 2015 · doi:10.1016/j.ridd.2015.08.001