PARENTAL ATTITUDES AND CHILDRENS EXPERIENCES IN SOCCER - CORRELATES OF EFFORT AND ENJOYMENT

To examine the relation between parental childrearing attitudes and ch ildren's experiences in sport, 49 families of 6- to 8-year-old male so ccer players were studied. Mothers and fathers completed questionnaire s about their childrearing practices; children, coaches, fathers, and mothers provided information on the child's enjoyment, effort, ability , competitiveness, and/or co-operativeness. Mothers and fathers showed very different patterns of involvement in their child's soccer experi ence: Whereas maternal support and expectations were positively associ ated with the level of child enjoyment, paternal expectations and dire ctiveness were highest when child ability or effort was low. Moreover, regardless of the actual nature of reported parental behaviour, mothe rs and fathers showing the highest levels of involvement had children showing the lowest level of co-operation with the coach. The findings suggest that fathers and mothers differ in the responsibility that the y feel for helping the child who is experiencing difficulty in sport, and that, in some cases, fathers' attempts to help may actually underm ine the child's effort and enjoyment.