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

Abstract 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.