A Case Study on Experience of Parents with Children who are Youth Athletes

Abstract

This study utilized a qualitative case study approach to explore the essence and meaning of the experience of becoming parents, for parents with “early adolescent children” in the preadolescent phase. The study recruited three parents who had children ranging from 6th grade in elementary school to 2nd grade in middle school, all belonging to the early adolescent group of youth athletes, in a domestic setting. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with each participant three times, lasting for 1 to 2 hours per session, using an open-ended questionnaire. The data analysis of this study employed a multiple-case analysis method. This involved conducting within-case analysis to provide detailed descriptions and identify themes within each case, as well as conducting cross-case analysis to extract characteristics and themes across cases. As a result, ten subcategories and five core categories were identified. The core categories included ‘Career guide parents’, ‘Unified family, excluded siblings’, ‘Another family: distant yet close relationship’, ‘Role of a manager and role of a mom, dad’, and ‘Not in the role of a manager or parent, just myself’. This is expected to contribute foundational material for counseling and parent education targeting parents of youth athletes. This would provide valuable insights to such parents.