Quantifying Parental Influence on Youth Athlete Specialization: A Survey of Athletes’ Parents

Research was approved by the in-facility review committee. The survey tool (see appendix) is designed to fully evaluate parent involvement in child's physical activity. Instruments are produced by an interdisciplinary team including pediatric and sports medicine orthopedic surgeons, parents, coaches, sports trainers and training college teachers.

The survey consists of two integrated sections: the demographic section and the 11 question section evaluate the participation of parents of their children 's sports professionals. Demographic variables include children's age, sex, favorite sports, occupational levels, presence of personal trainers and coaches, history of injuries, history of surgery, and so on. Parental influence on child specialization is assessed through 11 questions related to parent's time and resource promises, parental perceptions to children, direct pressure on specialization, the type and level of coaching the child receives . Evaluate each of these problems using the 5 point Likert scale

The instrument is the responsibility of the young athletes' parents in the office of senior writers, pediatrics and sports medicine plastic surgeons (C.A.P.). Included criteria include participation of children from 7 to 18 years old to organized sports, speaking English or Spanish, and lack of mental disorders. Incomplete responses were excluded from data analysis. Parents did not refuse to participate in the study, but 10 parents started the investigation without completing the survey.

Collect responses using independent search software (Qualtrics). The independence of the Chi-square test was used to assess the frequency of responses to the 5-point Likert scale problem between different study cohorts (divided by injury history, individual teachers, and level of specialization). The chi-square test is chosen because the nonparametric function has the highest ability to evaluate integers specific to the Likert scale. At P <0.05, the results were considered statistically significant.

Sometimes these are the goals of parents and coaches, not necessarily the goal of an athlete. Research shows that parents have the greatest influence on sports, coaches influence strong training and focus on sports decisions 5, 12, 21. Individual sports specialization before puberty may not be the best way to achieve most sports goals

All parents, coaches or athletes who are familiar with adolescent sports are aware that more and more trends are pointing to the spike in sports specialties. In the past, ambitious young athletes practiced various sports and replaced themselves with the season. As adolescent sports become more competitive, parents begin to choose sports for athletes rather than various sports. Sports professional advocates believe that focusing on one sport will produce better results in the competition. As their attention focuses on the development of skills specific to sports, they are likely to become experts in these skills at an early age, extending their talent far beyond the normal curves I will continue. Supporters point out that the "10 Year Rule" is a proof of professionalism in sports and is the best choice for young athletes.