Testing a Brief Coping Intervention for High-Performance Youth Soccer Players and Their Parents

Abstract

The ability of young athletes to effectively cope with stressors is crucial for sustained sport enjoyment and participation, and parents play a key role in providing coping support. However, there is limited evidence for coping interventions directed at both youth athletes and their parents. The purpose of this study was to implement a coping workshop for youth athletes and also engage parents to provide them with information to support the development of coping skills among young athletes. Athlete–parent dyads from a high-performance soccer academy were assigned to either a 4-wk coping intervention or a control group using a matched quasi-experimental design. Survey data were analyzed using 2-factor repeated-measures ANOVAs and multiple-regression analyses. Results indicated that lower parental pressure and greater coping self-efficacy predicted lower stress in youth athletes. However, findings for the intervention in reducing overall stress and perceptions of parental pressure were not significant. Future coping intervention studies should address study design considerations related to timing, intervention modalities, and skill level of youth athletes.