AN EMPIRICAL TEST OF A MOTIVATIONAL MODEL OF "SIDELINE RAGE" AND AGGRESSION IN PARENTS OF YOUTH SOCCER PLAYERS

Abstract

Research on sports-related spectator aggression has concentrated on professional and collegiate sports environments, ignoring the realm of youth sports. The present research extended and expanded a motivational model of anger and aggression, derived from the foundations of self-determination theory. It was hypothesized that parents higher in controlled orientation were predicted to experience more ego-defensiveness and feel more pressure, thus report higher levels of sport parental anger and aggression. Conversely, autonomy-oriented parents were predicted to experience less egodefensiveness and feel less pressure, thus report lower levels of sport parent anger and aggression. Participants were 340 parents of youth soccer players (boys and girls ages 8-16). Before their child’s game, parents completed the General Causality Orientations Scale. Afterwards, parents completed the self-report behavior record. More than half of the participants reported experiencing anger, and responding with varying levels of aggression. Results provided strong support for the motivational framework and the hypotheses.