Parental Expectations for Children's Future Athletic Achievement: The Roles of Socio-Economic Status, Race, Ethnicity, Gender, and Athletic Experiences and Identities

Abstract

Sociological theories propose contradictory predictions regarding the influence of underlying social inequalities on parents’ sport expectations. This study used data from a national survey of adults to examine how, why, and to what extent parents’ expectations for athletic achievement are linked to underlying social inequalities. Logistic regressions using data from parents (n = 676–690) revealed factors associated with expectations of their children becoming a small college, college scholarship, or professional or Olympic athlete. Although most parents had realistic expectations, a meaningful proportion of parents appeared to have unrealistically optimistic expectations. Higher expectations were apparent among parents of younger children, who perceived their children to have stronger athletic identities seemingly born out of their sport participation histories, who were sport fans, who had children that were Black or Latinx, who lived in neighborhoods with more non-White families, and, when it came to expectations of becoming a professional or Olympic athlete, who were from a lower socioeconomic status position. The child's gender and the parent's gender were not significantly related to athletic expectations and socioeconomic status was inconsistently related to expectations of becoming a college athlete. The results supported some theoretical arguments and contradicted others, and they can be used to target educational messaging around youth sport practices.