Background/Purpose The purpose of this study was to investigate parents' gender role expectations and their support for their children's sport activities. Children's participation in sport activities is often contingent on parental support. Parents may approve or disapprove participation for various reasons and subsequently provide or withhold their support. A child's gender as well as gender role expectations parents possess could influence the amount of support received from his/her parents to participate in sports.
Method Eleven parents (7 female, 4 male) participated in this study. Each parent had at least one child under the age of 13 who participated in an organized sport. Data was collected through demographic surveys and semi-structured interviews. Each interview lasted 50-60 minutes.
Analysis/Results Role congruity theory was utilized as the theoretical framework for this study. Role congruence is achieved when normative expectations and roles associated with one's gender are practiced. Participants generally supported their daughters' as well as sons' sport participation to an equal extent; however, support was not universal. One father did not view his daughter's long-term participation in sport as appropriate. One mother was less supportive of her daughter's participation than her son's and held lower expectations with regard to the level of success her daughter would obtain in her activities.
Conclusions Children who are physically active as youth are more likely to be active as adolescents and adults (Yang, 1997). Parents are encouraged to be supportive of their children's engagement in sports, regardless of the child's gender, because their support can affect their children's long-term participation patterns.