Is the Perception of the Frequency of Use of Parental Pressure and Directive Behaviors Related to Elite Adolescent Athletes’ Burnout, Emotions, and Motivation?

ABSTRACT

Parents have arguably a significant impact on athletes' experiences favoring mental health of elite adolescent athletes. However, parents can have negative effects in adopting regular pressure and directive behaviors. The purpose of this study was to determine the relationships between directive and pressure behaviors from mothers and fathers with athletes' burnout, positive and negative emotions, and motivation. Additionally, this study aimed to compare athletes' psychological variables exposed to higher versus lower frequencies of these parental behaviors. One hundred‐five girls and 114 boys semi and competitive elite athletes completed self‐reported questionnaires to measure mothers' and fathers' behaviors and athletes' motivation, emotions, and burnout indicators. Correlations and three separate multivariate analyses of covariance were conducted. Athletes' perceptions of parental pressure and directive behaviors were significantly (a) positively related to their anger (r = 0.14 to 0.15), anxiety (r = 0.14), controlled motivation (r = 0.29 to 0.49), amotivation (r = 0.20 to 0.44), and burnout (r = 0.14 to 0.35) and (b) negatively related to their autonomous motivation (r = −0.24 to −0.49). Moreover, significant differences in self‐perception were found between athletes exposed to lower versus higher frequencies of parental behaviors. Athletes who perceived a higher frequency of parental behaviors reported significantly greater level of burnout (η ² = 0.02 to 0.04), controlled motivation (η ² = 0.11), and amotivation (η ² = 0.07). This study highlights the inappropriateness of directive and pressure behaviors and the value of measuring the frequency of use by both parents for the athletes' mental health.

Highlights

• Pressure and directive behaviors from both parents are target.

• This study outlines the value of measuring the frequency of perceived parental behaviors on the mental health of athletes.

• Athletes who perceived a higher frequency of negative parental behaviors showed greater levels of burnout, controlled motivation, and amotivation.

1. Introduction

1.1. A “Dual Career”: Combining Sport and Education

Combining an athletic career with education is highly demanding for adolescent athletes (Stambulova and Wylleman 2015). Engaging in dual career exposes them to a range of significant stressors, including early specialization, social and family isolation, a highly competitive environment, high training volumes, injury, and interpersonal conflict (Walton et al. 2021). As a result, these athletes are exposed to mental health issues, such as depression and eating disorders, during a critical developmental stage for establishing a foundation for lifelong well‐being (Kegelaers et al. 2024). Notably, nearly half (48%) of all mental health issues emerge during adolescence (Solmi et al. 2022). A recent systematic review has indicated that 34% of athletes experience mental health issues (e.g., anxiety, depression, eating disorders, sleep disturbance, and alcohol misuse), a prevalence that is twice as high as that of their nonathlete peers (Gouttebarge et al. 2019; Keeley 2021). For example, the pressure associated with competitive sports and progressively with increasing training load, may influence adolescent athletes to sport burnout (Gustafsson et al. 2016). Sport burnout is a multidimensional construct that encompasses emotional/physical exhaustion, sport devaluation, and a reduced sense of accomplishment (Raedeke and Smith 2001). The reasons that drive adolescents to commit to a dual career may also be conducive to burnout. Controlled motivation (i.e., adolescent practices in response to internal or external pressures) and amotivation (i.e., adolescent does not know why he/she is pursuing his/her dual career) have been positively related to burnout (Li et al. 2013; Madigan et al. 2016). The opposite patterns of results have been observed between autonomous motivation (i.e., adolescent is committed with an internal locus of causality, a feeling of freedom, and a sense of choice) and well‐being (Stenling et al. 2015).

1.2. Parental Involvement in Youth Sport Experience

Given the increased vulnerability of adolescent athletes, recent research on talent development emphasizes that the environment in which they evolve significantly influences their development and success (Henriksen and Stambulova 2023). Within this environment, parents are particularly prominent and, according to adolescent athletes themselves, play a critical role in their overall development (Knight et al. 2018). Parents provide different types of support to their child. They introduce them to sports, invest time and money, and provide emotional support (Harwood and Knight 2015). In providing these different types of support, parents engage in a variety of behaviors and attitudes. They may notably use pressuring and controlling behaviors, particularly when the athletes are adolescents (Dorsch et al. 2016; J. G. H. Dunn et al. 2022; Wuerth et al. 2004). Parental pressure represents the context where parents push their child hard to compete, to train, to succeed, and to use behaviors “designed to prompt athlete responses and outcomes that are important to the parent” (O’Rourke et al. 2011, 400). Parental pressure is often manifested through criticism, punishment, or withdrawal of affection in response to performances that do not meet parental expectations. Directive parental behaviors are when the athlete feels controlled by their parents in sports, such as when parents give technical instructions or show athletes how to improve (Wuerth et al. 2004). These two types of parental behaviors are perceived by coaches as being used in ways that negatively influenced athlete's development (Gould et al. 2006). Thus, the literature has highlighted the challenge of being a parent of an adolescent athlete while also exploring the influence their support has on their child's mental health (Aalto et al. 2024; Harwood and Knight 2015; Knight et al. 2017).

1.3. How Parental Involvement Affects Sports Athlete's Psychological Outcomes

Several studies have shown that pressure and directive behaviors have been associated with athletes' negative psychosocial outcomes such as controlled forms of motivation, amotivation, anxiety, reduced enjoyment, and dropout (Bois et al. 2009; Crane and Temple 2015; Lienhart et al. 2019; Sánchez‐Miguel et al. 2013). Indeed, parents could be a contributor to anxiety in sport (Bois et al. 2009). Child perceptions of directive behaviors and pressure were positively associated with precompetitive anxiety for tennis players but not for basketball players (Bois et al. 2009). Moreover, it is essential to evaluate the systemic nature of both parental behaviors as fathers and mothers may exhibit different behaviors (Lienhart et al. 2020). Previous research has also indicated that the impact of specific parental behavior on adolescent athletes' psychosocial outcomes may differ depending on the parent's gender. For instance, adolescent athletes' perceptions of father's pressure have been shown to positively predict controlled forms of motivation and amotivation and negatively predict relatedness satisfaction ‐ associations that were not observed in relation to mother's pressure (Lienhart et al. 2019).

Finally, highlighting the complexity of the parent–athlete relationship, it is not the behaviors that parents display, that is paramount, but rather how youth athletes perceive and interpret these behaviors (Knight and Holt 2014), suggesting complexity in interpretations of parent involvement (Dorsch et al. 2016). In sum, although previous literature has provided evidence for the impact of parental pressure and directive behaviors on athlete's psychosocial outcomes, this line of research should be pursued for several reasons. First, the rare examples of research that target the behaviors of both parents (Harwood and Knight 2015). Second, previous studies mainly explored the relationships between a single parental behavior and athlete's outcomes. Third, few studies have explored the emotions and burnout dimensions as outcome variables. These psychological variables are crucial for adolescents commit to a dual career as they expose themselves to a greater risk of mental health symptoms and disorders (Nixdorf et al. 2020).

Therefore, based on these considerations, the present study explored the frequency with which fathers and mothers engage in two specific parental behaviors as well as how these behaviors are related with adolescent athletes' psychological variables. More specifically, the two objectives of this study were to (a) examine the relationships between athletes' perceptions of four parental behaviors (i.e., directive and pressure behaviors from mothers and fathers) and athletes' burnout, positive and negative emotions, and motivation and (b) compare psychological outcomes (i.e., burnout, emotions, and motivation) between athletes who reported higher versus lower levels of exposure to directive and/or pressure behaviors. Based on previous research, the first hypothesis was that athletes' perceptions of four specific parental behaviors would be (a) positively related to burnout, negative emotions, controlled motivation, and amotivation and (b) negatively related to positive emotions and autonomous motivation. Furthermore, the second hypothesis was expected that athletes who reported receiving higher levels of these parental behaviors would (a) exhibit higher levels of burnout, negative emotions, controlled motivation, and amotivation and (b) report lower levels of positive emotions and autonomous motivation compared to those who reported lower levels of these behaviors.

2. Method

2.1. Participants

The sample consisted of 219 semi and competitive French elite athletes (n _female = 105 and n _male = 114) who were attending intensive training centers (Swann et al. 2015). Intensive training centers are structures that receive the best young athletes in the country. These training centers focus on (a) helping athletes reach the highest levels of performance, (b) providing the necessary preparation for a successful transition to professional sporting life, and (c) having good academic outcomes. Participants were between 13 and 19 years of age (16.34 ± 1.37 years and mean ± SD) and were competing at regional (n = 41), national (n = 171), or international (n = 7) levels. Athletes trained for an average of 12.1 h per week (SD = 2.88) and were involved in competitive sports for an average of 8.20 years (SD = 3.15). They were from 17 different sports, both individual (n = 60) and team sports (n = 159). They practiced: basketball (36%), soccer (19%), handball (18%), judo (9%), track and field (5%); dancing, rugby, swimming, cycling, boxing, golf, gymnastics, ice hockey, telemark, volleyball, and weightlifting (< 1%).

2.2. Procedure

The research was conducted in accordance with international American Psychological Association (APA) ethical guidelines. The protocol was approved by a national ethics committee (REC STAPS—Research Ethic Committee in Sciences and Techniques for Sport and Physical Activity, Ref. IRB00012476‐2023‐06‐12‐280). Head coaches from all the intensive training centers from regional area were contacted to obtain permission to approach their athletes for participation in the study. Eight of the nine coaches contacted gave their approval. The athletes' participation was voluntary and written informed consent was obtained from each athlete and their parents before data collection. Athletes completed the questionnaires during school courses or in their usual training place. One member of the research team was present for each completion.

2.3. Measures

2.3.1. Burnout

The Athlete Burnout Scale is a French questionnaire designed to assess sport related burnout among adolescent elite athletes (ABO‐S; Isoard‐Gautheur et al. 2018). The ABO‐S comprises three 5‐items subscales that assess physical exhaustion (e.g., “I feel physically exhausted”; α = 0.94), reduced sense of accomplishment (e.g., “I am unable to achieve good performances”; α = 0.83), and negative feelings toward sport (e.g., “I have negative feelings toward my sport”; α = 0.89). Items are rated using 7‐point Likert scale ranging from 1 (almost never) to 7 (almost always).

2.3.2. Emotions

The Multiple Emotions Measure is a French questionnaire used to evaluate emotions in adolescent elite athletes (MEM; Martinent et al. 2018). The MEM comprises eight subscales that assess anxiety (four items; e.g., “tense”; α = 0.86), anger (five items; e.g., “furious”; α = 0.87), confidence (three items; e.g., “well‐satisfied”; α = 0.88), happiness (four items; e.g., “in high spirits”; α = 0.73), harmony (four items; e.g., “at peace”; α = 0.83), love (four items; e.g., “belonging”; α = 0.89), sadness (three items; e.g., “unhappy”; α = 0.85), and vitality (four items; e.g., “energetic”; α = 0.76). Athletes were asked to indicate the extent to which they experienced each of the emotions in the past two weeks. Items are rated using 5‐point Likert scale ranging from 1 (almost never) to 7 (almost always).

2.3.3. Motivation

The French version of the Behavioral Regulation in Sport Questionnaire (BRSQ; Lonsdale et al. 2008), validated with adolescent athletes, was used to assess athletes' motivation (Viladrich et al. 2013). Six 4‐items subscales were used to measure amotivation (e.g., “I practice my sport but I question why I continue”; α = 0.88), external regulation (e.g., “… to please people who want me to do the sport”; α = 0.89), introjected regulation (e.g., “… because I'd feel guilty if I stopped”; α = 0.77), identified regulation (e.g., “… because I enjoy benefits of the sport”; α = 0.78), integration regulation (e.g., “… because this sport is an integral part of my life”; α = 0.84), and intrinsic motivation (e.g., “… because I enjoy playing”; α = 0.85). Items are rated using 5‐point Likert scale ranging from 1 (not true at all) to 5 (very true). In line with self‐determination theory's (SDT) conceptual framework, composite scores for autonomous (α = 0.92) and controlled motivation (α = 0.88) were calculated by averaging the intrinsic motivation, integrated regulation, and identified regulation items, for the former, and the introjected and external regulation items, for the latter (Deci and Ryan 2000).

2.3.4. Perceptions of Parental Behaviors

Two subscales from the adapted French version of the Parental Involvement in Sport Questionnaire (PISQ; Lee and MacLean 1997), validated with adolescent elite athletes, were used to measure mothers' and fathers' behaviors separately (Lienhart et al. 2019). First, the parental directive behaviors (five items; e.g., “before a match your father/mother tells you what you need to work on in particular to do well”; α = 0.85 and 83) and second the parental pressure behaviors (four items; e.g.,“your father/mother put pressure on you to win”; α = 0.87 and 0.88) were evaluated. Items are rated using 5‐point Likert scale ranging from 1 (almost never) to 5 (always).

2.4. Data Analyses

Participants were divided into two groups based on their perceptions of parental behaviors. Previous research (Bois et al. 2009; Lienhart and Nicaise 2022) indicated that athletes' mean scores for parental directive and pressure behaviors are typically below three on the 5‐point Likert scale. A score above three indicates a higher use of these parental behaviors.

Group 1 (i.e., lower frequency of parental behaviors) included athletes who reported scores of three or lower for directive behaviors and/or pressure from their mother and father on a 5‐point Likert scale. Group 2 (i.e., higher frequency of parental behaviors) included athletes who reported at least one score above three for either maternal or paternal behaviors. A threshold of three was selected because a score of four or five on an item indicates that athletes perceived the behavior as occurring often or always.

First, descriptive statistics and correlations were performed. Second, three MANCOVA were conducted to explore group differences in athletes' motivation, emotions, and burnout, in controlling athletes' sex and age. All analyses were performed with the athletes' sex and age as a covariate to investigate group differences independently of these athletes' characteristics. Pearson's correlation assumes interval data, normality, linearity, and homoscedasticity. For the MANCOVA, assumptions of multivariate normality, homogeneity of variance, and linearity were met. These were further supported by the absence of multicollinearity and an adequate sample size. Based on previous research, the first hypothesis was that athletes' perceptions of four specific parental behaviors would be (a) positively related to burnout, negative emotions, controlled motivation, and amotivation and (b) negatively related to positive emotions and autonomous motivation. Furthermore, the second hypothesis was expected that athletes who reported receiving higher levels of these parental behaviors would (a) exhibit higher levels of burnout, negative emotions, controlled motivation, and amotivation and (b) report lower levels of positive emotions and autonomous motivation compared to those who reported lower levels of these behaviors.

An a priori power analysis conducted using G. Power 3.1.9.7 indicated that 210 participants were needed, considering a medium effect size f = 0.25, α = 0.05, and 95% power (Dorsch et al. 2016; Lienhart et al. 2019). The statistical analyses were carried out on Statistica Version 7.1.

3. Results

3.1. Preliminary Analyses

Table 1 presents means and standard deviations of each subscale for the entire sample and the two subgroups. Group 2 included 99 adolescent athletes. Among them, 33 reported perceiving at least one score strictly above three for both maternal and paternal behaviors measured. A total of 55 adolescent athletes reported perceiving at least one score strictly above three for father behaviors measured and 11 at least one score strictly above three for mother behaviors measured. Table 2 presents the correlations between the different subscales for the entire sample.

TABLE 1.

Descriptive statistics and differences between lower‐ and higher‐frequency groups of directive and/or pressuring behaviors.

	Group 1 lower frequency group for receiving directive and/or pressuring behaviors n = 119	Group 2 higher frequency group for receiving directive and/or pressuring behaviors n = 100	F‐value	p‐value	Partial η 2
Emotions			0.96	0.47	0.04
Anxiety	2.17 (1.04)	2.39 (1.00)	2.75	0.10	0.01
Anger	1.84 (0.88)	2.14 (0.99)	2.17	0.14	0.01
Confidence	3.82 (0.91)	3.66 (0.91)	1.08	0.30	0.01
Happiness	3.95 (0.73)	3.80 (0.77)	2.51	0.12	0.01
Harmony	3.89 (0.82)	3.68 (0.86)	0.50	0.48	0.002
Love	4.11 (0.74)	3.98 (0.78)	0.68	0.41	0.00
Sadness	1.66 (0.88)	1.86 (0.94)	2.47	0.12	0.01
Vitality	4.06 (0.68)	3.94 (0.79)	1.61	0.21	0.007
Burnout			3.11	0.02	0.04
Physical exhaustion	2.89 (1.54)	3.41 (1.54)	6.05	0.02	0.03
Reduced sense of accomplishment	2.47 (1.10)	2.97 (1.15)	8.37	< 0.01	0.04
Negative feelings toward sport	2.14 (1.24)	2.54 (1.34)	4.94	0.03	0.02
Motivation			9.04	< 0.001	0.12
Autonomous	4.43 (0.60)	4.26 (0.80)	2.43	0.12	0.01
Controlled	1.85 (0.89)	2.46 (1.06)	25.79	< 0.001	0.11
Amotivation	1.33 (0.78)	1.84 (1.10)	16.98	< 0.001	0.07

TABLE 2.

Pearson's correlations between athletes' age, sex, parental directive and pressure behaviors, emotions, burnout, and motivation.

Variables	M	SD	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19
1. Sex
2. Age	16.34	1.37	0.01
3. Mother's pressure	1.72	0.96	−0.12	0.25**
4. Mother's directive behaviors	2.10	0.98	0.01	0.26**	0.58***
5. Father's pressure	2.02	1.06	−0.08	0.25**	0.70***	0.41***
6. Father's directive behaviors	2.59	1.08	0.01	−0.17*	0.36***	0.50***	0.58***
7. Anxiety	2.27	1.03	0.24**	0.07	0.12	0.08	0.10	0.14*
8. Anger	1.98	0.94	0.16*	0.08	0.15*	0.08	0.14*	0.10	0.66***
9. Confidence	3.75	0.91	−0.28**	−0.07	−0.02	−0.06	−0.02	−0.02	−0.46***	−0.41***
10. Happiness	3.88	0.75	−0.10	−0.12	−0.05	−0.00	−0.07	−0.00	−0.36***	−0.46***	0.65***
11. Harmony	3.79	0.84	−0.21**	−0.05	−0.02	0.00	−0.06	0.05	−0.42***	−0.39***	0.76***	0.61***
12. Love	4.05	0.76	−0.04	−0.04	−0.11	−0.01	−0.10	0.01	−0.28***	−0.37***	0.60***	0.62***	0.65***
13. Sadness	1.75	0.91	0.21**	0.03	0.12	0.09	0.11	0.07	0.64***	0.79***	−0.47***	−0.54***	−0.43***	−0.35***
14. Vitality	4.01	0.73	−0.06	−0.06	−0.08	−0.04	−0.10	−0.04	−0.29***	−0.42***	0.62***	0.76***	0.53***	0.58***	−0.49***
15. Physical exhaustion	3.13	1.56	0.18	0.06	0.16*	0.16*	0.14*	0.09	0.35***	0.40***	−0.39***	−0.30***	−0.33***	−0.22**	0.41***	−0.27***
16. Reduced sense of accomplishment	2.70	1.15	0.21*	−0.10	0.35***	0.26***	0.33***	0.25***	0.44***	0.45***	−0.52***	−0.40***	−0.45***	−0.36***	0.48***	−0.39***	0.61***
17. Negative feelings toward sport	2.32	1.30	0.15*	0.04	0.31***	0.22**	0.27***	0.16*	0.38***	0.47***	−0.41***	−0.40***	−0.34***	−0.34***	0.47***	−0.44***	0.67***	0.78***
18. Autonomous motivation	4.35	0.70	−0.08	0.04	−0.27***	−0.10	−0.24***	−0.02	−0.26***	−0.38***	0.37***	0.40***	0.35***	0.34***	−0.40***	0.50***	−0.25***	−0.47***	−0.52***
19. Controlled motivation	2.13	1.02	−0.30**	−0.06	0.41***	0.26***	0.49***	0.29***	0.03	0.08	0.03	−0.10	0.04	−0.03	0.08	−0.04	0.18**	0.21**	0.32***	−0.11
20. Amotivation	1.56	0.97	−0.14*	0.01	0.44***	0.22**	0.43***	0.20**	0.13	0.23**	−0.05	−0.11	−0.03	−0.09	0.27**	−0.20**	0.30***	0.41***	0.50***	−0.43***	0.67***

Note: Sex was coded 1 for boys and 2 for girls, and age is a continuous variable.

Abbreviations: M = mean; SD = standard deviation.

^* p < 0.05.

^** p < 0.01.

^*** p < 0.001.

For correlation analyses, all significant relationships between the perception of parental behaviors and athletes' variables were low to moderate in magnitude, ranging from r = .−27 to r = 49. More precisely, the athletes' perceptions of mother's and father's pressure were significantly (a) positively related to their anger (r = 0.14 and 0.15), controlled motivation (r = 0.41 and 0.49), amotivation (r = 0.43 and 0.44), and the three dimensions of burnout (r = 0.14 to 0.35) and (b) negatively related to their autonomous motivation (r = −0.24 and −0.27). The perception of the mother's directive behaviors was significantly positively related to athletes' controlled motivation (r = 0.26), amotivation (r = 0.22), and the three dimensions of burnout (r = 0.16 to 0.26). The perception of the father's directive behaviors was significantly positively related to athletes' anxiety (r = 0.14), controlled motivation (r = 0.29), amotivation (r = 0.20), reduced sense of accomplishment (r = 0.25), and negative feelings toward sport (r = 0.16). Thus, the data supported the first assumptions.

3.2. Main Analyses

Differences in athletes' burnout, emotions, and motivation depending on the group to which they belong are presented in Table 1. The first MANCOVA revealed no significant difference in athletes' emotions (Wilks' λ = 0.96, F _(8,208) = 0.96, p = 0.47, and η ² = 0.04), which is contrary to the second assumption. In contrast, the second and third MANCOVAs supported the second hypothesis. The second MANCOVA indicated a significant effect of the parental behaviors group (Wilks' λ = 0.96, F _(3,210) = 3.11, p = 0.02, and η ² = 0.04) on athletes' burnout. A series of univariate ANCOVAs showed that the athletes belonging to the “lower frequency of parental behaviors” group have significantly lower scores of physical exhaustion (M _Lower = 2.89 and M _Higher = 3.41), reduced sense of accomplishment (M _Lower = 2.47 and M _Higher = 2.97), and negative feelings toward sport (M _Lower = 2.14 and M _Higher = 2.54) compared to athletes from “higher frequency of parental behaviors” group. The third MANCOVA revealed a significant effect of the parental behaviors group (Wilks' λ = 0.88, F _(3,216) = 9.04, p < 0.001, and η ² = 0.12) on motivation. A series of univariate ANCOVAs showed that the athletes belonging to the “lower frequency of parental behaviors” group have a significantly higher score of autonomous motivation (M _Lower = 4.43 and M _Higher = 4.26) and a lower score of controlled motivation (M _Lower = 1.85 and M _Higher = 2.46) and of amotivation (M _Lower = 1.33 and M _Higher = 1.84). Finally, data indicated that there were nonsignificant Group × Age interactions in athletes' emotions (Wilks' λ = 0.93, F _(16,408) = 1, p = 0.49, and η ² = 0.04), burnout (Wilks' λ = 0.95, F _(6,412) = 1.76, p = 0.11, and η ² = 0.03), and motivation (Wilks' λ = 0.97, F _(6,418) = 1.26, p = 0.28, and η ² = 0.02). The same pattern of results was revealed for Group × Sex interactions in athletes' emotions (Wilks' λ = 0.91, F _(16,408) = 1.2, p = 0.27, and η ² = 0.05), burnout (Wilks' λ = 0.95, F _(6,412) = 1.76, p = 0.08, and η ² = 0.03), and motivation (Wilks' λ = 0.96, F _(6,418) = 1.34, p = 0.24, and η ² = 0.02).

4. Discussion

The first purpose of this study was to examine the relationships between athlete's perceptions of four parental behaviors (i.e., directive and pressure behaviors from mothers and fathers) and athletes' burnout, positive and negative emotions, and motivation. The second objective was to compare psychological outcomes (i.e., burnout, emotions, and motivation) between athletes who reported higher versus lower levels of exposure to directive and/or pressure behaviors.

First, the data of this work outlined the importance to considerate the influences of both parents, because each separate parental behaviors is related with athlete's motivational, emotional, and burnout indicators. Both parents have long been recognized as an integral social agent of the youth experience (Dorsch et al. 2021; Lienhart et al. 2020). Even if sports literature has shown that fathers are more likely than mothers to claim expertise in sports (Brand et al. 2011). The influence of each parent seems be a more complex construct. The relationships between mother and father's excessive use of pressure and directive behaviors with athletes' experiences, highlighted in this study, mean that educating both parents remain central.

Motivation, emotions, and burnout could be salient indicators related to mental health (Daumiller et al. 2022). It is an outcome of youth participation that has recently received increased attention from empirical reports (Vella et al. 2021). In this study, the results outlined the relationships between mothers' and fathers' behaviors with anxiety, anger, burnout, and motivation, which broadly confirmed the first hypothesis. Some relationships have been already demonstrated with children and adolescents practicing at different levels. Indeed, anxiety, negative affect, and controlled motivation have been positively associated with athletes' or parents' perceptions of directive behaviors and pressure (Bois et al. 2009; Dorsch et al. 2016; Lienhart et al. 2019). This present study confirms these relationships with semi and competitive elite athletes. Moreover, this study also explored the relationships between athletes' perceptions of parental behaviors with athletes' burnout indicators and eight different emotions. Athletes' anger was positively related to their perceptions of mothers' and fathers' pressure. Perceptions of fathers' directive behavior were positively linked with athletes' anxiety. Only these two emotions were significantly associated with perceived parental behaviors. Finally, these findings suggest that adolescent elite athletes may be at greater risk of burnout when they perceive their mother and/or father to emphasize concerns about failure and winning without trying one's best because the three burnout indicators are linked with the four negative parental behaviors (Gustafsson et al. 2016).

Second, this study explores the use of excessive parental pressure and directive behaviors because these behaviors influence negatively athletes' development (Gustafsson et al. 2016). When athletes perceived a higher frequency of pressuring and/or directive behaviors, they have significantly higher scores of physical exhaustion, reduced sense of accomplishment, negative feelings toward the sport, controlled motivation, and amotivation as well as lower levels of autonomous motivation. These results allow us to go beyond the associations previously highlighted between parental behaviors and these variables. They show that when fathers and/or mothers frequently use one or two of these behaviors to support their child, athletes report a less positive experience of their dual career compared to those whose parents make little use of such behaviors in their support.

However, no difference was found in the eight emotions (i.e., anxiety, anger, confidence, happiness, harmony, love, sadness, and vitality). These differences in results between emotions on the one hand and burnout and motivation on the other may be explained by the temporal frame associated with the measurement of these variables. Emotions were assessed over the past two weeks, whereas burnout and motivation were evaluated more generally in the context of dual careers. Thus, the data from this study suggest that, for these athletes, the perceived frequency of certain parental behaviors may be associated with differences in their overall experience of the dual career but not with differences in their situational experiences. It is likely that situational experiences are more influenced by the individuals who are directly involved in the situation itself (e.g., teammates and coaches; e.g., Lafrenière et al. 2011). Indeed, in the context of this study, athletes do not live with their parents during the week. Thus, the second hypothesis was partially confirmed.

Moreover, the data showed no difference in burnout, motivation, and emotional scores when considering, in addition to perceptions of parental behaviors, the athletes' age and sex. This finding is consistent with the literature on talent development in sport with respect to age. Although the sample included athletes aged 13 to 19, they all belong to the same developmental stage—the investment years (Côté 1999). Therefore, the relationships between parental behaviors and athletes' psychological variables appear to be similar across a single developmental stage. This finding also supports the relevance of continuing to consider athletes' sex as results in the literature remain inconsistent (e.g., Amado et al. 2015; Lienhart et al. 2019; Lienhart and Nicaise 2022). It would be relevant to take into account, in addition to athletes' sex, the type of sport they practice as this may influence parental involvement depending on the child's sex.

Previous studies did not evaluate the occurrence of negative parental behaviors (Harwood and Knight 2015). Although parents are actors who could help athletes manage the demands of their dual project, their involvement could also damage the athletes' development (Harwood and Knight 2015; Knight et al. 2018). When supporting their child, the frequency of certain parental behaviors appears to be associated with different overall experiences reported by adolescents involved in a dual career. To limit the use of pressuring and controlling behaviors, parents could support their child by allowing them to take ownership of their choices, offering encouragement, and promoting self‐referenced comparisons over time rather than comparisons with other athletes (Gao et al. 2024).

Despite this study having provided insightful results regarding the two parental maladaptive behaviors on athletes' overall experiences within a high‐level context, the first limitations of the present study are that all variables were assessed simultaneously using one source of data (athletes' self‐report questionnaire). Therefore, the results of this study do not allow us to identify the sense of the relationships between study variables studied. Next research could use longitudinal and experimental designs. A longitudinal design could provide insight into whether parental pressure and directive behaviors predict changes in athletes' burnout, emotions, and motivation over time. An interview or focus group can be used to understand how the frequent use of maladaptive parental behaviors affects athletes. Second, the cutoff used to allocate participants into the two groups was an empirical choice based on parenting literature and was intended to ensure that the athlete perceives at least one specific parental behavior as occurring frequently. However, statistical approaches could have been used, such as using the median or setting the threshold at one standard deviation above the mean. Third, although age and sex were included as control variables, future research could explore confounding variables such as type of sport and social class of family. Indeed, some studies have shown that the influence of parental behaviors may vary depending on the type of sport practiced (e.g., Bois et al. 2009). Moreover, the relative financial investment of the family in youth sport has been shown to predict athlete's commitment through perceived parental pressure (C. R. Dunn et al. 2016). Third, as athlete recruitment was conducted through head coaches, only volunteer coaches aware of the importance of parental involvement in dual careers agreed to provide access to athletes from intensive training center to participate in this study.

5. Practical Implications

Potential practical implications involve enhancing workshop contents for parents as well as guide sport psychology practitioners in their work with athletic families. For example, it would be relevant to help parents to become aware of the demands that their child faces while pursuing a dual career as well as the important role they play as key social agents (Dorsch et al. 2021). The results of this study could, for instance, be used to raise parents' awareness of the relationship between the parental behaviors perceived by athletes and athletes' experiences of burnout and motivation. Moreover, to limit the use of pressure and directive behaviors, such workshops could help parents develop their emotional skills and adopt appropriate coping strategies when supporting their child in their dual career (Harwood and Knight 2015).

6. Conclusion

The ongoing financial, temporal, and emotional investment required from youth sport parents results in a spectrum of behavioral, affective, and relational experiences (Sutcliffe et al. 2021). The current study meaningfully contributes to knowledge of parenting in sports by exploring athletes' perceptions of the frequency of four different maladaptive parental behaviors in relation to athletes' psychological variables. Athletes' perceptions of their parents putting pressure and emphasizing concerns about failure and winning are linked with burnout indicators, athlete's anxiety, anger, and controlled motivation. More specifically, the results show that athletes who perceived a higher frequency of pressuring and/or directive parental behaviors reported higher levels of burnout toward sport, controlled motivation, and amotivation as well as lower levels of autonomous motivation. In contrast, no significant difference were found regarding the emotions experienced by athletes over the past two weeks. Thus, this study suggests that the perceived frequency of certain parental behaviors may be associated with differences in athletes' overall experience while attending intensive training centers but not with their situational experiences.

Author Contributions

Conceptualization: VN, NL. Methodology: VN, NL. Statistical analysis: VN, NL. Investigation: NL. Writing–original draft preparation: VN, NL. Writing–review and editing: VN, NL.

Ethics Statement

This article got the approval by a national ethics committee (REC STAPS—Research Ethic Committee in Sciences and Techniques for Sport and Physical Activity, Ref. IRB00012476‐2023‐06‐12‐280).

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

Nicaise, Virginie , and Lienhart Noémie. 2025. “Is the Perception of the Frequency of Use of Parental Pressure and Directive Behaviors Related to Elite Adolescent Athletes’ Burnout, Emotions, and Motivation?.” European Journal of Sport Science: e70034. 10.1002/ejsc.70034.

Data Availability Statement

Data are available from the author upon reasonable request.