May 10/07 9:17 am - Survey Says Parental Influence On Sports Participation Is Not Always Positive

Posted by Editor on 05/10/07
 

Survey Says Parental Influence On Sports Participation Is Not Always Positive
Courtesy SIRC

A recent national poll conducted by NRG Research Group indicates that Canadian adults and youths agree that parental influence on youth participation in sport is not always positive. In fact, 31% of adult Canadians and 27% of youths view parents as being the most negative influence on youth's participation in sport. This compares to 35% of adults and 23% of youths that think parents are the most positive influence.

In addition to parents, youths identified a number of other influences on sport participation, including coaches, peers, and professional athletes. Youths indicate being more heavily influenced by their peers than adults recognize. For example, 41% of youths cite "friends quitting" as a reason why people their age may stop participating in sports, while only 9% of adults gave this as a reason why teens stop participating.

The same study also polled Canadians on their expectations for Canada's 2010 Olympic team, and found that most Canadians (64%) feel it is important for Canada to be successful at the Games. A total of 41% of Canadian adults define success in 2010 in terms of the team's medal count. Youths are less concerned with podium results, as a majority (64%) of the younger respondents felt that Canada will have achieved success if the teams and athletes compete to the best of their abilities.

About the Survey: "Connecting Sport and Canadians"

"Connecting Sport and Canadians: A Syndicated Study Measuring Attitudes and Opinions of Canadian Youth and Adults", was conducted by NRG Research Group, with input from several stakeholder organizations in the community-focused and Olympic-level sport communities. In total, 2,000 adults and 1,000 youths (aged 10-17 years) across Canada were polled between February and March 2007. In addition to the findings reported above, respondents were also polled on issues such as: strategies to improve access to sport in the community; who Canadians believe should be funding athletes to prepare for Olympic competition; and perceptions around the prevalence of banned substances at elite-level competitions. Report copies are available for purchase through NRG Research Group.

About NRG Research Group

NRG Research Group is a national public opinion research company with offices in Vancouver, Calgary, and Winnipeg. NRG is a Gold Seal Member of the Marketing Research and Intelligence Association (MRIA).

For further information, please contact:

Jillian Schneider, NRG Research Group
T: 403.209.4110
E: js@nrgresearchgroup.com
W: www.nrgresearchgroup.com