The Father in Youth Baseball: A Self-Determination Theory Approach

This study based on the self-determination theory aims to examine the relationship among the aspirations that fathers have about their children’s youth baseball practice, the children’s basic psychological needs (satisfaction and frustration), and their intentions to either continue or drop out of baseball practice in a sample of children from Hermosillo, Mexico. A cross-sectional study was carried out involving 533 fathers (M = 44.30, SD = 5.18) and 533 children (M = 13.09, SD = 1.68). The results showed that the intrinsic aspirations of fathers were positively correlated to the satisfaction of the children’s psychological needs, whereas the extrinsic aspirations of fathers were positively correlated with the frustration of the children’s psychological needs. Satisfaction of basic psychological needs was positively correlated with the intention to continue and negatively correlated with dropout; on the contrary, frustration of basic psychological needs was negatively correlated with the intention to continue and positively with dropout. In conclusion, the fathers’ pursuit of intrinsic aspirations for their children in the youth baseball context satisfies the children’s basic psychological needs, and in turn, their intention to continue practicing increases. Conversely, when a father pursues extrinsic aspirations for his son in youth baseball, the child will feel his basic psychological needs frustrated, and he will have a greater intention to drop out. Overall, this study extends the existing sport-scientific literature by confirming the impact of parents’ aspirations on their children’s basic psychological needs and intention to continue being baseball players.