Abstract
Sheridan and colleagues’ (2014) systematic review offered a valuable and comprehensive overview of the youth sport social support literature published prior to 2014. Given the rapidly changing landscape of youth sport, it is reasonable to suggest that the literature has expanded since that time. This review aimed to provide an update on the state of social support research in youth sport since 2014 by synthesizing research characteristics, conceptualizations, measurements, associated factors and outcomes, intervention effects, study quality, and future research directions. Guided by the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA; Page et al., 2021) and Pollock and Berge (2018), we identified peer-reviewed articles through database searches (i.e., PsycINFO, Scopus, SportDiscus, Web of Science, CINAHL) using relevant keywords (e.g., youth, athlete, social support, teammate, coach, parent). Eligible records were included if they contained empirical data concerning youth (Mage ≤ 20 years) in organized sport, were centered on athlete-received social support, and were written in English. Screening and data extraction were performed using Covidence. We identified 57 records that met our inclusion criteria. Common areas of research focus included gender- or sex-based differences; variations in support from teammates, coaches, and parents; links to performance and well-being; and developmental stages and career transitions. Suggestions for future researchers include refinement and consistency in theory development, concerns over measurement, and further development of interventions. Overall, our review shows that the research output focused on social support in youth support has evolved over the last eleven years, though several questions still remain.
