Investigating parental involvement has moved to the foreground of research in the past two decades, and research results focusing on family engagement claim its positive impact on children’s academic and non-academic achievement. However, less is known about parental involvement in the case of families with children with special needs. In our systematic review, we collected studies focusing on parental involvement which emphasised the role of resilience. Using the EBSCO Discovery Service, a total of 467 abstracts from 85 databases were screened, of which 28 papers published between 1984 and 2021 met the research criteria. Papers vary according to methodology (interview, focus group conversation, survey, case study, intervention programme and good practice) and disability group (general or specific). Resilience is interpreted in two ways: as a personality trait or a consequence. Four types of papers could be detected which dealt with the target group, specifically papers focusing on children, parents, teachers and professionals, and intervention programmes with multiple focuses. In conclusion, resilience is an element of parental involvement, either as a personality trait or a result. It is indispensable for the successful development of children in terms of academic and non-academic achievement as well. Programmes providing a wider collaboration with actors involved in the development of children seem to be more effective. In general practice, whether the goal is to build upon resilience as a personality trait or target its development as a consequence, strong collaboration between the parents, teachers and professionals concerned in the process can significantly contribute to the child’s psychological, emotional and academic development.

Investigating sport persistence can make a significant contribution to a thorough examination and understanding of the factors underlying an athlete’s activity, integrating physical activity, sports motivation and commitment. This systematic review aimed to detect the papers focusing on the factors influencing sport persistence following the levels of Bronfenbrenner’s and Bauman’s ecological models. Following the PRISMA guidelines, by the EBSCO Discovery Service Search Engine, 512 records were detected, of which 21 met the criteria. Factors influencing sport persistence show a huge variety. Individual factors and micro-system level were overrepresented. Meso- and macro-level factors are underrepresented and measured only with other (individual or micro-system level) factors. Most factors detected at the individual (e.g. gender, age, career-related variables and positive psychological factors), micro- (e.g. family, peers and coaches), meso- (e.g. climate), and macro-level (cultural, societal, and institutional influences) were positively correlated with sport persistence, i.e. supporting the persistent behaviour of the athletes regarding participating in one’s sporting activity. In conclusion, there is still room for further research concerning sport persistence. Including variables belonging to the meso- and macro-system and conducting longitudinal research should be considered which would allow us to better understand the nature of sport persistence.

Background: Health-related behaviours and attitudes acquired in childhood significantly shape health behaviours in adulthood and play an important role in preventing children from becoming overweight. Interventions incorporating parental involvement can provide outstanding support in shaping a child’s health-related behaviour. However, parental involvement has not been investigated from the perspective of efficacy except for obesity. Therefore, this systematic review investigates school-based physical activity intervention programmes incorporating parental involvement. We aim to explore the impact of these programmes and the parental involvement they provide on behaviours that influence child health, which are essential for preventing children and adults from becoming overweight and promoting health-conscious lifestyles. Methods: This systematic literature review follows PRISMA guidelines. The EBSCO Discovery Service Search Engine was used for searching for literature. Papers included met the following inclusion criteria: (1) reported original, empirical research or systematic review published in a peer-reviewed journal; (2) primary or secondary school age (6–18 years) as the target population; (3) examined school-based sport or health prevention and intervention programs; (4) only healthy children and youth in the indicated age group; (5) school-based prevention or intervention program; (6) examines parental involvement; (7) in the English language, and (8) in disciplines of education, psychology, social work, sociology, social sciences and humanities. Results: An extremely limited number of interventions of sufficient quality address the role of parental involvement (N = 17). The forms of parental involvement show a huge variety, ranging from leaflets, home packs, sports organisations “forced” by the pandemic, parent meetings, programmes, courses, and school programmes with diverse children over several months (cooking together, gardening, playing sports together, etc.). Therefore, it is difficult to measure their effectiveness and impact. Conclusions: The impact of parental involvement on children’s health behaviour, especially physical activity and nutrition, as two of the most important factors in preventing them from becoming overweight, are unclear, and other correlations, e.g., academic achievement, are scarce.

Regular physical activity from an early age is an important part of a healthy life because if we incorporate exercise early into our lifestyle, we are more likely to maintain our commitment to sport into adulthood and even throughout our lives. In our research, we used the PERSIST 2019 database, which contains data from students at higher education institutions in Hungary, Slovakia, Romania, Ukraine, and Serbia. We used factor analysis to isolate four sports motivation factors (intrinsic, introjected, extrinsic, and amotivation). Factors influencing the different types were measured using linear regression analysis, involving the variables in four models. The results show that the effects of the sociodemographic variables are significant for gender, country, and mother’s job, especially in terms of intrinsic, introjected, and extrinsic motivation. The role of coping is salient for health awareness factors, with a positive effect on intrinsic motivation and a negative effect on the other types. The impacts of quality of education and support are typically negative, while the positive effect of satisfaction with infrastructure is noteworthy. The effect of persistence in sport on intrinsic and introjected motivation is positive. Frequency of training increases intrinsic motivation, while practical sport embeddedness generates extrinsic motivation. In terms of relationships, a mainly teacher-oriented network within the institution typically has a negative effect on intrinsic motivation, while peer relationships outside the institution typically increase intrinsic and extrinsic sport motivation. Academic persistence has a positive effect on intrinsic motivation and a negative effect on introjected motivation. Our research highlights the complexity of factors influencing sport motivation and the role of coping, which typically remains strong when relationship-related variables are included. In addition, we must emphasise the dominant role of relationship network patterns, which may even reduce commitment to sport.

Introduction: The positive impact of youth sport on physical, mental and social health has been highlighted in several research which reinforces further investigations concerning the reasons for dropout of athletes. As one of the most emergent difficulties in youth sports is to prevent athletes from dropping out, it is important to explore what factors play important part in this process. The purpose of this study was to identify barriers and challenges related to sport persistence and dropout.Methods: We conducted a systematic literature review using the EBSCO Discovery Service Search Engine. Our method followed the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines.Results: Out of the initially examined 512 publications, 11 papers were included in our final sample. Original empirical research published in a peer-reviewed journal, papers focusing on participants age below 25 years and exploring factors influencing dropout determined by any levels of Bronfenbrenner’s model were analyzed. Results showed that gender differences were extensively examined and did, in fact, contribute to dropout ratios, while socio-cultural and ethnic backgrounds were largely disregarded in most studies. From presented individual psychological factors perception of ability and success, enjoyment, sports satisfaction and life satisfaction all protected against dropout.Discussion: Achievement, goal, social and win orientation emerged as positive predictors of sport persistence in many studies, along with motivation and commitment. Many non-psychological factors were also mentioned. Sports requiring more training may lead to increased dropout rates, just as well as the lack of knowledge acquisition and competitiveness. Lastly, social environment and status also often play a significant role in dropout. Individuals with more resourceful socio-economical background find it easier to keep up the pace and have the opportunity to participate in more wealth-consuming sports. Social support received from the family and peers is a very strong preventive factor against dropout and both the personality and leadership of the coach were mentioned in multiple studies. A lack of methodological diversity, paired with the presence of only cross-sectional studies fulfilling the inclusivity criteria raises attention to the importance of examining underrepresented factors and the need for longitudinal research on the topic.Systematic review registration: https://inplasy.com/inplasy-2024-11-0015/, INPLASY2024110015.