Setting the Agenda: A Playbook for Tackling Family Communication in Sport

ABSTRACT

Sports are a pervasive and salient component of society, which have only recently received considerable attention from communication scholars. Although significant gains in knowledge have been made, there is a great need to explore the role and importance of interactions with family in the determination of sports participation or experiences, how families manage their sporting and familial roles, and the formation of identities and relationships. Whether via participation or fandom, families are central agents of socialization who come to instill attitudes and behaviors that shape how we understand sport, ourselves, and each other. It would be impossible to fully understand sporting or family experiences, without considering the intersection between the two.