An exploration of life experiences in the sport setting that contribute to perceived personal development in socially vulnerable youths

This study is part of the PhD project ‘Youth, Care and Sport’. The aim of this project is to unravel the inherent value of sports for socially vulnerable youths. The research question in this study was: What life experiences in the sport setting contribute to perceived personal development in socially vulnerable youths? The approach for this study was an exploratory qualitative narrative study design. The data collection method was a combination of the drawing of a timeline and an in-depth interview based on the timeline. The sport setting contributes to personal development in terms of sense of coherence and transferability of skills. However, personal development in the sport setting was more complex related and interactive with daily life. Implications for youth care are that meaningful and balanced life experiences with a sense of belonging are important aspects to create in the sport setting. The importance of comprehensibility within the sport experience was not much reflected, however sports can be used as a tool to create stability in youths lives. Development of intrinsic motivation of youths is important and can be supported by (parental) support, (financial) resources, learning youths why sports are valuable, learn them to believe in themselves and let them try out different sports.