A scoping review of the use of theory in positive youth development and athlete transition literature

The psychosocial development of young people in sports settings continues to be a popular area of study. Researchers examining youth athletes may draw on developmental theories from broader fields of psychology when choosing which psychosocial outcomes to study. However, it is currently unclear which theories inform youth sport research, and how these theories have been used. Therefore, a scoping review of the literature in positive youth development and youth athlete transitions in sport was conducted to investigate the use of theory in these areas. Two databases were systematically searched (APA PsychINFO and SportDiscus) and 10,453 abstracts were screened for inclusion in the review. Information was extracted from 207 articles and dissertations. Results indicated that the most-used theories included Ecological Theories of Human Development, (Bronfenbrenner, U. (1979). The ecology of human development. University Press) and Self-Determination Theory (Deci, E. L., & Ryan, R. M. (2000). The “what” and “why” of goal pursuits: Human needs and the self-determination of behavior. Psychological Inquiry, 11(4), 227–268.). Theories were most often used in peripheral ways to contextualise or discuss research findings (Sandelowski, (1993 Sandelowski, M. (1993). Theory unmasked: The uses and guises of theory in qualitative research. Research in Nursing & Health, 16(3), 213–218. https://doi.org/10.1002/nur.4770160308.[Crossref], [PubMed], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]). Theory unmasked: The uses and guises of theory in qualitative research. Research in Nursing & Health, 16(3), 213–218.). The use of theory more centrally (e.g. theory testing) was less common. In the future, researchers could draw on theories more fully to guide their hypotheses, examine whether non-developmental theories are appropriate to use with different populations, and ensure that research in youth sport is informed by theoretical progress in developmental psychology.