Advancing Understanding of Early Specialization in Youth Sport

Objective: The overarching purpose of this dissertation was to better understand early specialization, through two main objectives. The first objective was to determine research gaps in existing literature, and the second was to develop a valid tool for measuring specialization based on the identified gaps. Methods: In Chapter Two, a systematic review of the literature was conducted. Both non-data driven and data-driven studies were included to ensure a comprehensive understanding of the literature. Chapter Three describes a two-part study. In part one, 362 athletes were coded as specializers or non specializers depending on three different indicators used in previous research. In part two, 237 athletes were then coded to determine whether they were elite, pre-elite or nonelite in adulthood. Lastly, in Chapter Five, a Delphi-approach included 16 experts in the field to test elements of validity of the Sport Exposure Scale. Results: Findings from Chapter Two indicated inconsistent definitions and measures used in the literature and a clear discrepancy between key components of early specialization and approaches used to classify early specializers. Chapter Three results showed the proportion of athletes classified as specialisers varied depending on the method used and that there was no clear advantage or disadvantage to being a specializer based on skill-level achieved. Finally, in Chapter Five, the content and face validity of the Sport exposure Scale was established when the Delphi panellists reached consensus for each item. Conclusion: This dissertation highlighted gaps in the literature around early specialization and showed the implications of measurement imprecision. This dissertation attempted to provide a solution to these issues by creating the Sport Exposure Scale, which was designed to help advance not only our understanding of early specialization, but sport participation pathways in general. This dissertation provides areas for future research and has significant implications for research, stakeholders and society more broadly.