ABSTRACT
This chapter explores the emergence of early childhood sport within broader societal patterns and trends, and provides an overview of positive and negative developmental outcomes associated with participation. It outlines key social agents who may influence these outcomes and processes. The chapter describes unique challenges facing researchers working within early childhood sport contexts and closes with recommendations for future research and practice. Researchers attribute the rise in organized sport participation during early childhood to a number of evolving societal patterns and trends. A recent scoping review of literature on the psychosocial benefits and/or risks of early engagement in sport revealed studies are lacking in both quantity and quality, finding only nine peer-reviewed articles examining the developmental outcomes of early years sport. A limited but growing body of research has examined associations between early childhood sport participation and various psychological outcomes.
