Psychological Processes Involved in Life Skill Transfer: Understanding the Lived Experiences of Youth Recognized as Being Socially Vulnerable

The development and transfer of life skills is seen as a critical outcome for sport-based PYD programs. Life skills enable youth to manage the challenges of everyday life and are recognized as being particularly important for youth who are socially vulnerable and at-risk for behavioral health problems. Even with the advancement of sport-based PYD research o, the psychological processes of youth who experience transfer remains understudied. Using the Life Skills Transfer Model (Pierce et al. in Int Rev Sport Exerc Psychol 10(1):186–211, 2017. https://doi.org/10.1080/1750984X.2016.1199727) as a theoretical framework, the current study explored eight psychological processes that have been proposed to contribute to the transfer of life skills. Further, as a way to meet the call for longitudinal integrated qualitative approaches that advance one-shot interviews, the current study used photo-elicitation methods to establish prolonged engagement in the research while empowering youth to share their unique lived experiences related to participation in a sport-based PYD program. Twelve youth participated in the current study, which included seven boys and five girls from the ages of nine to 14, the majority of whom identified as Black. Findings provide support for the eight psychological processes related to life skill transfer and help to illustrate a more nuanced understanding of how and why youth transfer life skills from sport to other life domains. With this knowledge, other sport-based PYD programs, particularly those serving socially vulnerable youth, have a variety of programmatic decisions to consider.