Trauma-informed care has shown promise as an intervention for preventing and mitigating the negative effects of childhood adversity. This study evaluated the impact of a trauma-informed sport training on youth sports coaches’ attitudes related to trauma-informed care and how their experiences with a trauma-informed sport training explain their attitudes.
Utilizing an explanatory sequential mixed methods design, the 35-item Attitudes Related to Trauma-Informed Care Scale (ARTIC-35) was used to measure coaches’ attitudes towards trauma-informed care before and after a 90-minute trauma-informed sport training (n=16), and interviews with participants were conducted between 1-2 months after the training to further explain the quantitative data (n=10). Quantitative results demonstrated significant improvements in coaches’ attitudes related to trauma-informed care and satisfaction with the training’s delivery, content, fit, and value. Themes that emerged from the qualitative analysis of interviews included that the intervention: provided a new perspective on youth behavior; demonstrated the importance of trusting relationships and safe environments; offered complimentary approaches to current coaching practices; raised awareness about coaches’ stress and its impacts; and increased knowledge of brain science and regulation. These study findings provide preliminary evidence supporting the impact of a trauma-informed sport training on coaches’ attitudes.
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