Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Psychology of Sport & Exercise journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/psychsport Juggling motherhood and sport: A qualitative study of the negotiation of competitive recreational athlete mother identities Kerry R. McGannon a,* , Jenny McMahon b , Christine A. Gonsalves a a Laurentian University, Sudbury, Ontario, Canada b University of Tasmania, Launceston, Australia ARTICLE INFO Keywords: Gender Identity Athlete mothers Thematic analysis Discursive psychology ABSTRACT Objectives: Qualitative research on physically active mothers has shown that recreational sport allows for per- sonal, social and cultural barriers to be renegotiated in ways that facilitate well-being and sport participation. The purpose of this study was to extend this understanding by examining competitive recreational athlete mothers' negotiation of sport training and competition in relation to their identities. Design: A qualitative approach grounded in social constructionism and discursive psychology was used to the- orize athlete mother identities as constructed within nuanced cultural discourses, with multiple meanings and effects (e.g., psychological, social, behavioural) on women's psychological, training and parental experiences. Method: An interpretive thematic analysis (TA) was conducted on in-depth interviews with 7 North American recreational athlete mothers, who train to compete in national and/or international sport competitions. Results: A central theme constructed multiple meanings of motherhood and athletic experiences: juggling mo- therhood and sport. The meanings of motherhood and sport were multiple and fluid depending on three sub- themes, which were used as strategies to negotiate identities as athletes and mothers: 1. adjustment of training and competition; 2. support as multifaceted and negotiated; and 3. reciprocity of motherhood and sport. These themes highlight the nuanced ways in which juggling motherhood and sport are negotiated in relation to socially constructed identities, in constraining and emancipative ways. Conclusions: This study extends research on the social construction of cultural identities in sport psychology and work on athlete mother identities into competitive recreational athletics. Despite physical activity participation decreasing for mothers (McGannon & Schinke, 2013; Miller & Brown, 2005), some mothers maintain physical activity participation (Batey & Owton, 2014; McGannon, McMahon & Gonsalves, 2017). Focusing on physically ac- tive mothers is important to learn more about how they navigate psy- chological social and cultural barriers that often constrain activity (Hamilton & White, 2010; McGannon et al., 2017). Sport participation is one fruitful avenue to learn more about the negotiation of cultural norms of good mother and care giving ideals, which can subordinate women's physical activity pursuits (Batey & Owton, 2014; Darroch & Hillsburg, 2017; McGannon et al., 2017). Such ideals stress that women care for children and place family needs above their own (Miller & Brown, 2005). These notions concerning motherhood and cultural norms are grounded in social constructionism, whereby ‘motherhood’ is viewed as the product of individual, social and cultural discourses which interact to create particular meanings concerning mother iden- tity (McGannon & Schinke, 2013; Vair, 2013). From a social constructionist perspective, discourses circulate certain meanings about motherhood which become forms of truth and difficult to challenge because they are also tied to gender ideologies (i.e., expected behaviours based on cultural values and norms). These practices include the prevailing notion that women's true calling is to have children and care for them and that men's true calling is to be providers (Bailey, 2001; Choi, Henshaw, Baker, & Tree, 2005; Sorensen, 2017; Vair, 2013). However, culture rather than biology tells us what it means to be a mother, what behaviours are appropriate for mothers, and how motherhood shapes identity (Bailey, 2001). Although it is established that domestic duties and childcare can be shared to enhance physical activity participation for both partners (Hamilton & White, 2010), discourses of good motherhood tied to the foregoing gender ideologies structure women's motherhood and caregiving practices in ways that often constrain physical activity (Batey & Owton, 2014; McGannon & Schinke, 2013; Miller & Brown, 2005). Complicating matters for working mothers are discourses of balance within which women negotiate tensions between work, leisure and motherhood as personal choices that may better their lives, but are linked to https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psychsport.2018.01.008 Received 20 July 2017; Received in revised form 23 January 2018; Accepted 24 January 2018 * Corresponding author. E-mail address: kmcgannon@laurentian.ca (K.R. McGannon). Psychology of Sport & Exercise 36 (2018) 41–49 1469-0292/ © 2018 Published by Elsevier Ltd. T