Health, Exercise, and Sports Sciences ETDs

Publication Date

12-24-1976

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of sex and athleticism on self ratings of athletes and non-athletes in the areas of masculinity-femininity, sex role stereotypes, social self-esteem and attitudes toward women's roles in society. It was hypothesized that ma le athletes, as compared to ma le non-athletes, would rate themselves as more masculine and higher in social self-esteem. It was hypothesized that female athletes, as compared to female non-athletes, would rate themselves as less feminine, lower in social self-esteem and more liberal in their attitudes toward women's roles in society. Moreover, it was hypothesized that the female athletes participating in sports designated as more socially desirable for female participation would rote themselves as more feminine and higher in social self-esteem than would the female athletes participating in less socially desirable sports.

The 222 volunteer subjects for the study consisted of 55 ma le athletes, 67 female athletes, 50 male non-athletes and 50 female non-athletes.

The Personal Attributes Questionnaire (PAQ): A Measure of Sex Role Stereotypes and Masculinity and Femininity (Spence, et al., 1974), the Texas Social Behavior Inventory (Hielmreich, et al., 1974), and a short version of the Attitudes Toward Women Scale (Spence, et al., 1973) were the instruments used in the study.

A 2x2 analysis of variance revealed that males and athletes rated themselves as more masculine and he Id more traditional views toward women's roles in society than did females and non-athletes, respectively. A priori orthogonal comparisons in the form of t-tests were used to test the hypotheses of the study. Both male and female athletes, when compared to their same-sex non-athletic counterparts, rated themselves as more masculine and held more traditional views toward women's roles in society.

Two additional findings emerged for the female athletes who rated themselves as higher in social self-esteem and adhered more to sex stereotypic perceptions than did the female non-athletes. No differences emerged between female athletes dependent on the sociaI desirability of the sport in which they participated.

According to the findings of the study, it was concluded that to be male or to be an athlete was associated with higher self-perceptions of masculinity and more traditional views of women's roles in society. Moreover, athletic participation affected females in more areas {social self-esteem and perceptions of sex role stereo­types) than it did males.

Document Type

Thesis

Language

English

Degree Name

Physical Education

Level of Degree

Masters

Department Name

Health, Exercise, and Sports Sciences

First Committee Member (Chair)

Kenneth Carl Lersten

Second Committee Member

Vivian H. Heyward

Third Committee Member

Mary Bierman Harris

Comments

The UNMUL recognizes that due to its historical nature, this item may include gender specific content and language that may be biased, harmful, and oppressive.

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