Sports Studies and Sports Psychology – Page 53

How Viewing Professional Wrestling May Affect Children

Submitted by: Matthew J. Bernthal

Abstract

This study investigated the effects on children of viewing professional wrestling. Elementary and middle school teachers (n = 370) were surveyed and asked to indicate (a) the popularity of professional wrestling among their students, (b) any preconceived notions they held about students who enjoy viewing professional wrestling, (c) their beliefs about spectator harm caused by professional wrestling, and (d) the nature and extent of their students’ imitation of verbal and other behavior from professional wrestling, as they had personally observed that imitation. The results of the survey, findings of prior literature, and research on marketing ethics together raise questions about the appropriateness of professional wrestling as sport-entertainment for children.

How Viewing Professional Wrestling May Affect Children

In the last decade professional wrestling (to describe which World Wrestling Entertainment owner Vince McMahon has coined the term “sport-entertainment”) has skyrocketed in popularity. It is broadcast in 12 languages to over 130 countries, is viewed by 34 million people in the United States, and generates industry revenues above $1 billion annually. World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) is the industry leader in virtually every statistic (e.g., television ratings, live event attendance, licensing revenue). Attendance at WWE events rose from 1.1 million people in 1997 to 2.5 million for the year 2000 (wweecorpbiz.com, n.d.). While live event attendance has fallen a bit in the past two years, the WWE still drew 2 million attendees in 2002 (wwecorporate.com, n.d. a). WWE’s flagship television show, Raw, on TNN, is consistently the top-rated regularly scheduled cable television program, and the company’s other core show, SmackDown, on UPN, is consistently one of the highest ranked sports programs (as categorized by Nielsen) on network television. The shows have drawn combined weekly Nielsen ratings of 6-12 over the last two years (tv.zap2it.com, n.d.). Other, more mainstream sports are losing coveted young viewers to the WWE. For example, in the 12-17 age group, 143% more males (and 73% of males and females combined) watched the WWE’s Monday night Raw than the 1999 NBA finals. Further, the WWE continually outperforms a number of professional sporting events, in key demographics: the play-offs of Major League Baseball, the National Hockey League’s Stanley Cup play-offs, Monday Night Football (BW SportsWire, 1999).

Wrestling’s popularity has blossomed for two primary reasons. First, over a decade and a half ago, the WWE’s McMahon liberated wrestling from the constrictions that came with being labeled a “legitimate” sport. Throughout much of the 20th century, professional wrestling was thought of as a legitimate sport contest, that being a contest in which the outcome is not predetermined. However, as the industry evolved, society began questioning the genuineness of match outcomes, feuds between wrestlers, and the like. The industry found itself performing a balancing act between desiring to be perceived as legitimate sport and desiring to entertain with engaging and creative storylines. In essence, the quest to retain the perception of legitimacy necessarily restrained the ability of wrestling to present itself as creative “theater.” McMahon, in a visionary move that angered many other promoters in the business who thought the move would destroy the industry, abandoned the presentation of wrestling as legitimate sport, admitting publicly that the outcome of pro matches was predetermined. Rather than destroying the industry, however, McMahon’s tack liberated wrestling, freeing the WWE and other promoters to engage fans with wacky, funny, outrageous, entertaining camp. Fans did not care about legitimacy, they wanted to be entertained. This newfound freedom allowed, quite simply, for increased entertainment, and the industry’s popularity grew.

The second reason for pro wrestling’s growth is successful target marketing. Pro wrestling, and in particular the WWE, actively and successfully targets the coveted 18- to 34-year-old male demographic, with its ample disposable income. The industry does this by filling television programming and live events with ever-increasing amounts of the sexual and violent content that is clearly attractive to a large number of young males. Recent WWE programming, for example, has included oral sex on a wrestler by a transvestite, attempted castration of a wrestler who is portrayed as a porn star, necrophilia by a wrestler named Triple H, baring of breasts in the ring at live events by female “valets” (or “divas” in WWE terminology), and the use during matches of sledgehammers, metal folding chairs, garbage cans, quantities of thumbtacks, and even the proverbial kitchen sink. Needless to say, blood is spilled liberally and regularly. WWE divas regularly wrestle in sexually themed matches. In a “bra and panties” match, the first to strip her opponent to her undergarments is the winner; in a “paddle-on-a-pole” match, the diva who can subdue her opponent long enough to climb a pole in the ring corner and retrieve a paddle placed on top wins the match and uses the paddle to spank her opponent.

While the 18- to 34-year-old male demographic is clearly targeted by and drawn to such content, the WWE also targets and draws children. It profits from licensing revenue linked to wrestling-related adult toys and merchandise sold to children. (In 2002, total WWE licensing revenue reached $101.5 million, according to wwecorporate.com, n.d. b). It also profits from advertising by companies targeting children, including toy and videogame manufacturers as well as food companies like Chef-Boy-R-Dee. It profits from children’s attendance at live wrestling events. Indeed, the WWE trumpets these facts to potential investors (WWE is traded on the NYSE) and advertisers. Its website states that WWE.com is the top sport website and the number one entertainment site for males age 12-17, adding, “Our brand of entertainment appeals to a broad demographic audience, with WWE’s advertising focus being males 12 to 24” (wwecorporate.com, n.d. b). WWE weekend morning programming has also targeted children and encourages children to tune in to the more violent and risqué Monday and Thursday night programs. In sum, the WWE intentionally and successfully targets two demographic segments, 18- to 34-year-old males and children (primarily male children).

]Research Question[

While some critics (such as the Parents Television Council, which led a partly successful advertiser boycott of WWE programming) question the acceptability of wrestling’s program content for any audience, that is not the intent of this work. This research examines issues surrounding the fact that, while the majority of pro wrestling’s audience is the young male adult, a significant portion of its audience has been and remains children 2-17. Wrestling indeed has issues with ethical targeting that beg examination. By creating significantly violent and sexual content in order to attract 18- to 34-year-old males and at the same time targeting and reaching children, does pro wrestling knowingly market a potentially harmful product to children?

Sport and entertainment researchers have given relatively little attention to such ethical questions. Indeed, Laczniak, Burton, and Murphy (1999) note the dearth of attention to ethics in sport marketing, although the general marketing literature gives significant attention to ethical targeting issues (Rittenburg & Parthasarathy, 1997; Smith & Cooper-Martin, 1997). Much of that sport marketing literature that does address ethics tends to focus on ambush marketing (Meenaghan, 1996; O’Sullivan & Murphy, 1998; Sandler & Shani, 1989). The deficit begs to be addressed, and the purpose of the current study is to provide initial insight into whether pro wrestling’s targeting strategy meets the generally accepted tests of the ethicalness of such strategies. That is, to what extent are children vulnerable to the professional wrestling industry’s campaigns, and to what extent are children harmed by consuming the industry’s products?

The literature suggests that pro wrestling does meet the first criterion for unethical targeting (at least to some degree), in that when the industry targets children, it targets a “vulnerable segment,” defined as consumers especially susceptible to economic, physical, or psychological harm because of characteristics that limit their ability to maximize their utility and well-being (Smith & Cooper-Martin, 1997). Related to the current issue, research has shown that children’s limited life experience and developmental-stage cognitive abilities leave them particularly vulnerable to learning from televised messages (Dorr, 1986; Eron & Huesmann, 1987; Singer & Singer, 1988). Television teaches children “cognitive scripts” that influence their behavior, including social interaction. Cognitive scripts tend to be learned early in life, serving as a guideline for future behavior (Huesmann, 1986). Regularly consuming, or viewing, pro wrestling introduces children to a cognitive script for handling conflict (i.e., through the kind of violence seen in pro wrestling) and for approaching relationships with the opposite sex (i.e., sexual object or objectifier). While children are particularly vulnerable to picking up from pro wrestling certain attitudinal and behavioral scripts, we do not know the extent to which they act out such scripts. This is the issue addressed by the current data.

]Method[

Teacher ratings are commonly used to examine child behavior (Bates, Bayles, Bennet, Ridge, & Brown, 1991; Sawyer, Baghurst, & Mathias, 1992). As is the case in the current study, teacher ratings have been most often used in the assessment of externalizing disorders like outward aggression, as opposed to internalizing disorders like anxiety or depression. Externalizing disorders involve behaviors that lend themselves relatively well to observation and reliable assessment by others (Epkins, 1993). Teacher ratings of children’s aggression provide the most practical basis for any wide-scale screening and have been shown to be accurate. When teachers have rated aggression in children of the same ages as those in the current study, the teacher ratings have accurately predicted juvenile delinquency and violent offenses in the chidren as they aged to 26 years (Bates et al., 1991).

To explore the effects that viewing pro wrestling has on children’s aggression, a survey was mailed to 1,200 second-grade through eighth-grade teachers around one state in the Southeast. The sample was randomly drawn from a list of elementary and middle schools, both public and private, throughout the state. Teachers returned 370 usable surveys, for a response rate of 30.8%. Elementary teachers comprised 72.9% of the sample, while 23.7% were middle school teachers and 3.4% taught both elementary and middle school students. Females made up 84.8% of the sample, and 15.2% of respondents were male. As to age, 22.8% of the teachers were in their 20s, 26.5% were in their 30s, 32.1% were in their 40s, 18.0% were in their 50s, and 0.6% were in their 60s.

Teachers in the sample were asked four series of questions. The first allowed the teachers to indicate the popularity of pro wrestling among their students. The second allowed them to indicate preconceived notions they might have had about students known to be fans of pro wrestling. The third series comprised global questions asking teachers to indicate their own attitudes toward pro wrestling and their own general opinions on how harmful to children the industry is. The fourth comprised questions allowing teachers to rate the extent to which their students imitate pro wrestling (i.e., wrestling moves, aggressive or vulgar language, aggressive or vulgar gestures, sexually connotative language or behavior). In order to avoid order effects on both the global attitude questions and the imitation items, the third and fourth series of questions were rotated, creating two versions of the survey which were pooled for analysis (surveys with global items first, n = 205; surveys with global items last, n = 165).

]Results[

Teachers’ Assessments of Wrestling’s Popularity

Just how popular is pro wrestling among children? The overwhelming majority of the teachers (97.0%) indicated that they had currently, or had had within the past four years, students who watched pro wrestling on television. Further, teachers estimated that 45.08% of their current students were “fans of professional wrestling,” with middle school teachers giving a significantly higher estimate than elementary teachers, 50.33% vs. 43.74%, t = 2.12, p = .035. Finally, teachers were asked if they had seen, over the past four years, an increase, decrease, or no change in the number of their students who were fans of pro wrestling. (Four years was the period chosen, as it essentially coincided with the time frame in which pro wrestling exploded in popularity, following the significant change in program content described above.) An overwhelming 80.8% of teachers responded that they had seen an increase in the number of students who were fans of pro wrestling; 14.9% reported they had seen no change, and just 4.2% had seen a decrease. These results clearly indicate that, as pro wrestling has ratcheted up violent and sexual content over the past four years, seeking the male 18- to 34-year-old demographic, increasing numbers of children are watching as well.

Teachers’ Preconceived Notions

In order to gain initial insight into both the attitudes of teachers toward pro wrestling and the observations of teachers about whether children imitate wrestling, teachers were asked if they had any preconceived notions, or expectations, concerning students known to be fans of pro wrestling. Teachers were asked to describe these, if they existed. The software QSR NUD·IST, a qualitative data analysis package, was used to analyze these responses. While the majority of teachers (75.3%) stated that they did not prejudge students, nearly one quarter (24.7%) stated that they did. Of teachers reporting that they had made such judgments, 54.8% used the terms “violent” and/or “aggressive.” Examples of comments include the following:

1. “It has been my experience with these students in the past that now causes me to expect more aggressive behavior and rougher play at recess. Students practice what they see at matches. The students also use inappropriate language that they have heard either while attending matches or watching them on TV.”

2. “These students are more physically active and aggressive in the classroom and at recess.”

3. “They generally get in trouble more. They are loud and somewhat aggressive. They are tired due to staying up too late watching wrestling [The two main WWE programs air on weeknights, one from 8:00 to 10:00, the other from 9:00 to 11:00.] They are usually not at the top of the class grade-wise.”

Of teachers who reported that they had preconceived notions about children who viewed pro wrestling, 22.6% also anticipated “rebellious” behavior and/or “discipline problems” on the part of these children. The surveys repeatedly included statements like the following:

1. “I expect them to be more active and to have more difficulty following rules, especially where roughness is concerned.”

2. “The students tend to misbehave, are very loud and boisterous, often times rebellious and want to play by hitting or acting out what the wrestlers do.”

Smaller percentages of the teachers who said they had preconceived notions expected that students who were consumers of pro wrestling would (a) demonstrate relatively poor academic performance (14.3% of these teachers) and (b) use inappropriate language (11.9%of these teachers).

Teachers’ Attitudes Toward Pro Wrestling

Teachers’ attitudes toward pro wrestling were assessed directly, by asking teachers to rate their agreement with the global statement “I like professional wrestling,” using a 7-point Likert-type scale ranging from 1 (strongly disagree) to 7 (strongly agree). Overall, the teachers indicated a strong dislike of pro wrestling (M = 1.7). However, this measure does not necessarily indicate that teachers find pro wrestling harmful to children. Three additional questions were asked to assess the teachers’ attitudes about the industry harming children.

First, the teachers were asked for their opinions about the degree to which viewing of televised violence negatively affects children’s behavior, from 1(not at all)to 7(a great amount). They indicated a strong belief that viewing televised violence has a negative behavioral effect, M = 5.99. Next, the teachers were asked for their opinions about how harmful pro wrestling is to child fans in terms of behavioral tendencies and behavioral development, from 1(not at all harmful)to 7(very harmful). Teachers indicated a general belief that pro wrestling is indeed harmful to child fans, M = 5.59. Comparison of the mean to the midpoint of the scale indicates that it is significantly higher, t = 22.77, p < .000. Third, the teachers were asked, “Compared to other forms of entertainment and television programming, how would you rank pro wrestling in terms of harmful effects on children’s development?” Responses to this question ranged from 1 (least harmful) to 7 (most harmful). Teachers indicated a belief that pro wrestling was relatively harmful compared to other forms of entertainment and television programming, rating it significantly higher than the midpoint, M = 5.54, t = 22.88, p < .000. Strikingly, 8.8% of the sample responded that there were no forms of entertainment or television programming more harmful to a child’s development than pro wrestling. In sum, results indicate that in these teachers’ experience, professional wrestling is a negative influence on the children among its fans.

Teachers’ Observation of Children’s Imitation of Wrestlers

The fourth series of questions asked the teachers about the degree to which their students engaged in imitating various forms of behavior common in pro wrestling, with responses ranging from 1 (not at all imitative) to 7 (very imitative). The mean was significantly higher than the scale midpoint, M = 4.96, t = 10.80, p < .000, suggesting that the teachers had observed a considerable degree of imitation. Interestingly, elementary school teachers reported having observed more imitation than middle school teachers had, 5.07 vs. 4.55, t = 2.41, p = .016. The teachers were asked, moreover, whether over the past four years they had seen an increase, a decrease, or no change in how often their students imitated wrestlers. Over half of the teachers (59.2%) reported seeing an increase, while 35.2% reported no change and only 4.9% reported seeing a decrease.

The specific kinds of imitation the teachers’ students engaged in was explored in some detail by the survey. Using a 5-point scale that included 1 (not at all), 2 (sometimes but not often), 3 (somewhat often), 4 (often), and 5 (very often), teachers were asked how regularly they had observed each of the following:

1. imitation of wrestling moves and/or other aggressive wrestling behaviors

2. injuries resulting from imitation of wrestling moves and/or other aggressive wrestling behaviors

3. imitation of aggressive and/or vulgar language specifically attributable to viewing pro wrestling

4. imitation of aggressive and/or vulgar gestures specifically attributable to viewing pro wrestling

5. imitation of sexually connotative language, gestures, or other behavior specifically attributable to viewing pro wrestling

For each of the five kinds of imitation, teachers were asked to specify, in open-ended format, what they had observed. Again, the data were analyzed using QSR NUD·IST; during the process, it was important to include only those teacher accounts of imitation specifically attributable to pro wrestling, so responses were separately coded by the principal researcher and an assistant, both familiar with wrestling programming content. Minimal differences in coding were resolved through discussion.

Wrestling moves, injury. Results for the elementary and middle school teachers did not differ significantly with respect to how frequently they had observed children imitating wrestling moves and/or other aggressive wrestling behaviors. The teachers rated the frequency, on average, between somewhat often and often (M = 3.41). Over one quarter of the teachers (28.1%) said they had observed children imitating a form of “body slam”; nearly one quarter (23.5%) said they had observed hitting or kicking. Improperly executed wrestling moves have killed and injured many wrestlers by injury to the neck. The “clothesline” is a dangerous example and is a move in which one wrestler slings another wrestler into the ropes and uses his arm to hit the opponent in the neck as he bounces back. The “piledriver” is another, a move in which a subdued wrestler, held upside down and vertically, has his head driven down into the mat.

The number of cases in which a child died as the result of imitating such moves is large and includes several recent incidents (Clary, 2001; Davis, 1999). Over one-fifth of the teachers surveyed for this research (20.9%) said they had observed imitative behavior involving the neck, in that their students used the words “clothesline,” “chokehold,” “pedigree,” and “piledriver” in a context of physical aggression. The fact that the teachers cited such industry-specific terms suggests that they quite accurately attributed the observed physical behavior to an imitation of pro wrestling. A further 8.1% of the surveyed teachers reported students’ use of “headlocks,” while 6.8% reported observing imitative moves involving a jump from a raised surface of some sort (typically a desk or jungle gym) to land on another child, as wrestlers frequently jump onto their opponents from above.

The teachers were asked whether they had seen students injured as a result of imitating wrestling moves, and 57.9% of them had not. However, 42.1% said they had observed injury occurring as students imitated wrestling moves. Clearly, the potential for bodily harm through such imitation is occasionally realized. Most often, the injuries teachers had observed were bruises, cuts, and scrapes (74.4% of teachers) They also reported observing injuries to the head or neck (24.1% of teachers), muscle injuries such as sprain or strain (10% of teachers), and broken bones (5.7% of teachers).

Language. Findings for elementary and middle school teachers did not differ significantly with respect to their reports of how often students used aggressive or vulgar language while imitating wrestling programming. The teachers rated the frequency of such imitation between sometimes but not often and somewhat often (M = 2.64). According to the teachers, the most commonly imitated phrases included “Suck it,” which was the catchphrase of the defunct group of wrestlers known as “Degeneration X.” One quarter of the teachers (25.1%) reported this as the most commonly imitated wrestling expression among their students, who they said frequently mimicked a wrestling gesture (arms crossed in an X and moved repeatedly toward the pelvis as the hips are repeatedly thrust) to accompany the phrase. The students of 10.3% of the teachers had regularly used the term “ass,” for example in talking about the wrestler “Bad Ass Billy Gunn” and quoting the Rock’s slogan, “I’m going to whip your candy ass” (the Rock is another wrestler). Students had used other phrases to imitate the wrestler “Stone Cold Steve Austin,” according to 7.3% of the teachers, calling a peer “son of a bitch” or cheering, “Give me a ‘hell yeah.’” Other teacher reports of aggressive or vulgar language their students used could not with confidence be directly linked to pro wrestling.

Gestures. The teachers rated the frequency of children’s use of aggressive or vulgar gestures in imitation of pro wrestlers as between sometimes but not often and somewhat often, M = 2.53. Degeneration X’s gesture (see preceding paragraph) had been observed by 31.9% of the teachers, according to their reports. Stone Cold Steve Austin’s signature raised middle finger was mentioned by 27.8% of the teachers. It should be noted that some of WWE’s most popular merchandise alludes to Austin’s signature gesture, including a large foam hand with the middle finger raised and t-shirts bearing the gesture. No other gestures were cited by significant numbers of the teachers.

Sexually connotative language, gestures, other behavior. As described earlier, the sexual content of wrestling programming has increased dramatically in the last several years. Female characters are scantily clad, their roles often revolving around activities having sexual connotations, as in the “wrestling” matches between “divas” described earlier. Television’s place in social learning and the formation of cognitive scripts suggests that regular viewing of women in such roles may contribute to children’s development of harmful gender stereotypes and sex roles (Honig, 1983). Teachers in the current study indicated that they had observed children imitating sexually connotative pro wrestling behaviors sometimes but not often, M = 1.94. According to descriptions of such imitation provided by 15.7% of the teachers, the sexually connotative command “Suck it,” accompanied by the Degeneration X gesture directed at female classmates, was the most often observed.

Other sexually connotative behavior observed included male students’ imitation of the wrestler called “the Godfather.” At the time of data collection, this character was a pimp who was walked to the ring by scantily clad women called the “’ho train.” In imitating this wrestler, the students called female classmates “ho.” They also repeated the Godfather catchphrase “Pimpin’ Ain’t Easy.” The teachers cited certain other sexually connotative language and behavior that could not with confidence be attributed clearly to wrestling’s influence and so was not included in the study. The results do tend to indicate, nevertheless, that imitation of sexually connotative behavior from pro wrestling does occur among children to some degree; it may perhaps contribute to their development of cognitive scripts that direct men and women to view each other as the men and women characters of pro wrestling appear to do.

Children’s Favorite Wrestlers (and Likely Models)

Prior research has shown that the relationship between televised violence and viewer aggression is strengthened when actors committing the violence on screen are perceived as attractive (Huesmann & Eron, 1986; National Television Violence Study, 1997). It was therefore proposed that the wrestlers whom children find most attractive and “cool” are those with whom they will most likely identify and those likeliest to eventually contribute to their cognitive scripts. In light of the proposal, teachers were asked for the names of any wrestler their students had ever mentioned. The wrestler most popular among children appears to be Stone Cold Steve Austin, who was mentioned by 61.4% of teachers (additionally, 34.0% of teachers named the Rock, 24.0% named Goldberg, 20.0% named the Undertaker, 14.3% named Hulk Hogan, and 13.5% named Degeneration X). The Stone Cold character’s popularity stems from his rebellious (presently, his main nemesis is WWE owner McMahon), mistrustful, take-no-prisoners attitude. For children to learn and imitate Austin’s coarse language and gestures goes against injunctive societal norms. One teacher’s remarks included the following:

I think that wrestling emulates things that we work hard to remove from the school environment. I understand that usually the good guy prevails, but before he prevails, he has to be run into the ground. The bad guy seems to gain all of the popularity. Characters like Stone Cold Steve Austin are such. He shows no respect for authority, values, or trust. The attitude is “I will get what I want at your expense.” Where does this take us?

It takes the WWE into the black, with enormous profits from sales to children of licensed merchandise featuring wrestlers like Austin: names, likenesses, coarse gestures, and violent sayings. One top-seller is a shirt stating, “Austin 3:16 says I Just Whipped Your Ass.”

]Discussion[

The present research has provided initial insight into the ethical implications of professional wrestling’s targeting of children. It has asked whether wrestling, as it has targeted the valuable 18- to 34-year-old male demographic by making its products attractive to young adult males with sex and violence, has placed a potentially harmful product in the path of a vulnerable market segment: children. Social contract theory states that corporations exist only through a society’s cooperation and commitment, meaning there is a social contract providing legitimacy to businesses based on consent from those whom the business affects (Dunfee, Smith, & Ross, 1999). Relative to this ethical theory, pro wrestling and society hold each other responsible for the condition of their mutual existence. If this theory holds, and corporate legitimacy is provided by the consent of those affected by a business, society must critically examine the effects of professional wrestling and other forms of sport-entertainment marketed to its children. As this initial exploration has found, according to elementary and middle school teacher accounts, professional wrestling does indeed produce negative effects in the form of physical, verbal, and attitudinal imitation by children who are regular viewers of wrestling programming.

It should be noted that any discussion of ethics risks being perceived as normative or judgmental in tone. Indeed, the Code of Ethics of the American Marketing Association provides what many would consider a purely normative directive, stating that marketers should not do harm knowingly and should offer products and services that are safe and fit for their intended uses. Much of the marketing literature on ethical targeting issues deals primarily with assessing product harm and a target population’s vulnerability both to a marketing message and product (Rittenburg & Parthasarathy, 1997; Smith & Cooper-Martin, 1997). For this reason, assessment of and commentary on product harm and consumer vulnerability most often contain at least some statements perceived to be normative judgments, yet ethics’ importance from a non-normative, solely business standpoint cannot be ignored. As an example, consider Kotler’s (1997) “societal marketing concept” that organizations should build social and ethical considerations into their marketing practices and act in the best long-term interest of society. Because consumers make ethical judgments, Kotler claims, ethical business practices should in turn make positive impacts in the long-run success of an organization as consumers accept or reject products based in part on their ethical judgments. Indeed, Kotler’s societal marketing concept seems reflected in several areas of sport, such as the public’s rejection of athletes perceived to have engaged in unethical acts and the negative public reaction to sporting goods manufacturers’ perceived unethical acts (e.g., the labor practices of Nike). Sports marketers, including sport-entertainment marketers such as the WWE, must not lose sight of the relationship between ethical practices and financial success. In the language of Laczniak, Burton, and Murphy (1999), sports marketers should, in light of ethical considerations, begin to examine their current practices and justify, modify, or eliminate as necessary. It is toward this end that this examination of pro wrestling’s targeting of children was carried out.

Finally, Laczniak and Murphy (1993, 1999) suggest a series of tests be used to evaluate the ethics of marketing practices, including those of firms in the sports and entertainment industries. Two of these tests directly apply to the current issue. The “consequences test” asks, “Is it likely that any major damages to people or organizations will result from the contemplated action?” The “justice test” asks, “Does the proposed action leave another person or group less well off?” as well as “Is this person or group already a member of a relatively underprivileged class?” If underprivileged class is taken to mean vulnerable class/market segment, which would reflect the spirit and intent of the justice test, it could be argued that the professional wrestling industry performs questionably on both tests.

]References[

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Author Note

Matthew J. Bernthal, Department of Sport and Entertainment Management, University of South Carolina.

All correspondence concerning this research should be addressed to Assistant Professor Matthew J. Bernthal, Department of Sport and Entertainment Management, College of Hospitality, Retail, and Sport Management, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC 29208; phone 803-777-4579 (office), 803-732-1405 (home), 803-777-8788 (fax); e-mail: bernthal@gwm.sc.edu .

U.S. Sports Academy2017-07-06T07:51:10-05:00February 22nd, 2008|Contemporary Sports Issues, Sports Studies and Sports Psychology|Comments Off

Parents’ Motivations for Enrolling Children in a Private Gymnastic Program

Submitted by: Jenny Wald

Abstract

This study examined factors that motivated parents to involve their children in a gymnastic program. The gymnasts (N = 156) were predominantly female (n = 136, 87%) and ranged from 2 to 18 years of age (M = 7.5, SD = 3.2). Gymnasts were classified as recreational (n = 109, 70%) or competitive (n = 47, 30%). Multiple-choice items addressed the domains of skill mastery, ego competitiveness, fitness, team membership, fun and excitement, recognition, and affiliation. In rank order, the reasons that parents of competitive and recreational gymnasts supported a child’s participation in the gymnastic program were fitness (M = 4.38, SD = 1.10), skill development (M = 4.37, SD = 0.94), fun (M = 4.36, SD = 0.86), affiliation (M = 3.77, SD = 1.04), team membership (M = 3.36, SD = 1.11), recognition (M = 3.28, SD = 1.09), and competition (M = 2.64, SD = 1.13). Parents of competitive gymnasts rated higher than other parents, statistically, the two factors competition (M = 3.53 vs. M = 3.28) and team membership (M=3.06 vs. M=2.46), p < .05.

Parents’ Motivations for Enrolling Children in a Private Gymnastic Program

The importance of physical activity for children is well documented. A physically active lifestyle is important because physical activity and fitness have been shown to be associated with lower blood pressure among adolescents (Boreham, Twisk, Savage, Cran, & Strain, 1997) and favorable cholesterol profiles (Schmidt, Stenzel, & Walkulski, 1997). For a majority of children, physical activity comes through participation in organized sport programs outside of school (Sallis, 1994). When youth are asked what motivates them to participate in organized sport programs, responses typically include skill development, affiliation, fitness, fun, competition, excitement or challenge, and release of energy (McCullagh, Matzkanin, Shaw, & Maldonado, 1993).

Parents have been shown to be powerful influences on their children’s physical activity patterns (Stucky-Ropp & DiLorenzo, 1993). The role of parents in their children’s physical activity occurs via direct and indirect support (Dempsey, Kimiecik, & Horn,1993). Direct support of children’s physical activity includes registering children for organized sport programs and paying the participation fees (Atsalakis & Sleap, 1996). Indirect support of chidren’s physical activity includes transportation of children to places where they can be active (Hoefer, McKenzie, Sallis, Marshall, & Conway, 2001). Parents who demonstrate a positive attitude toward registering children for sport programs and who perceive registration procedures to be easily accomplished are more apt to enroll their children for organized physical activities (Atsalakis & Sleap, 1996).

Dempsey and colleagues (1993) examined how parents’ beliefs about children’s physical activity influenced the activity patterns of their children. The researchers concluded it is possible that parents’ belief systems and support are the primary influences on their children’s physical activity, acknowledging that the factors most important to parents in deciding to support children’s physical activity are unknown. Accordingly, the purpose of the present study was to describe parental rationales for support of children’s participation in a private gymnastic program; the study is based on the work of McCullagh and colleagues (1993).

]Method[

The target population for the present study was parents of children participating in a private gymnastic club. Club records identified 432 registered participants who were either on competitive teams or were recreational gymnasts. The study employed a 58-item survey based on the work of McCullagh et al. (1993), who constructed the instrument using data from recreational soccer players. The questionnaire requested demographic information including age of parent, educational background of parent, and age and gender of child. It also asked about the child’s current participation in the gymnastic program: level (competitive or recreational), length of participation, and number of days per week currently attending club programs. Parents also rated the importance of the factors that McCullagh and colleagues (1993) identified in describing parents’ rationales for support of children’s involvement in organized physical activity. To rate the factors’ importance, the parents used a 5-point Likert scale. Survey items are presented in Table 1.

During a two-week period all parents who entered the gymnastic facility to deliver or retrieve their children were approached and asked to complete the questionnaire. Children were asked to take a copy of the questionnaire to those parents who did not come into the facility during the two weeks of data collection. (Parents completing a questionnaire at the gym were asked not to complete a duplicate survey should a child bring one home.) Parents with more than one child enrolled in the gymnastic program were asked to complete one questionnaire per child. Descriptive statistics were utilized to report the parents’ responses to questionnaire items. Analysis of variance was used to identify differences between the responses of parents of recreational gymnasts and those of parents of competitive gymnasts.

]Results[

Of the 250 surveys that were distributed, 156 (62.4%) were retrieved. Of 156 parents completing surveys, 132 were female (85%) and 24 were male (15%). The respondents were generally middle-aged (M = 36, SD = 6.6 years) and well educated. The children about whom the surveyed parents reported ranged from 2 to 18 years of age (M = 7.5, SD = 3.2). There were 109 recreational (70%) and 47 competitive (28.8%) gymnasts.

Descriptive statistics addressing parents’ rationales for supporting children’s participation in the gymnastic club are presented in Table 1. The 10 top-ranked items were related to fun, skill, or exercise. All items pertaining to gymnastics’ competitive aspects were ranked in the bottom 10. Table 2 shows the descriptive statistics for individual items in each category and the rank order of reasons parents supported a child’s participation in the gymnastic program. The reasons were ranked identically by the parents of the competitive gymnasts and the parents of the recreational gymnasts. Parents of competitive gymnasts rated team membership as a statistically more important (p < .05) factor than did parents of recreational gymnasts, F = 4.1, p = .04, M = 3 .53, SD = 1.22 versus M = 3.28, SD = 1.08. Parents of competitive gymnasts also rated competition as a statistically more important (p < .05) factor than did parents of recreational gymnasts, F = 16.4, p = .001, M = 3.06, SD = 1.06 versus M = 2.46, SD = 1.18.

]Discussion and Conclusion[

Skill development, exercise, and fun were the three top-rated reasons reported by parents for supporting a child’s involvement in gymnastics. The gymnasts’ parents clearly were interested in providing support for sport activities that their children regarded as fun and that have potential to produce physical fitness and skill. Competition was consistently ranked as one of the least important factors, by parents of competitive and recreational gymnasts alike. These findings are consistent with studies that examined reasons youth participate in other team sport activities (McCullagh et al., 1993; Passer, 1982). Differences between scores for parents of competitive gymnasts and those for parents of recreational gymnasts were found in two instances only, that of the team construct and that of the competitive construct; because the two constructs relate directly to competition, the differences in the scores are not unexpected. Despite the differences, each parent group rated team membership and competition relatively low.

The study results are important to those who provide youth sport programs. As Passer (1982) noted, such information can be useful in efforts to structure an athletic environment that provides participants with a maximally rewarding experience. Fitness, skill development, and fun are what parents expect a child to gain from participation in organized sport programs. Coaches can use this information to attract and keep participants.

Table 1 Means, Standard Deviations, and Rank of Motivational Factors Associated with Parents’ Support of Children’s Participation in Organized Gymnastics


Factor	Mean	Standard Deviation	Rank

To have a good time	4.75	0.68	1
To have fun	4.69	0.70	2
To get exercise	4.62	0.77	3
To improve skills	4.61	0.73	4
To learn new skills	4.60	0.73	5
To feel good when s/he does well	4.51	0.83	6
To do something s/he is good at	4.37	1.17	7
Help to be healthy	4.36	0.94	8
To be physically fit	4.32	0.98	9
To feel important	4.28	4.49	10
Motor development	4.28	0.96	10
To help learn discipline	4.24	0.95	12
To stay in shape	4.22	1.03	13
The coaches	4.15	1.02	14
The excitement	4.07	1.07	15
The team spirit	4.04	1.01	16
The challenge	3.98	1.00	17
The action	3.93	1.10	18
To meet new friends	3.84	1.04	19
To become better at sports	3.83	1.13	20
To get interested in sports	3.74	1.17	21
To be with friends	3.67	1.03	22
Physical therapy	3.62	1.33	23
To reduce risk for disease	3.61	1.17	24
Being on a team	3.27	1.19	26
To gain recognition	3.03	1.17	27
To help control weight	2.79	1.48	28
To compete	2.62	1.10	29
To compete against others	2.52	1.13	30
Awards	2.5	1.15	31
To test ability against others	2.48	1.15	32
To help work out anger	2.39	1.28	33
Medical advice	2.39	1.34	33
To earn college scholarship	2.28	1.32	35
To win against others	1.94	1.05	36
The uniforms	1.91	1.13	37

Table 2 Means, Standard Deviations, and Rank of Motivational-Factor Categories


Category Items	Mean	Standard Deviation	Rank

FitnessTo get exercise To stay in shape To be physically fit Help to be healthy	4.38	0.94	1
Skill/masteryTo improve skills To feel good when s/he does well To learn new skills To do something s/he is good at Motor development To become better at sports	4.37	0.89	2
Fun/excitementTo have a good time To have fun The action The excitement	4.36	0.86	3
AffiliationTo be with friends To meet new friends	3.77	1.04	4
TeamBeing on a team The coaches The team spirit The uniforms The equipment	3.36	1.11	5
RecognitionTo feel important To gain recognition Awards	3.28	1.09	6
MedicalPhysical therapy To reduce disease risk To help control weight Medical advice	3.10	1.10	7
CompetitionTo compete The challenge To win against others To earn college scholarship To compete against others To test ability against others	2.64	1.13	8

]References[

Boreham, C. A., Twisk, J., Savage, M. J., Cran, G. W., & Strain, J. J. (1997). Physical activity, sports participation, and risk factors in adolescents. Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise, 29, 788–793.

Dempsey, J. M., Kimiecik, J. C., & Horn, T. S. (1993). Parental influence on children’s moderate to vigorous physical activity participation: An Expectancy-value approach. Pediatric Exercise Science, 5, 151–167.

Hoefer, W. R., McKenzie, T. L., Sallis, J. F., Marshall, S. J., & Conway, T. L. (2001). Parental provision of transportation for adolescent physical activity. American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 21, 48–51.

McCullagh, P., Matzkanin, K. T., Shaw, S. D., & Maldonado, M. (1993). Motivation for participation in physical activity: A comparison of parent-child perceived competencies and participation motives. Pediatric Exercise Science, 5, 224–233.

Passer, M. W. (1982). Children in sport: Participation motives and psychological stress. Quest, 33, 231–244.

Sallis, J. F. (1994). Determinants of physical activity behavior in children. In R. R. Pate & R. C. Hohn (Eds.), Health and Fitness Through Physical Education (pp.31–43). Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics.

Schmidt, G. J., Stensel, D. J., & Walkuski, J. J. (1997). Blood pressure, lipids, lipoproteins, body fat and physical activity of Singapore children. Journal of Pediatrics and Child Health, 33, 484–490.

Stucky-Ropp, R. C., & DiLorenzo, T. M. (1993). Determinants of exercise in children. Preventive Medicine, 22, 880–889.

Author Note

Jenny Wald, M.A.

U.S. Sports Academy2013-11-26T20:52:15-06:00February 22nd, 2008|Sports Facilities, Sports Studies and Sports Psychology|Comments Off

Student-Athletes’ Perceptions About Abuse by NCAA Division II Tennis Coaches

Submitted by: Vicky-Lynn Martin

Abstract

Male and female NCAA Division II tennis players (southern region) were surveyed about their encounters with coaches’ abusive behavior, to see whether perceptions differed significantly by gender. The researcher discusses whether athletic departments should develop policies and procedures to educate all persons affiliated with them about abusive behavior and whether they should furthermore prosecute coaches who sexually harass or emotionally abuse student-athletes.

The survey instrument was adapted from instruments used in three earlier studies. It was used by the players to rank 20 perceived abusive behaviors. The survey was developed from a review of literature, an expert panel, and a pilot study using Cronbach’s alpha coefficient to gauge validity and internal consistency reliability. The survey was administered on-site to 140 student-athletes participating in NCAA-II’s southern region tennis tournament. All 140 student-athletes returned a completed survey to the researcher. A total of 134 surveys had been completed correctly and were utilized in the study (a 95.7% response rate).

Statistical analysis includes descriptive statistics analyzing ranking of severity of behaviors, along with factor analysis identifying behaviors that led to abusive situations. Frequencies, percentages, means, mean rankings, and standard deviations were the descriptive statistics utilized; the method of factor extraction used was the principal component method, with varimax rotation. Factor analysis investigated areas within perceived abusive behaviors, seeking clusters demonstrating a good degree of correlation.

Student-Athletes’ Perceptions About Abuse by NCAA Division II Tennis Coaches

The question of sexual harassment in university settings has received very little attention over the years. This research study was designed to provide insight into sexual harassment and emotional abuse in American university athletic programs, through an examination of student-athletes’ perceptions of a number of ambiguous behaviors. The study furthermore sought an understanding of the meanings student-athletes assign to sexually harassing behaviors exhibited by their coaches and was meant to contribute to the literature on sexual harassment. In addition, the study sought student-athletes’ views on the atmosphere within university athletic programs.

American athletic departments belong to the community mainstream, but they have developed their own relationships to such an extent that they function independently of the educational community. This fact does not diminish an athletic department’s legal and moral obligation to provide all student-athletes with an environment free from sexual harassment, nor does it take from student-athletes or athletic department employees the right to use community resources to resolve sexual harassment issues.

Subjects and Instrument

Male and female student-athletes from 14 NCAA Division II (southern region) tennis programs were the randomly selected study participants, numbering 140 in all, each team having roughly 10 players. All tennis players were given the opportunity to participate or not participate in the study; participation was strictly voluntary. The athletes who participated in the study were playing in the regional tournament for their university.

On-site face-to-face surveys were used to collect data from participants. The survey instrument, based on three earlier instruments, was adapted specifically for the male and the female student-athletes. They were asked to express their perceptions about various coach behaviors, using a 5-point Likert scale. Responses ranged from 1 (extremely inappropriate) to 5 (extremely appropriate). Preparation of the instrument had included testing by a panel of experts, who reviewed the questions and established the validity of the instrument. The procedure for reliability testing included Cronbach’s alpha reliability coefficient, confirming the internal consistency and reliability of the scores reported for the pilot study respondents on survey items covering coaches’ perceived competency and harassing behavior. Reliability was interpreted as a correlation coefficient utilizing Cronbach’s scale.

Statistical Analysis

The research design pinpointing the student-athletes’ perceptions comprised (a) order of the ranking of perceived coaching behaviors, (b) results of factor analysis determining the severity of perceived behaviors, and (c) investigation of existing literature. Descriptive statistics (frequencies, percentages, means, mean rankings, standard deviations) were used in analyzing rankings of perceived coaching behaviors. The factor analysis employed was the principal component method, with varimax rotation; it investigated the integration of two or more independent variables on a single dependent variable. Areas within the coaching behavior selection were identified for inclusion within clusters demonstrating a high degree of correlation. Factor analysis furthermore identified underlying variables or factors explaining the pattern of correlations within a set of observed variables and was used in data reduction to identify a small number of factors explaining the variance observed in a larger number of manifest variables. Examination of the scree plots supported the extraction of four factors with an eigenvalue greater than 1.0. Cluster titles were assigned to each factor.

Results

Demographic information obtained from the respondents included gender (of player and head coach), race, age, academic classification, scholarship status, and position currently played on team. Demographic data was anticipated to affect perceptions concerning the severity of coaches’ behaviors, but this paper concerns itself with only one of the demographic variables, gender. Table 1 and Table 2 illustrate the total mean ranges, by gender, for the perceived coaching behaviors. Mean values were obtained for each of the 20 coaching behavior items. Among the male respondents, mean values ranged from an inappropriate high of 4.77 (for Item 20, “sexual favors could result in increased scholarship money or rank on the team”) to an appropriate low of 2.53 (for Item 6, “closed door meeting with a player”). Among female respondents, mean values ranged from an inappropriate high of 4.85 (for Item 20, “sexual favors could result in increased scholarship money or rank on the team”) to an appropriate low of 2.36 (for Item 13, “congratulatory hug after the completion of a match”).

Table 1

Male Respondents: Mean Range and Frequency for Survey Items


Mean Range	Survey Item Number	Frequency
> 4.500	9, 11, 17, 19, 20	5
4.000 – 4.499	16, 18	2
3.500 – 3.999	1, 2, 7, 12, 15	5
3.000 – 3.499	4, 5, 8, 10, 14	5
2.500 – 2.999	3, 6, 13	3
2.000 – 2.499	N/A
< 1.999	N/A
Total		20

Table 2

Female Respondents: Mean Range and Frequency for Survey Items


Mean Range	Survey Item Number	Frequency
> 4.500	9, 11, 17, 19, 20	5
4.000 – 4.499	1, 2, 15, 16, 18	5
3.500 – 3.999	4, 5, 12, 14	4
3.000 – 3.499	3, 7, 8	3
2.500 – 2.999	6, 10	2
2.000 – 2.499	13	1
< 1.999	N/A
Total		20

The top five perceived coaching behaviors considered most inappropriate for males (listed in rank order) are (a) implied sexual favors could result in increased scholarship money or rank on the team (Item 20), (b) coach’s use of pet names (Item 9), (c) coach solicits player in a personal manner (Item 17), (d) coach initiates contact with player by allowing player to sit on lap (Item 19), and (e) coach puts hands on player’s buttocks while giving tennis instruction (Item 11).

The top five perceived coaching behaviors considered most appropriate for males (listed in rank order) are (a) coach closes the door when meeting with a player (Item 6), (b) coach invites a player out to dinner in a public setting (Item 3), (c) coach gives congratulatory hug to a player after the match (Item 13), (d) coach compliments player on appearance (Item 8), and (e) coach touches player’s arm when giving tennis instruction (Item 10).

Factor analysis was employed to determine the perceived abusive behaviors and specific factors necessary for the implementation of policies and procedures. The factor extraction method comprised use of principal axis factoring and varimax rotation with Kaiser normalization, in order to analyze interrelationships and pattern correlations between observed variables and the perceived behavior items. This resulted in a four-factor solution. Examining the scree plots supported extracting the four factors (eigenvalues greater than 1.0).

The rotated four-factor solution accounted for 66.05% of the variance in respondents’ perceptions about coaches’ ambiguous behaviors. Cluster titles were assigned to each factor so that they could be grouped by degree of severity. To determine factor reliability, the internal consistency of each factor was assessed by computing Cronbach’s alpha coefficient. All four subscales indicated a good level of internal consistency, with coefficients greater than .85.

Four categories with 66% of the total variation for the perceived coaching behaviors were identified through factor analysis. Cluster titles were assigned to each of the four group items.

Table 3

Categorization of Behaviors

Category 1 Item 4 Item 1 Item 2 Item 5 Item 3	Invitations Invitation to coach’s house for tactical discussion Invitation to lunch Invitation for a drink after training session Invitation for coffee in a non-public setting Invitation to dinner in a public setting	31%
Category 2 Item 13 Item 10 Item 7 Item 14 Item 11	Invasion of personal space Coach gives congratulatory hug Coach touches arm while giving tennis instruction Coach sits or stands close when talking with a player Coach gives a playful shoulder massage or backrub Coach places hands on player’s buttocks	16%
Category 3 Item 8 Item 9 Item 17	Personal compliments Coach compliments appearance Coach uses pet names Coach solicits in a personal manner	10%
Category 4 Item 18 Item 6 Item 19 Item 20	Inappropriate contact Coach instigates frequent nightly telephone contact Coach closes the door when meeting with an athlete Coach initiates contact of player sitting on his/her lap Coach implies that sexual favors could result in promotion	9%
Miscellaneous Item 16 Item 15 Item 12	Did not load Coach attempts to rape a player Coach attempts aggressive physical contact Coach uses profanity when giving instruction

Conclusion

The study findings did not align with prior research results or with the researcher’s expectations. The surveyed university tennis players surprisingly rated the 20 behaviors as appropriate. Explanations for why athletes in this study perceived certain behaviors as appropriate could include the power coaches have over athletes to make decisions for them, or perhaps naiveté among athletes about the abuse potential in the coach-athlete relationship: athletes’ innocence regarding a coach’s power and presence in their lives. Moreover, coaches may be unaware of their power over athletes through implications of their language, jokes, and even their physical presence.

Earlier studies provided evidence of an alarming rise in sexual harassment and emotional abuse in universities and colleges. From these studies, it seems that student-athletes’ perceptions about possibly abusive coach behavior differ with the gender of the athlete, the gender and intentions of the coach, the severity and frequency of inappropriate behavior, judgment of the involvement of the victim, the status of the supervisory role, and personal experience.

Few American athletic departments work to educate either coaches or students about sexual harrassment or emotional abuse, although information about the phenomena can prevent misunderstanding and conflict between coaches and athletes. It is thus not surprising that many of the athletes surveyed for the present study seemed to miss the questionable implications of a coach’s inviting a player for drinks and even the extreme inappropriateness of a coach’s aggressively pursuing physical contact or even attempting to rape a player. Sexual harassment in the university community deserves our attention. To protect student-athletes specifically, it is essential that athletic departments implement antiharrassment and antiabuse policies and procedures. As the body of research on sexual harassment in the sport domain grows, there is hope that these can be instituted nationwide. Then, they must be evaluated and monitored by individuals outside the university setting.

Sexual harassment undermines the mission of sports, which is to improve the physical, mental, and emotional well-being of all participants. Harassment has debilitating consequences for its victims, and it is also potentially damaging to institutions. Failing to acknowledge that athletic departments are home to both harassment and emotional abuse puts universities and colleges in line for more and more lawsuits, which will be extremely costly and harmful to an institution’s reputation.

References

Amorose, J., & Horn, T. S. (2001). Pre- to post-season in the intrinsic motivation of first year college athletes: Relationships with coaching behavior and scholarship status. Journal of Applied Sport Psychology, 13(5), 355–373.

Barak, A., Fisher, W., & Houston, S. (1992). Individual difference correlates of the experience of sexual harassment among female university students. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 22, 17–37.

Brackenridge, C. (1987, Summer). Ethical problems in women’s sport. In National Coaching Foundation, Coaching Focus (pp. 5–7). Leeds, West Yorkshire, United Kingdom: Author.

Brackenridge, C. (2001). Spoilsports: Understanding and preventing sexual exploitation in sport. New York: Routledge.

Dominowski, W. (2002). When parents take their child’s sport participation beyond reason. Journal of Sports Psychology, 3(3), 1–5.

Finn, R. (1999, March 7). Growth in women’s sports stirs harassment issue. The New York Times. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/library/sports/other/030799women-harass.html

Lambrecht, K. W. (1986). An analysis of the competencies of athletic club managers. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, Oregon State University.

Lenskyj, H. (1992). Unsafe at home base: Women’s experiences of sexual harassment in university sport and physical education. Women in Sport and Physical Activity Journal, 1(1), 19–34.

Nunnally, J. C. (1978). Psychometric theory (2nd ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill.

Volkwein, K., Frauke, I., Sherwood, D., & Livezey, A. (1997). Sexual harassment in sport: Perceptions and experiences of American female student-athletes. International Review for the Sociology of Sport, 23(3), 283–295.

Zikmund, W. G. (1994). Exploring marketing research (5th ed.). Fort Worth, TX: Dryden.

Author Note

Vicky-Lynn Martin, D.S.M.

U.S. Sports Academy2016-04-01T09:56:24-05:00February 21st, 2008|Contemporary Sports Issues, Sports Coaching, Sports Management, Sports Studies and Sports Psychology|Comments Off

Gender Differential in the Goal Setting, Motivation, Perceived Ability, and Confidence Sources of Basketball Players

Submitted by: Dongfang Chie-der, Steve Chen, Chou Hung-yu, and Chi Li-Kang

]Abstract[

Gender differences in goal setting, perceived motivational climate, perceived athletic ability, and perceived sources of confidence in athletic ability were evaluated for a male group and female group of high school basketball players (N = 174). Significant findings included higher scores among males for (a) perceived ego climate and (b) perfection of skills and physical performance as sources of confidence. Significant findings from simple correlation analyses included a positive relationship of both sexes’ task orientation, perceived task climate, and perceived ability, to 8 confidence sources. Male players’ ego orientation was positively related to demonstration of ability, physical performance, and social support. Males’ perceived ego climate and females’ ego orientation were both positively related to 7 of the 8 sources of confidence. Females’ ego orientation, males’ perceived ego climate, and the 8 sources were positively related to confidence perceived prior to competition. Stepwise regression analyses showed males’ task orientation and perceived ability to predict confidence prior to competition; for females, perceived ability and perceived task climate were effective predictors. Respondents derived better confidence in a task-oriented environment, so the researchers advise coaches to create task-oriented practice environments to enhance confidence of male and female players.

]Gender Differential in the Goal Setting, Motivation, Perceived Ability, and Confidence Sources of Basketball Players[

Self-confidence and sport-related confidence have been viewed as crucial factors influencing athletic performance. A number of studies show athletes who are strongly confident in terms of sport concentrate better, have healthier emotions, and demonstrate better game strategies, control of tempos, and performance than less confident athletes (Chi, 1996; Gould, 1981; Mahoney, Gabriel, & Perkin, 1987). The relationship between sport-related confidence and athletic performance should thus be of vital interest to sport psychologists. But sport-related confidence can be an inconsistent and transitory variable. Its instability over time is based largely on where players find their confidence, the confidence source. Research may shed light on how a particular source influences level of confidence, cognition, emotion, and behavior (Vealey, 1986). A careful examination of confidence sources offers to help explain the interaction of social background, organizational culture, and athletes’ individual characteristics.

Competitive sport is an environment for the pursuit of excellence in athletic performance (Duda, 1987). Sport psychology researchers have explored how players develop confidence in their athletic performance. Out of the social-cognitive perspective, achievement goal theory has gradually become popular as a model for testing (Ames & Archer, 1988; Elliott & Dweck, 1988; Nicholls, 1984, 1989; Mills, 1997; Huang & Chi, 1994).

Prior research on achievement goal theory has shown that a task-oriented climate enhances motivation and confidence (Duda, 1992). There is a relationship between goal orientation and sport-related confidence. Athletes’ task orientation correlates positively to their sport confidence; athletes tending to emphasize acquisition of skill (in other words, perfection) along with the learning process and competitive process tend to have greater sport-related confidence. Shane’s study (2000) of 620 male and female high school or college athletes explored the relationship between goal orientation and sport-related confidence. Its findings showed significant gender differences in task orientation, ego orientation, and several confidence-source factors (skill perfection, demonstration of ability, and physiological/psychological preparation). The findings furthermore showed differences in the perceived sources of sport confidence for high school versus college athletes (both genders).

Studies like Shane’s might lead us to conclude that athletes’ emotions, levels of cognition, and behaviors affect their sport confidence. There is ample research indicating that task-oriented individuals and individuals operating in task-oriented climates have relatively positive emotions as well as a relatively high self-perception and self-perceived ability. Athletes perhaps more than nonathletes self-perceive their abilities, which would make strong impact on their sport confidence (Mills, 1997; Huang & Chi, 1994). Sport confidence research focusing on organizational culture (e.g., perceived motivational climate) and other environmental factors, however, is rare. In Taiwan, even within sport psychology sport confidence is little used as a research construct.

But what are the variables in athletes’ confidence prior to competing? Where does sport confidence felt by male and female basketball players come from? The present study sought those sources of sport confidence, working from motivational theories and their constructs. The primary focus was relationships among high school basketball players’ goal orientation, perceived motivational climate, perceived ability, sport confidence sources, and pre-competition sport confidence levels, as well as how those relationships differed with the gender of the players.

]Method[

Subjects

The study participants were 174 male (n = 87) and female (n = 87) basketball players who had played in the 2003 HBL [Taiwanese high school basketball league] Division I tournament. The average age of a player was 17.09 years (SD = .91).

Instruments

Four research questionnaires were used to measure four phenomena: (a) participants’ goal orientation, (b) the motivational climate they perceived, (c) perceived personal athletic ability, and (d) perceived personal sport-related confidence. First, the Sport Goal Orientation Questionnaire (Duda & Nicholls, 1989; modified by Chi, 1993) contains 13 questions and is primarily used to measure individuals’ goal orientation in sport settings. Second, the Perceived Sport Motivation Climate Questionnaire (Seifriz, Duda, & Chi, 1992; modified by Huang & Chi, 1994), which comprises two parts and 34 questions, is primarily used to measure, in team-sport settings, the motivational climate perceived by individual athletes. Third, a modified version of the Perceived Ability Questionnaire (Nicholls et al., 1985) presented 4 questions. Fourth, the Sport Confidence Questionnaire, Wu and Chi’s modification (2000) of the Vealey et al. Sources of Sports Confidence Questionnaire (1998), was employed to assess the participants’ sources of sport confidence. Wu and Chi’s Sport Confidence Questionnaire contains 35 questions and uses a 7-point Likert scale. Questions address eight proposed sources of confidence, as follows: perfection of skills, 5 questions; demonstration of ability, 6 questions; physiological/psychological preparation, 4 questions; physical performance, 3 questions; social support, 3 questions; vicarious experience, 4 questions; coach’s leadership style, 7 questions; and positive environment, 3 questions. Percentage of variance was 71.03%, and Cronbach’s alpha for the question sets ranged from .70 to .96, indicating strong validity and reliability for the instrument.

Procedures

In advance of the survey administration, coaches and trainers strived to develop good relations with the players and to acquaint themselves well with the practice and game schedules. The researchers informed players participating in the study of the anonymous and strictly confidential nature of their survey responses, and that completing the four instruments would take about 30 minutes. Players met together 2 hours prior to their scheduled practice to complete the instruments. Time was taken at the start of the session to allow the researchers to explain questionnaire content to the participating players.

]Results[

Gender differences were observed when t tests of the data were conducted (Table 1). The differences characterized goal orientation, perceived motivational climate, perceived ability, and sources of sport confidence. Male participants in the study recorded higher scores than female participants did for the sport-related confidence variables perceived ego climate, perfection of skills, and physical performance.

Table 1

Players’ Goal Orientation, Perceived Motivational Climate, Perceived Ability, and Sources of Sport Confidence, by Gender


Gender	Male	Female
Number	87	87	t
Variable	Mean	SD	Mean	SD

Task orientation	4.052	0.529	4.123	0.569	-0.84
Ego orientation	3.580	0.556	3.500	0.567	0.94
Perceived task climate	3.894	0.437	3.911	0.499	-.24
Perceived ego climate	3.483	0.479	3.264	0.530	2.86*
Perceived ability	4.452	1.171	4.168	1.025	1.69
Perfection of skills	5.365	0.971	5.181	1.056	1.19**
Demonstration	5.523	0.971	5.181	1.056	1.24**
Physiological/psychological preparation	5.508	1.016	5.416	1.046	0.55
Physical performance	4.869	0.897	4.521	1.204	2.16*
Social support	5.272	0.940	5.157	1.199	0.70
Leadership styles	5.492	0.924	5.527	1.145	-0.21
Vicarious experience	5.486	0.932	5.416	1.088	0.33
Positive environment	5.134	1.029	5.038	1.185	0.59

	*p < 0.05	**p < 0.01

When simple correlation analyses were performed, positive relationships were observed for the eight sources-of-sport-confidence variables and the task orientations, perceived task climates, and perceived abilities of players of either gender (Table 2, Table 3). (Again, the eight variables are perfection of skills, demonstration of ability, physical performance, physiological/psychological preparation, social support, vicarious experience, coach’s leadership style, and positive environment.) Among the male respondents, ego orientation was positively related to demonstration of ability, physical performance, and social support, while perceived ego climate was positively related to demonstration of ability, physical performance, physiological/psychological preparation, social support, vicarious experience, coach’s leadership style, and positive environment.

Among female respondents, ego orientation was positively related to demonstration of ability, physical performance, physiological/psychological preparation, social support, vicarious experience, coach’s leadership style, and positive environment, while ego climate was positively related to both vicarious experience and positive environment.

Table 2

Simple Correlations Between Variables–Male Respondents (n = 87)


Variable	Task orientation	Ego orientation	Perceived task climate	Perceived ego climate	Perceived ability

Perfection of skills	.596**	.179	.568**	.203	.265*
Demonstration of ability	.395**	.270*	.398**	.358**	.285
Physiological/psychological preparation	.430**	.093	.478**	.260*	.272**
Physical performance	.320**	.212*	.284**	.288**	.373**
Social support	.518**	.213*	.524**	.303**	.390**
Coach’s leadership style	.517**	.192	.568**	.284**	.401**
Vicarious experience	.412**	.188	.541**	.286**	.302**
Positive environment	.302**	.144	.410**	.365**	.237**

p < 0.05 *p < 0.01 (two-tailed)

Table 3

Simple Correlations Between Variables–Female Respondents (n = 87)


Variable	Task orientation	Ego orientation	Perceived task climate	Perceived ego climate	Perceived ability

Perfection of skills	.639**	.325**	.664**	.068	.415**
Demonstration of ability	.570**	.552**	.541**	.350**	.263**
Physiological/psychological preparation	.683**	.340**	.688**	.155	.365**
Physical performance	.465**	.397**	.429**	.091	.349**
Social support	.637**	.457**	.648**	.128	.426**
Coach’s leadership style	.659**	.479**	.647**	.203	.401**
Vicarious experience	.595**	.250*	.684**	.058	.536**
Positive environment	.511**	.309**	.494**	.227*	.500

p < 0.05 *p < 0.01 (two-tailed)

For the male respondents, perceived task climate effectively predicted demonstration of ability, physical performance, social support, vicarious experience, coach’s leadership style, and positive environment. In addition, their task orientation effectively predicted perfection of skills and physiological/psychological preparation. For the female respondents, perceived task climate was an effective predictor of perfection of skills, physical performance, social support, vicarious experience, and positive environment. In addition, their task orientation was an effective predictor of demonstration of ability, physiological/psychological preparation, coach’s leadership style, and positive environment.

For males, total equality of variance was 22.6%, and the variance for each variable was 17.6% and 5.0%. For females, perceived ability and perceived task climate were effective predictors of confidence perceived prior to competition; the total equality of variance was 43.9%, and the variance for each variable was 39.6% and 4.3%.

]Conclusions[

The study results include significant gender differences in perceived ego climate and three source-of-sport-confidence variables: perfection of skills, demonstration, and physical performance. Additionally, for both genders, sources of confidence were closely related to a player’s task orientation, perceived task climate, and perceived ability. During stepwise regression analyses, both genders’ sources of sport confidence were shown to be effectively predicted by a player’s task orientation, motivation task climate, and self-perceived ability. Such findings are in line with results of several previous studies (Shane, 2000; Vealey, 1998; Wu & Chi, 2000). The findings indicated further that players who were more task oriented, or preferred task-oriented climates, valued the participative process (comprising effort, perfection, and learning) over the win-lose outcome. This emphasis would have a positive effect on both sport-related confidence and the sources of that confidence. For this reason, the researchers suggest first that coaches work harder at creating task-oriented practice environments or climates, and second that they strive to understand the sources of their players’ sport-related confidence, in order to enhance the athletes’ confidence.

Future studies in the area of athletes’ sport-related confidence might investigate sequential effects of different types of motivational climates on sources of sport confidence (effort and performance) as well as on cognitive anxiety, state anxiety, and satisfaction.

]References[

Bandura , A. (1977). Self-efficacy: Toward a unifying theory of behavioral change. Psychological Review, 84, 191–215.

Chi, L. K. (1996). Stress management of athletes. National Physical Education Quarterly, 25(4), 51–57.

Chou, W. H. (1995). The establishment of sport confidence based on self-efficacy. National Physical Education Quarterly, 25(4), 62–69.

Corbin, C. B., Laurie, D. R., Gruger, C., & Simley, B. (1984). Vicarious success experience as a factor influencing self-confidence, attitudes, and physical activity of adult women. Journal of Teaching in Physical Education, 4, 17–23.

Duda, J. L. (1992). Motivation in sport settings: A goal perspective approach. In G. C. Roberts (Ed.), Motivation in sport and exercise (pp. 57–91). Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics.

Duda, J. L., Chi, L., & Newton, M. (1990). Psychometric characteristics of the TEOSQ. Paper presented at the meeting of the North American Society for the Psychology of Sport and Physical Activity, Houston, TX.

Duda, J. L., Fox, K., Biddle, S. J. H., & Armstrong, N. (1992). Children’s achievement goals and beliefs about success in sport. British Journal of Education Psychology, 26, 40–63.

Feltz, D. L. (1988). Self-confidence and sports performance. In K. B. Pandolf (Ed.), Exercise and sport sciences reviews (pp.423–457). New York: MacMillan.

Huang, C. R., & Kuo, H. Y. (1999). The sources of athletes’ sport confidence. Chinese Physical Education, 13(3), 60–66.

Kao, S. F. (1993). A discussion of sport confidence based on the viewpoint of self-efficacy. Chinese Physical Education, 7(1), 107–110.

Lirgg, C. C. (1991). Gender differences in self-confidence in physical activity: A meta-analysis of recent studies. Journal of Sport & Exercise Psychology, 13, 294–310.

Lu, P. C. (1991). Sport confidence and performance. Chinese Physical Education, 4(4), 21–25.

McCormick, S. S. (2000). The relationship of sources of sport-confidence and goal orientation. Unpublished master’s thesis, Springfield College.

Nicholls, J. G. (1984). Achievement motivation: Conceptions of ability, subjective experience, task choice, and performance. Psychological Review, 91, 328–346.

Seifriz, J., Duda, J. L., & Chi, L. (1992). The relationship of perceived motivational climate to intrinsic motivation and beliefs about success in basketball. Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology, 14, 375–391.

Vealey, R. S. (1986). Conceptualization of sport-confidence and competitive orientation: Preliminary investigation and instrument development. Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology, 8, 221–346.

Vealey, R. S. (1988). Sport-confidence and competitive orientation: An addendum on scoring procedures and gender differences. Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology, 10, 471–478.

Vealey, R. S., Hayashi, S. W., Garner-Holman, M., & Giacobbi, P. (1998). Sources of sport-confidence: Conceptualization and instrument development. Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology, 20, 50–80.

Wu, S. C. (2000). A research in relationships of athletes’ goal orientation, perceived motivational climates and sport confidence. Unpublished master’s thesis, National College of Sport and Physical Education, Taoyuan, Taiwan, Republic of China.

U.S. Sports Academy2017-08-07T11:51:43-05:00February 18th, 2008|Contemporary Sports Issues, Sports Management, Sports Studies and Sports Psychology, Women and Sports|Comments Off

How Teens & Adults Feel About Physical Activity & Physical Education: A Survey Conducted for NASPE

The article reports on an opinion survey that was carried out by Opinion Research Corp. International, a Princeton, New Jersey, company, for the National Association for Sport and Physical Education (NASPE). The National Association for Sport and Physical Education (NASPE), a nonprofit education association of over 18,000 professionals in the fitness and physical activity fields, wanted to explore with adults and teens their attitudes about physical activity and physical education: to learn about their physical activity experiences, positive and negative. NASPE, an association of the American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance, is the only national association dedicated to strengthening basic knowledge about sport and physical activity among professionals and the general public. Putting that knowledge into action in schools and communities across the nation is critical to improved academic performance, social reform, and the health of individuals.

The opinion survey comprised self-reports, and following the survey NASPE has raised questions about the accuracy with which Americans view and discuss their exercise and activity habits. Appendix A presents a newspaper article NASPE prepared concerning the survey.

Recent studies by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) show the number of overweight children has more than doubled in the last three decades; 5.3 million Americans ages 6 to 17 (12.5%) are overweight or obese. The CDC estimates costs of care associated with obesity (e.g., treatment of weight-related diabetes and heart disease) at $100 billion a year, about 8% of the national health care budget.

The lack of physical activity among Americans of all ages is so critical that it is considered to be a major health risk. Recently, the New England Journal of Medicine reported that girls become so sluggish in their teenage years that many barely move at all. African American girls are even more sedentary than whites, according to the report, and this sets the stage for a lifetime of obesity and associated chronic illnesses like high blood pressure and diabetes.

The 1996 Surgeon General’s Report on Physical Activity and Health reports that Americans become increasingly less active with each year of age. Research links inactivity among children to sedentary living among adults. Inactivity and poor diet cause at least 300,000 deaths a year in the United States, more than result from infectious disease, firearms, motor vehicles, and illicit drug use combined. Physical activity (or more directly, inactivity) is a risk factor in many diseases: stroke, heart disease, high blood pressure, osteoporosis, various cancers, diabetes, depression, obesity, and more.

Survey Methodology

The survey, which was conducted by Opinion Research Corp. International of Princeton, New Jersey, is based on interviews with a nationally representative sample of 1,021 adults (18 years of age and older, 50% male, 50% female) and 500 teens ages 12-17. The margin of error for the adult sample is ± 3 percentage points; when broken into subgroups (those with and without children in the household), the margin of error is ± 6 percentage points. The margin of error for the teen sample is ± 4 percentage points. All interviewing was done August 1-4, 2002. The survey was funded with an unrestricted grant from the National Soft Drink Association.

Here are the survey’s major findings concerning adults’ and teens’ beliefs.

Major Findings Concerning Adult Physical Activity

Getting Enough Physical Activity to Maintain a Healthy Lifestyle

The majority of adults (59%) feel that they are getting enough physical activity to maintain a healthy lifestyle. Men are more likely than women to feel they are getting enough physical activity to maintain a healthy lifestyle (65% vs. 53%). Adults outside metropolitan areas (65%) are more apt than adults who live in metropolitan areas (57%) to believe they are getting enough daily physical activity.

Nearly 9 in 10 (88%) American adults report that they exercise for a period of at least 30 min per week, on an average 3.9 days per week. Men are more likely than women to get at least some weekly exercise (91% vs. 84%). Adults under 55 are more likely than older adults to report having at least some weekly exercise (nearly 90% for under 55 vs. 82% for those 55 and older).

Things Which Prevent Adults from Getting Enough Physical Activity

Most adults who reported they do not get enough physical activity tended to say that work (23%), not having enough time (18%), health problems (12%), or lack of interest or motivation (12%) prevented their being physically active.

Importance of Physical Activity

Most adults (73%) state that health is the reason that physical activity is important. A number of adults also mention weight (16%), attitude (10%), and appearance (9%) as additional important reasons. Females are significantly more likely than males to mention health (77% vs. 68%) and weight (19% vs. 13%) as top reasons that physical activity is important.

Improving Job Performance

Almost 9 out of 10 adults (88%) feel that being physically fit will help them improve their job performance. Among adults aged 35-54, 91% feel their job performance is positively affected by being fit; among younger adults, those aged 18-34, 86% share that opinion.

Adults who currently have children in their household are significantly more likely than adults not sharing a household with children to believe that job performance improves with physical fitness (93% vs. 85%). Of those who believe that job performance improves with physical fitness, 93% cite “gives you more energy” as the reason for improved performance, while 85% cite “gives you greater mental alertness,” 83% choose “reduces stress,” and 60% choose “allows better time management.”

Women are much more likely than men to report feeling that, where employment is concerned, physical fitness reduces stress (86% vs. 76%) or allows better time management (65% vs. 55%).

Television Viewing and Personal Computer Usage

On average, American adults watch 2.2 hr of television per day. Women average 2.4 hr per day of television viewing, significantly more than men’s average 2.0 hr daily. Adults 55 years and over are more likely to watch 5 hr or more per day, when compared to adults ages 35-54 (15% vs. 7%) and adults ages 18-34 (15% vs. 8%). In addition, overall, adults are spending almost 2 hr (1.7 hr) each day using a personal computer for Internet browsing, electronic chat, games, and school research.

Major Findings Concerning Physical Activity of Children Sharing Surveyed Adults’ Households

Getting Enough Physical Activity to Maintain a Healthy Lifestyle

Three quarters (76%) of adults having children ages 6-17 in their households feel that their children are getting enough daily physical activity to maintain a healthy lifestyle.

School-Based Physical Education

Adults perceive that their children complete school-based physical education classes on 3.4 days per school week. About three quarters (74%) of adults having children ages 6-17 in their household feel that they have a good understanding of the physical education curriculum at the schools their children attend, and a majority of these adults (84%) perceive their children’s physical education classes in a positive light.

Nearly three fourths (73%) of American adults who have 6- to 17-year-old children in the household believe that physical education furthers the development of learning capabilities in other subject areas like math, reading, and science; more women than men hold this belief (80% vs. 65%). Adults in households with income below $25,000 are more likely (85%) than those in households with income at or above $25,000 (72%) to report feeling that physical education aids in learning other school subjects. Adults in the North Central region are most likely (82%) to agree that their child’s physical education contributes to the development of other learning capabilities.

Some reasons adults give for believing that physical education furthers their child’s development in other school subjects are that physical education “makes child more alert/aware” (26%); enables their child to better “focus/concentrate” (14%); “gives/increases energy” (9%); teaches child to “work with others” (6%); reduces stress experienced by child (6%); involves the use of math (i.e., in sports) (6%), makes child “more healthy” (5%); and provides a break from other tasks, important since children need to move around (5%).

Adults age 55 or more are those most inclined to feel that their child’s participation in physical education improves mental function overall; 71% of adults in this group believe so, while 54% of adults age 35-54 and 51% of adults age 18-34 believe so. Adults who reside in larger households (3 or more persons) are more likely to state that a child’s participation in physical education improves mental function overall (55%), as compared to adults who live alone with a child (40%).

Furthermore, adults with some college education are likelier than those without any college education to hold their child’s physical education important for reasons of health or increased energy. Five percent of the latter group (no college) cited one of those two reasons, while 13% of the former group cited health and 12% of the former group cited increased energy. It is interesting to compare these proportions with results broken down by income: Among adults with household incomes of $50,000 or more, 13% cited health and 18% cited energy, while among those with household incomes between $25,000 and $49,999, 9% cited health and 2% cited energy, and among those at less than $25,000, 9% cited health and 0% cited energy.

Daily Non-School-Based Physical Activity of Child

Surveyed adults having children in their households between 6 and 17 years of age report that their children spend an average of 2.5 hr daily in after-school physical activity. Most parents (72%) say they encourage the child’s physical activity either all the time or frequently; 7% say they infrequently or never encourage the child’s physical activity.

Broken down by region, significantly more adults in the West (53%) encourage children’s physical activity all of the time than in the Northeast (30%) or North Central (28%) regions.

Things Which Prevent Child from Getting Enough Physical Activity

Television (42%) and computers and video games (41%) are the barriers to child’s physical activity most commonly cited by adults whose households include a child. Lack of interest or motivation (29%), too much homework (28%), and lack of access to safe facilities (21%) follow closely behind.

On average, the child of a parent surveyed for this study spends 2.2 hr each day watching television, 1.9 hr each day reading or doing homework, 1.4 hr daily on the computer/Internet, 1.2 hr playing video games, and 1.1 hr daily talking on the telephone.

Physical Activity and Child’s Self-Esteem

The majority of the surveyed adults having children ages 6-17 (84%) feel that participation in physical activity (e.g., a sport) has a positive effect on a child’s self-esteem. A particularly high percentage (94%) of adults in the Northeast region affirms the connection between physical activity and self-esteem. Furthermore, an overwhelming majority (85%) of the adults with children 6-17 believe that participation in sports or physical activity minimizes a child’s ability to get into trouble.

Attitude Toward Physical Activity and Physical Education

Nearly 8 of 10 parents (79%) feel that their own attitudes concerning physical activity in turn affect their children’s attitudes toward physical activity. A larger proportion of the relatively affluent parents surveyed (household income of $50,000 or more) agree (86%) that their own attitudes affect the children’s attitudes when it comes to physical activity; a smaller proportion of relatively non-affluent parents (household income under $25,000) agreed (67%).

Similarly, 8 in 10 parents (77%) feel that their own attitudes towards physical education in turn affect the attitudes of their children toward physical education.

Major Findings Concerning Teen Physical Activity

Getting Enough Physical Activity to Maintain a Healthy Lifestyle

A large majority of the 12- to 17-year-olds surveyed (84%) say they obtain enough daily physical activity to maintain a healthy lifestyle. Younger teens (those age 12-14) are more likely than older teens (those age 15-17) to say they get enough physical activity every day (88% vs. 81%). Among teens, males are more likely than females to say their daily physical activity is sufficient to maintain a healthy lifestyle (88% vs. 81%).

When asked what person could be most helpful to them in terms of becoming more physically active, few teens cite their doctors (4%), their teachers (5%), or celebrities (3%). Instead, the surveyed teens say that friends, parents, and professional athletes could help them increase their physical activity (56%, 18%, and 11%, respectively). Older teens are more likely than younger ones to think of friends as persons most helpful in increasing physical activity (60% for older teens vs. 51% among 12- to 14-year-olds).

Daily After-School Physical Activity of Teens

Slightly more than half of teens (59%) participate in organized team or club sports after school. Teens in the Northeast region participate in such afterschool programs at a rate of 70%, while teens in the South and West participate at a rate of 56% and 49%, respectively.

School-Based Physical Education

An overwhelming majority of teens (92%) feel they should receive some type of daily physical education at school. This opinion was expressed by younger teens (age 12-14) at a rate of 96% and by older teens (age 15-17) at a rate of 87%.

Of the surveyed teens, half (50%) say that they should have school-based physical education classes five days a week; only 3% of the teens feel that school-based physical education should take place one day a week. Teens in the Northeast region are much less likely than teens in other regions to state that they should receive physical education five days a week.

More than three quarters of all teens (78%) classify their school-based physical education experiences as very good or good. Younger teens (age 12-14) are more likely than older teens (age 15-17) to enjoy their physical education classes (85% vs. 71%).

Parents’ Attitudes Towards Physical Activity and Physical Education

Nearly 6 in 10 teenagers (56%) would say that their parents’ attitudes have no effect on their own feelings about physical activity; fewer teen girls than teen boys, however, see their feelings as separate from those of parents (48% vs. 63%).

In addition, a majority of teenagers (64%) say that their parents’ attitudes towards physical education have no effect on their own feelings. Again, fewer teen girls than teen boys (60% vs. 69%) say that their parents’ attitudes toward physical education have no bearing on their own attitudes.

Sports and Physical Activity to Stay Out of Trouble

A large majority of the teens (85%) express a belief that participation in a sport or other physical activity will help them stay out of trouble. The 12- to 14-year-olds are significantly more likely than the 15- to 17-year-olds to say participation can help them stay out of trouble (92% vs. 78%).

Non-Physical Activities

The average daily time spent watching television is 2.2 hr, according to the surveyed teens, with younger teens (age 12-14) watching significantly longer than older teens (age 15-17), 2.4 hr vs. 2.0 hr. Moreover, teen boys watch television for longer periods each day than teen girls do, an average 2.3 hr daily vs. an average 2.1 hr daily. Teens in the South region and North Central region say they watch significantly more television daily than their counterparts in the Northeast region. Daily averages are 2.5 hr in the South, 2.3 hr in the North Central, and 1.8 hr in the Northeast.

Most teens feel that their downtime, on an average day, is largely devoted to using a personal computer for Internet browsing, electronic chat, games, and/or research related to school. On average, the teens spend 1.9 hours daily in such pursuits. They report spending a further 1.9 hours per day, on average, using a PC to complete homework. Finally, they report spending only 1 hr on an average day playing video games.

How Adults’ and Teens’ Opinions About Physical Activity Compare

Getting Enough Physical Activity to Maintain a Healthy Lifestyle

Adults having children ages 6-17 in their households report that the oldest child participates in physical activity for at least 30 min on an average 4.9 days per week. Teens themselves (age 12-17) say that they participate in physical activity for at least 30 min on an average of 4.2 days per week.

On average, adults with children under 12 say that, in the past week, their child participated in physical activity for at least 30 min on 5.5 days. In comparison, adults with children ages 12-17 say that, in the past week, their child participated in physical activity for at least 30 min on an average 4.9 days.

In the North Central region, adults with children in their households say their children participated in at least 30 min of physical activity on 5.4 days per week, on average; in the West, that figure is also 5.4. In the North Central region, however, the figure is 5.1 days per week, on average, while in the South region it is 5.0.

About three quarters of all adults (76%) with children ages 6-17 in their households believe that their children are getting enough daily physical activity to maintain a healthy lifestyle. A slightly larger percentage of teens ages 12-17 (84%) feel that they are getting enough physical activity to maintain a healthy lifestyle.

How Much Physical Education Is Desired?

Adults with children ages 6-17 in their households report feeling that their children should participate in school-based physical education for an average 4.1 days per week. Teens ages 12-17 feel that an average of 3.8 days per week should be devoted to physical activity.

Appendix A

Article Prepared About the Survey by NASPE

New Physical Activity Opinion Survey Demonstrates Perceptions Do Not Meet Reality: Upcoming Healthy School Summit (Oct. 7, 8) Will Discuss Role of Schools

RESTON, VA, October 3, 2002 — How accurate is self-assessment? That’s the question the National Association for Sport and Physical Education (NASPE) is asking itself after recently commissioning an opinion survey of adults and teenagers about their perceptions of physical activity and physical education. In spite of the U.S. Surgeon General’s Report on Physical Activity and Health (1996) stating that 60% of adults are not getting enough physical activity, the majority of adults (88%) and teenagers (84%) participating in this survey reported that they are getting enough physical activity to maintain a healthy lifestyle. The recommended exercise for adolescents and adults is at least 30 minutes per day on most if not all days.

“It appears perceptions do not meet reality,” said NASPE President Kim Graber, Ph.D., of the University of Illinois, Urbana/Champaign. “The lack of physical activity among Americans of all ages is so critical, it is considered to be a major health risk factor. Yet nearly nine in 10 (88%) adults report getting 30 minutes of exercise at least once a week. They average 3.9 exercise sessions per week.

Teens ages 12-17 say that on average, they participate in physical activity for at least 30 minutes, 4.2 times per week.
Seventy-six percent of adults feel that their children also get enough physical activity.

“Clearly the physical activity community must find better and more creative ways to provide parents and teens with a better understanding about the amount and type of activity needed to maintain good health,” continued Dr. Graber.

The Healthy School Summit, scheduled for October 7 and 8 in Washington, DC, will examine the ways schools can be part of the solution for addressing poor diets and sedentary lifestyles. Citing a looming health crisis among the nation’s children, Mrs. Laura Bush, Dr. David Satcher and more than 30 national organizations, including NASPE, will develop national, state and local initiatives to create healthier school environments.

NASPE Executive Director Judith C. Young, Ph.D., questioned the participants’ recording of their screen time. “While the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report teens watching more than five hours of television viewing per day, the adults and teenagers said they watched 2.2 hours of television per day and spent another two hours a day using a personal computer for Internet browsing, chat rooms, games, and school research,” said Dr. Young.

Teenagers admit to spending the “majority of their downtime” on a personal computer.

The majority of parents feel that television (42%) and computers or video games (41%) are the largest barriers to their child’s physical activity.
Lack of interest or motivation (29%), too much homework (28%), and lack of access to safe facilities (21%) are other reasons for inactive daily routines.

Perceived Benefits of Physical Education Nationwide

While only 51.7% of students are enrolled in a physical education class, the majority of adults (84%) with children ages 6-17 have a positive perception about their child’s physical education classes. Nearly three fourths believe that physical activity and physical education will support learning in other subject areas, such as math, reading or science. Adults also believe physical education makes children more alert/aware; focus better; increases energy; learns how to work with others, reduces stress and helps make the children healthier.

While nearly 79% of parents feel that their own attitudes towards physical activity and physical education affect their child’s attitude, more than half of teenagers say their parents’ attitudes are not important in influencing their attitudes toward physical activity (56%) and physical education (64%).

Teens selected friends (56%) as the best source to help them be more active, followed by parents (18%) and professional athletes (11%).
Few felt that teachers (5%), their doctors (4%) or celebrities (3%) would help them to be more active.

Adults feel their job performance is positively affected by being more fit because it gives them more energy, greater mental alertness, reduces stress and allows for better time management. Those adults who don’t think they’re getting enough physical activity most often say it’s because of:

their job (23%), not having enough time (18%), health problems (12%), or lack of interest or motivation (12%).

In addition, the majority of parents feel that participation in a sport or physical activity positively affects their child’s self-esteem. A large majority of teens (85%) join adults in believing that their participation in sports or physical activity will help them stay out of trouble.

The survey, which was conducted by Opinion Research Corporation International of Princeton, NJ, is based on interviews with a nationally representative sample of 1,021 adults (18 years of age and older, 50% male/50% female) and 500 teens, ages 12-17. The margin of error for the adult sample is + or – 3 percentage points; when broken into subgroups (those with children in the household) the margin of error is + or – 6 percentage points. The margin of error for the teen sample is + or – 4 percentage points. All interviewing was done from August 1-4, 2002.

Information about the National Association for Sport and Physical Education (NASPE) can be found on the Internet at www.aahperd.org, the web site of the American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation & Dance (AAHPERD). NASPE is the largest of AAHPERD’s six national associations. A nonprofit membership organization of over 18,000 professionals in the fitness and physical activity fields, NASPE is the only national association dedicated to strengthening basic knowledge about sport and physical education among professionals and the general public. Putting that knowledge into action in schools and communities across the nation is critical to improved academic performance, social reform and the health of individuals.

Author Note

This survey was funded with an unrestricted research grant from the National Soft Drink Association.

U.S. Sports Academy2016-04-01T09:22:47-05:00February 18th, 2008|Contemporary Sports Issues, Sports Exercise Science, Sports Studies and Sports Psychology|Comments Off