Gender-Typed Sport Practice, Physical Self-Perceptions, and Performance-Related Emotions in Adolescent Girls

Milena Morano, Claudio Robazza, Montse C. Ruiz, Stefania Cataldi, Francesco Fischetti and Laura Bortoli
Additional contact information
Milena Morano: Parisi-De Sanctis Institute, MIUR (Italian Ministry of Education, University and Research), 71121 Foggia, Italy
Claudio Robazza: BIND-Behavioral Imaging and Neural Dynamics Center, Department of Medicine and Aging Sciences, “G. d’Annunzio” University of Chieti-Pescara, 66013 Chieti, Italy
Montse C. Ruiz: Faculty of Sport and Health Sciences, University of Jyväskylä, 40014 Jyväskylä, Finland
Stefania Cataldi: Department of Basic Medical Sciences, Neurosciences and Sense Organs School of Medicine, Aldo Moro University, 70123 Bari, Italy
Francesco Fischetti: Department of Basic Medical Sciences, Neurosciences and Sense Organs School of Medicine, Aldo Moro University, 70123 Bari, Italy
Laura Bortoli: BIND-Behavioral Imaging and Neural Dynamics Center, Department of Medicine and Aging Sciences, “G. d’Annunzio” University of Chieti-Pescara, 66013 Chieti, Italy

Sustainability, 2020, vol. 12, issue 20, 1-13

Abstract: Youth sport experience provides opportunities for physical, personal, and social development in youngsters. Sport is a social system in which socially constructed gender differences and stereotypes are incorporated, and specific sport activities are often perceived as gender characterized. The objective of this study was to examine the relationship between some salient physical and emotional self-perceptions and the type of sport practiced. A sample of 261 female athletes, aged 14–21 years ( M age = 15.59, SD = 2.00), practicing different sports, categorized as feminine (e.g., artistic and rhythmic gymnastics), masculine (e.g., soccer and rugby), or neutral (e.g., track and field and tennis), took part in a cross-sectional study. Significant differences were observed between aesthetic sports and other types of sports. Athletes involved in aesthetic sports reported the lowest values in their feelings of confidence and the highest values in feelings of worry related to competition. This may be attributed to the evaluation system of aesthetic sports, in which the athlete’s performance is evaluated by a jury. At the same time, they reported low values of dysfunctional psychobiosocial states associated with their general sport experience, likely because of their physical appearance close to the current body social standards for girls. Notwithstanding the differences by type of sport, athletes of all disciplines reported high mean values of functional psychobiosocial states, suggesting that their overall sporting experience was good.

Keywords: physical self-perception; body dissatisfaction; social physique anxiety; psychobiosocial states; aesthetic sports; feminine sports; masculine sports (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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