This study examined the role of athletic participation in the social system of adolescent males and females. Social status was measured by criteria for remembrance after high school, type of sport participant preferred for a date or friend, and self-esteem. The sample consisted of 422 high school and 319 college students. There were significant differences between and among males and females on all three social status measures. Participants who were identified with sex-appropriate sports received greater social status than did participants in sex-inappropriate sports.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
Allison, M. T. (1991). Role conflict and the female athlete: Preoccupations with little grouping. Journal of Applied Sport Psychology, 3, 49-60.
2.
Barker, R. G. , & Gump, P. V. (1964). Big school, small school: High school size and students behavior. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press.
3.
Blinde, E. M. , & Taub, D. E. (1992). Women athletes as falsely accused deviants: Managing the lesbian stigma. Sociological Quarterly, 33, 521-533.
4.
Campbell, W. J. (1964). Some effects of high school consolidation. In R. G. Barker & P. V. Gump (Eds.), Big school, small school: High school size and student behavior (pp. 139-153). Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press.
5.
Coleman, J. S. (1961). The adolescent society. New York: Free Press.
6.
Cronbach, L. J. (1951). Coefficient alpha and the internal structure of tests. Psychometrika, 16, 297-334.
7.
Desertrain, G. S. , & Weiss, M. R. (1988). Being female and athletic: A cause for conflict?Sex Roles, 18, 567-582.
8.
Eitzen, D. S. (1975). Athletics in the status system of male adolescents: A replication of Coleman'sThe Adolescent Society. Adolescence, 10, 267-276.
9.
Feltz, D. (1978). Athletics in the social status system of female adolescents. Review of Sport and Leisure, 3, 98-108.
10.
Goldberg, A. , & Chandler, T. (1989). The role of athletics: The social world of high school adolescents. Youth & Society, 21, 238-250.
11.
Goldberg, A. , & Chandler, T. (1991). Sport participation among adolescent girls: Role conflict or multiple roles?Sex Roles, 25, 213-224.
12.
Grabe, M. (1981). School size and the importance of school activities. Adolescence, 61, 21-31.
13.
Hall, M. A. (1988). The discourse of gender and sport: From femininity to feminism. Sociology of Sport Journal, 5, 330-340.
14.
Holland, A. , & Andre, T. (1987). Participation in extracurricular activities in secondary school: What is known, what needs to be known. Review of Educational Research, 57, 437-466.
15.
Jackson, S. A. , & Marsh, H. W. (1986). Athletic or antisocial: The female sport experience. Journal of Sport Psychology, 8, 198-211.
16.
Kane, M. J. (1988). The female athlete role as a status determinant within the social systems of high school adolescents. Adolescence, 23, 253-264.
17.
Lindsay, P. (1982). The effect of high school size on student participation, satisfaction, and attendance. Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis, 4(1), 57-65.
18.
Marsh, H. W. , & Jackson, S. A. (1986). Multidimensional self-concepts: Masculinity and femininity as a function of women's involvement in athletics. Sex Roles, 15, 391-416.
19.
Messner, M. A. , & Sabo, D. F. (1990). Sport, men, and the gender order: Critical feminist perspectives. Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics Books.
20.
Metheny, E. (1977). Connotations of movement in sport and dance. Dubuque, IA: William C. Brown.
21.
Pedersen, D. M. , & Kono, D. M. (1990). Perceived effects of femininity of the participation of women in sports. Perceptual and Motor Skills, 71, 783-792.
22.
Rosenberg, M. (1965). Society and the adolescent self-image. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.
23.
Schoggen, P. , & Schoggen, M. (1988). Student voluntary participation and high school size. Journal of Educational Research, 81, 288-293.
24.
Thirer, J. , & Wright, S. (1985). Sport and social status for adolescent males and females. Sociology of Sport Journal, 2, 164-171.
25.
Watson, T. (1987). Women athletes and athletic women: The dilemmas and contradictions of managing incongruent identities. Sociological Inquiry, 57, 431-446.
26.
Williams, J. M. , & White, K. A. (1983). Adolescent status systems for males and females at three age levels. Adolescence, 70, 381-389.
