Latina adolescent girls demonstrate a stark rate of underparticipation in sports activities. The aim of this study is to spotlight potential key factors that support their sport engagement. Operating from a Social-Cognitive Theoretical framework, this multifaceted study explores how Latina adolescent athletes’ characteristics (i.e., gender, ethnicity, sport) shared with their favorite athletes are associated with their sport engagement (i.e., sport efficacy, sport commitment, sport importance, and behavioral and attitudinal engagement with athletics). Participants included ninth- and 10th-grade Latina adolescent athletes who resided in the United States. Qualitative analysis of favorite athletes (n = 234) revealed that Latina adolescent athletes favored racially/ethnically and gender diverse athletes. In quantitative analyses of identifiable favorite athletes, bivariate and partial correlations revealed mixed associations between shared sociocultural (i.e., shared Latinx identity) and sport characteristics (i.e., shared sport) and sport engagement variables. In regression-based indirect effect analyses, sport efficacy mediated the associations between shared sport and sport commitment and sport importance. Shared sport emerged as the most consistent correlate of sport engagement, which informs practical considerations of how favorite athletes and shared sport might be leveraged to encourage Latina adolescent girls’ engagement in sports.
AdriaanseJ. A.CrosswhiteJ. J. (2008). David or Mia? The influence of gender on adolescent girls’ choice of sport role models. Women’s Studies International Forum, 31(5), 383–389. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wsif.2008.08.008
2.
AlanisM.CunninghamG. B.DesimoneA. (2022). Underrepresented on the field and in the literature: A scoping review of Latinas in sport. Women in Sport and Physical Activity Journal, 30(1), 53–65. https://doi.org/10.1123/wspaj.2021-0060
BanduraA. (1986). Social foundations of thought and action: A social cognitive theory. Prentice-Hall.
8.
BanduraA. (1990). Perceived self-efficacy in the exercise of personal agency. Journal of Applied Sport Psychology, 2(2), 128–163. https://doi.org/10.1080/10413209008406426
9.
BanduraA. (1994). Self-efficacy. In RamachaudranV. S. (Ed.), Encyclopedia of human behavior (Vol. 4, pp. 71–81). Academic Press.
10.
BanduraA.RossD.RossS. A. (1961). Transmission of aggression through imitation of aggressive models. The Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology, 63(3), 575–582. https://doi.org/10.1037/h0045925
11.
CammarotaJ. (2004). The gendered and racialized pathways of Latina and Latino youth: Different struggles, different resistances in the urban context. Anthropology & Education Quarterly, 35(1), 53–74. https://doi.org/10.1525/aeq.2004.35.1.53
12.
CardemilE. V.MillánF.ArandaE. (2019). A new, more inclusive name: The Journal of Latinx Psychology. Journal of Latinx Psychology, 7(1), 1–5. https://doi.org/10.1037/lat0000129
13.
CasperJ. M.AndrewD. P. (2008). Sport commitment differences among tennis players on the basis of participation outlet and skill level. Journal of Sport Behavior, 31(3), 201–219.
CraneP. R.TalleyA. E.Piña-WatsonB. (2022). This is what a scientist looks like: Increasing Hispanic/Latina women’s identification with STEM using relatable role models. Journal of Latinx Psychology, 10(2), 112–127. https://doi.org/10.1037/lat0000202
18.
DanielsE. A. (2012). Sexy versus strong: What girls and women think of female athletes. Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology, 33(2), 79–90. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.appdev.2011.12.002
19.
DarvinL.CintronA.HancockM. (2017). ¿Por qué jugar? Sport socialization among Hispanic/Latina female NCAA Division I student-athletes. Journal of Amateur Sport, 3(2), 27–54. https://doi.org/10.17161/jas.v3i2.6460
20.
DennerJ.GuzmánB. (2006). Introduction: Latina girls transforming cultures, contexts, and selves. In DennerJ.GuzmánB. (Eds.), Latina girls: Voices of adolescent strength in the United States (pp. 1–14). New York University Press.
21.
DurauJ.DiehlS.TerlutterR. (2022). Motivate me to exercise with you: The effects of social media fitness influencers on users’ intentions to engage in physical activity and the role of user gender. Digital Health, 8, 1–17. https://doi.org/10.1177/20552076221102769
FussyD. S.IddyH.AmaniJ.MkimbiliS. T. (2023). Girls’ participation in science education: Structural limitations and sustainable alternatives. International Journal of Science Education, 45(14), 1141–1161. https://doi.org/10.1080/09500693.2023.2188571
24.
GarciaL. (2009). “Now why do you want to know about that?” Heteronormativity, sexism, and racism in the sexual (mis) education of Latina youth. Gender & Society, 23(4), 520–541. https://doi.org/10.1177/0891243209339498
25.
GillD. L.GrossJ. B.HuddlestonS. (1983). Participation motivation in youth sports. International Journal of Sport Psychology, 14(1), 1–14.
26.
González-PérezS.Mateos de CaboR.SáinzM. (2020). Girls in STEM: Is it a female role-model thing?Frontiers in Psychology, 11, 564148. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2020.02204
27.
GrafnetterovaN.BandaR. M. (2024). “Need help? We got you!”: Sources of support for first-generation Latinx student-athletes. Journal for the Study of Sports and Athletes in Education, 18(1), 23–42. https://doi.org/10.1080/19357397.2021.1916311
28.
GravesF.ChaudhryN.RobbinsK. G.MorrisonA.FrohlichL.Onyeka-CrawfordA.MathemaS. (2015). Finishing last: Girls of color and school sports opportunities. National Women’s Law Center and Poverty and Race Research Action Council.
29.
HayesA. F. (2022). PROCESS macro for SPSS, SAS, and R (Version 4.3.1) [Computer software]. https://www.processmacro.org.
HernandezM. I.MillerE. C.PrietoL. A.SehmerM. N.SchaeferD. A.BieseK. M.ColumnaL. A.AndreaeS.McGuineT. A.SneddenT. R.EbermanL. E.BellD. R. (2023). Youth sport participation experiences from the perspective of Hispanic/Latinx parents and their children. Family & Community Health, 46(3), 165–175. https://doi.org/10.1097/FCH.0000000000000366
32.
HextrumK.KnoesterC.TompsettJ. (2025). Who plays, persists, and stands out in interscholastic athletics? Habitus, parenting, social class, and the institutionalized cultural capital of school sports. Journal for the Study of Sports and Athletes in Education, 1–39. https://doi.org/10.1080/19357397.2025.2470116
33.
KimJ.EysM.Robertson-WilsonJ. (2021). ‘If they do it, so can I’: A test of a moderated serial mediation model of descriptive norms, self-efficacy, and perceived similarity for predicting physical activity. Psychology & Health, 36(6), 701–718. https://doi.org/10.1080/08870446.2020.1789641
34.
KresovichA.NoarS. M. (2020). The power of celebrity health events: Meta-analysis of the relationship between audience involvement and behavioral intentions. Journal of Health Communication, 25(6), 501–513. https://doi.org/10.1080/10810730.2020.1818148
35.
KrogerJ. (2007). Identity development: Adolescence through adulthood (2nd ed.). Sage Publications, Inc.
LeeS.KwonS.AhnJ. (2021). The effect of modeling on self-efficacy and flow state of adolescent athletes through role models. Frontiers in Psychology, 12, 661557. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.661557
38.
Leon-BoysD.ValdiviaA. N. (2021). The location of U.S. Latinidad: Stuck in the middle, Disney, and the in-between ethnicity. Journal of Children and Media, 15, 218–232. https://doi.org/10.1080/17482798.2020.1753790
LopezV. (2023a). Latina teens and sports participation: Moving beyond gendered cultural explanations. In Family and sport: Notable contributions to sociology (pp. 73–86). Emerald Publishing Limited.
MartinezS.NuñezA. J. (2023). “I am not Latino enough": Latinx ethnic identity and participation at La Casa. Journal of College Student Development, 64(4), 439–453. https://dx.https://doi.org/10.1353/csd.2023.a907341
44.
MartinsJ.MarquesA.SarmentoH.Carreiro da CostaF. (2015). Adolescents’ perspectives on the barriers and facilitators of physical activity: A systematic review of qualitative studies. Health Education Research, 30(5), 742–755. https://doi.org/10.1093/her/cyv042
45.
McAuleyE. (1985). Modeling and self-efficacy: A test of Bandura’s model. Journal of Sport Psychology, 7(3), 283–295. https://doi.org/10.1123/jsp.7.3.283
46.
McGovernJ. (2018). “You have to have money to be good”: How capital accumulation shapes Latinas’ pathways to college sports. Journal of Intercollegiate Sport, 11(2), 149–171. https://doi.org/10.1123/jis.2018-0038
47.
McGovernJ. (2021a). Are Latinx youth getting in the game? The effects of gender, class, ethnicity, and language on Latinx youth sport participation. Latino Studies, 19(1), 92–113. https://doi.org/10.1057/s41276-021-00307-6
48.
McGovernJ. (2021b). The intersection of class, race, gender, and generation in shaping Latinas’ sports experiences. Sociological Spectrum, 41, 96–114. https://doi.org/10.1080/02732173.2020.1850378
49.
Méndez-MorseS. (2004). Constructing mentors: Latina educational leaders’ role models and mentors. Educational Administration Quarterly, 40(4), 561–590. https://doi.org/10.1177/0013161X04267112
50.
MidgleyC.DeBues-StaffordG.LockwoodP.ThaiS. (2021). She needs to see it to be it: The importance of same-gender athletic role models. Sex Roles, 85(3), 142–160. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11199-020-01209-y
51.
MorgenrothT.RyanM. K.PetersK. (2015). The motivational theory of role modeling: How role models influence aspirants’ goals. Review of General Psychology, 19(4), 465–483. https://doi.org/10.1037/gpr0000059
52.
MoritzS. E.FeltzD. L.FahrbachK. R.MackD. E. (2000). The relation of self-efficacy measures to sport performance: A meta-analytic review. Research Quarterly for Exercise and Sport, 71(3), 280–294. https://doi.org/10.1080/02701367.2000.10608908
53.
National Center for Education Statistics. (2022). Postbaccalaureate enrollment. Condition of education. U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences. Retrieved June 16, 2023, from https://nces.ed.gov/programs/coe/indicator/chb
OrfieldG.FrankenbergE. (2014). Increasingly segregated and unequal schools as courts reverse policy. Educational Administration Quarterly, 50(5), 718–734. https://doi.org/10.1177/0013161X14548942
56.
OrfieldG.LeeC. (2005). Why segregation matters: Poverty and educational inequality.
57.
OsaiK. V.DorschT. E.WhitemanS. D. (2020). “To be, or not to be, that is the question”: Modeling and differentiation among sibling participating in organized youth sport. Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology, 42(6), 500–510. https://doi.org/10.1123/jsep.2019-0279
58.
PacewiczC. E.SmithA. L.RaedekeT. D. (2020). Group cohesion and relatedness as predictors of self-determined motivation and burnout in adolescent female athletes. Psychology of Sport and Exercise, 50, 1–8. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psychsport.2020.101709
PayneW.ReynoldsM.BrownS.FlemingA. (2003). Sports role models and their impact on participation in physical activity: A literature review. Victoria: VicHealth, 74(1), 1–55.
61.
RonkainenN. J.RybaT. V.SelänneH. (2019). “She is where I’d want to be in my career”: Youth athletes’ role models and their implications for career and identity construction. Psychology of Sport and Exercise, 45, 101562. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psychsport.2019.101562
62.
RothW. D. (2009). Latino before the world:’ The transnational extension of panethnicity. Ethnic and Racial Studies, 32(6), 927–947. https://doi.org/10.1080/01419870802245042
ShiaoJ. L. (2023). Measuring Hispanics/Latinxs: Racial heterogeneity and its consequences for modeling social outcomes in US population samples. Socius: Sociological Research for a Dynamic World, 9, 1–18. https://doi.org/10.1177/23780231231174830
66.
SokolovaK.PerezC. (2021). You follow fitness influencers on YouTube. But do you actually exercise? How parasocial relationships, and watching fitness influencers, relate to intentions to exercise. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, 58, 102276. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jretconser.2020.102276
67.
SterdtE.LierschS.WalterU. (2014). Correlates of physical activity of children and adolescents: A systematic review of reviews. Health Education Journal, 73(1), 72–89. https://doi.org/10.1177/0017896912469578
68.
VescioJ.WildeK.CrosswhiteJ. J. (2005). Profiling sport role models to enhance initiatives for adolescent girls in physical education and sport. European Physical Education Review, 11(2), 153–170. https://doi.org/10.1177/1356336X05052894
YoungJ. A.SymonsC. M.PainM. D.HarveyJ. T.EimeR. M.CraikeM. J.PayneW. R. (2015). Role models of Australian female adolescents: A longitudinal study to inform programmes designed to increase physical activity and sport participation. European Physical Education Review, 21(4), 451–466. https://doi.org/10.1177/1356336X15579574
