Multidimensional Self-concepts of Elite Athletes: How Do They Differ from the General Population?

1995 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
pp. 70-83 ◽  
Author(s):  
Herbert W. Marsh ◽  
Clark Perry ◽  
Chris Horsely ◽  
Lawrence Roche

A broad cross-section of elite athletes (n = 83) was compared to a normative sample (n = 2,436) of nonathletes on the 13 self-concept scales for the Self-Description Questionnaire III (SDQIII). On these scales athletes had substantially higher Physical Ability self-concepts than nonathletes, but did not differ on Physical Appearance self-concepts. There were smaller differences favoring athletes on social scales (Same Sex, Opposite Sex, and Parent Relationships), Global Esteem, and the total self-concept. Group differences were not statistically significant for the academic scales (Math, Verbal, Academic, and Problem Solving) and Emotional self-concept, whereas nonathletes had marginally higher Spiritual and Honesty self-concepts. Athlete/nonathlete differences varied somewhat according to gender, generally favoring women athletes. Because the pattern of group differences (e.g., large differences in Physical Ability and minimal differences in Academic self-concept scales) is reasonably similar to a priori predictions, the results provide further support for the construct validity of SDQIII responses.

1986 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
pp. 198-211 ◽  
Author(s):  
Susan A. Jackson ◽  
Herbert W. Marsh

The purpose of this study was to examine relations between women's involvment in sports and three psychological constructs: role conflict, sex-role identification, and multidimensional self-concepts. The three groups comprised female powerlifters competing in a national championship (n = 30), high school female athletes (n = 46), and high school female nonathletes (n = 46). Role conflict was not substantial except for a few specific areas related to conflicting expectations of appropriate female and athlete behavior. Both athletic groups scored substantially higher on masculinity (M) and on self-concept of physical ability than the nonathletic group, but there were no group differences on femininity (F) and few substantial differences in other areas of self-concept. Hence the results provide further support for the construct validity of androgyny and for the multidimensionality of self-concept. The major findings, that female athletes can be more M without being less F, and that female athletic involvement has positive benefits without producing any loss in F or in self-concept, dispels a popular myth about women's involvement in sports.


Circulation ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 142 (Suppl_3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ai Wern Chung ◽  
Borjan Gagoski ◽  
Jane W Newburger ◽  
P. Ellen Grant ◽  
Michelle GURVITZ

Introduction: The population of adults with d-transposition of the great arteries (TGA) continue to grow. As this group has underlying neurocognitive impairment and longer-term neurovascular damage, advanced neuroimaging to identify markers for treatment is required. Diffusion (d)MRI tractography quantifies the structural integrity of white matter (WM) pathways in the brain - where lower FA (fractional anisotropy) and higher ADC (apparent diffusion coefficient) typify WM damage. The brain’s structural backbone is its rich club (RC), a set of highly interconnected regions established before birth and vital for effective cognitive function. Moreover, there are Feeder and Seeder subnetworks peripheral to the RC, which are thought to form later and may be more adaptive. Hypothesis: We hypothesize that adults with TGA have alterations in both the brain’s structural RC and in peripheral connections. Methods: Subjects were TGA adults from the Boston Circulatory Arrest Study (n = 25, mean age 28.46 ± 1.14yr) and Controls (n = 13, 28.35 ± 1.70). Multi-shell, high-angular resolution dMRI data were acquired and fitted with a multi-fiber model (Fig). After tractography, a connectome of the number of tracts connecting pairwise cortical regions was computed. A priori RC regions were bilateral superior frontal and parietal frontal gyri, precuneus, posterior cingulate and insular regions. Connections were grouped into subnetworks and mean FA and ADC computed. Results: Cohorts were age-matched (p=0.801, unpaired t-test). Overall, patients had lower FA and greater ADC than controls in all subnetworks. Group differences (unpaired t-tests) were significant in the RC (ADC p=0.029), Feeder subnetwork (FA p=0.041; ADC p=0.042), with trends in Seeder subnetworks (FA p=0.061; ADC p=0.062). Conclusions: Widespread WM alterations exist in adults with TGA not only in the brain’s most central system, but also connections feeding into the RC suggesting prenatal and adaptive changes.


2014 ◽  
Vol 20 (2) ◽  
pp. 151-157
Author(s):  
Pau García-Grau ◽  
Daniel Ayora Pérez ◽  
Ferran Calabuig Moreno ◽  
Vicente Javier Prado-Gascó

The purpose of this study was to analyze the psychometric properties of a brief version of the AF5 questionnaire (García & Musitu, 2001) using exploratory and confirmatory techniques on a preadolescent population in the Valencian community (Spain). The sample was made up of 541 participants between 10 and 12 years old, 55.1% (298) boys and 44.9% (243) girls. After observing the results of different reliability and validity analyses (exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA)), it was found that the reduced scale consisting of 20 items showed a similar reliability and validity to the original scale. The factorial structure also fits that of the original model established a priori. According to the results of the study, the use of this diagnostic tool with Spanish children seems justified.


2014 ◽  
Vol 17 (5) ◽  
pp. 376-382 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rita Hegedűs ◽  
András Pári ◽  
Zsófia Drjenovszky ◽  
Hanna Kónya

Aiming to perform the first sociological survey of Hungarian twins, our main question was whether being a twin has positive consequences on one's life. Adult twins completed our questionnaire at three Hungarian summer twin festivals, in hospitals during medical twin studies, and on some websites online. Data represent 140 twin pairs (mean age: 38.2 ± 14.6 years). We employed some indices for measuring the resource nature of twinship. Three main types of benefits were distinguished: profit of attraction, as ‘material capital’; the easier obtainability of cultural goods when twins take part in it, as ‘cultural capital’; and positive aspects of an a priori existing dyadic relation, as ‘relational capital’. We were interested in the difference among types of twins regarding advantages. We paid special attention to the five groups of twins derived from gender and zygosity (i.e., monozygotic females, monozygotic males, dizygotic females, dizygotic males, opposite-sex pairs). Our analysis showed that Hungarian twins involved in our research basically enjoy their twinship; during their lives they used and still make use of different benefits given by it. In our twin samples, women had more advantages from being a twin than men. Significant differences could be observed on all indicators between monozygotic and dizygotic twins.


2016 ◽  
Vol 33 (S1) ◽  
pp. s249-s249
Author(s):  
F. Pastoriza ◽  
L. Galindo ◽  
A. Mané ◽  
D. Bergé ◽  
N. Pujol ◽  
...  

ObjectiveExplore the basis of cortical morphometry in patients with schizophrenia and non-affected siblings by Magnetic Resonance Structural analyzing cortical thickness.MethodsTwenty-nine patients with schizophrenia treated with atypical antipsychotics and clinically stable in the last 6 months were recruited. Twenty-three not affected siblings of patients with schizophrenia and 37 healthy volunteers were recruited. Magnetic Resonance Structural was performed. FreeSurfer the brain imaging software package for analysis of Cortical Thickness is used. In the analysis of group differences in cortical thickness (CT) with the general linear model (GLM), the P-value was established in 0003 following the Bonferroni correction to control for multiple comparisons (seven regions of interest a priori in each hemisphere).ResultsSignificant differences in cortical thickness between patients and healthy controls. Differences between groups were calculated by general linear model (GLM) with age and sex as covairables (Table 1).ConclusionsIn applying the correction for multiple comparisons, differences in bilateral-lateral orbitofrontal, medial orbitofrontal-right and left temporal transverse frontal cortex are significant. Our study replicates previous findings and provides further evidence of abnormalities in the cerebral cortex, particularly in the frontal and temporal regions, being characteristic of schizophrenia.Disclosure of interestThe authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.AcknowledgementsL. Galindo is a Rio-Hortega-fellowship-(ISC-III; CM14/00111).


2007 ◽  
Vol 29 (3) ◽  
pp. 313-330 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bruce A. Larson

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of an adventure camp program on the self-concept of adolescents with behavioral problems. Subjects in the study included 61 randomly selected male and female adolescents ranging in age from 9 to 17 years with behavioral problems. The treatment group of 31 adolescents was randomly selected from a population (N = 85) of behavioral problem adolescents who voluntarily attended an adventure camp. The control group of 30 adolescents was randomly selected from a population (N = 80) that underwent treatment for behavioral problems. Analysis of variance was utilized to determine if significant differences existed between the treatment and control groups. The paired t test was utilized to determine within group differences between pretest and posttest scores on both groups. Alpha for both tests was set at the .05 level. Analysis demonstrated a significant difference between the experimental and control 9- to 11-year-old age group's self-concept.


1997 ◽  
Vol 89 (2) ◽  
pp. 369-380 ◽  
Author(s):  
Herbert W. Marsh ◽  
John Hey ◽  
Lawrence A. Roche ◽  
Clark Perry

2018 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 3-12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amy Bender ◽  
Hans Van Dongen ◽  
Charles Samuels

Previous research has found that elite athletes have insufficient sleep, yet the specific kinds of sleep disturbances occurring as compared to a control group are limited. Here we compare the subjective sleep quality and chronotype of elite athletes to a control group of non-athlete good sleepers. Sixty-three winter Canadian National Team athletes (mean age 26.0 ± 0.0; 32% females) completed the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) and the Athlete Morningness Eveningness Scale. They were compared to 83 healthy, non-athlete, good-sleeper controls (aged 27.3 ± 3.7; 51% females) who completed the PSQI and the Composite Scale of Morningness. The elite athletes reported poorer sleep quality (PSQI global score 5.0 ± 2.6) relative to the controls (PSQI global score 2.6 ± 1.3), despite there being no group difference in self-reported sleep duration (athletes 8.1 ± 1.0 h; controls 8.0 ± 0.7 h). Further, athletes’ chronotype distribution showed a greater skew toward morningness, despite there being no group differences in self-reported usual bedtime and wake time. These results suggest that a misalignment of sleep times with circadian preference could contribute to poorer sleep quality in elite athletes.


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