One issue which plagues today’s society is that of young females dropping out of
participation in sport and physical activity during high school and failing to lead healthy
lifestyles consisting of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity and healthy eating habits in early
adulthood. The dropout rate of these youth in sport and physical activity may also lead one to ask
the question does the failure of young females to continue participation in sport and physical
activity in high school also lead to a lesser number of females entering into sport and physical
activity based majors in higher education? Why do females tend to stop participation in high
school and what are their attitudes and opinions toward professions in the areas sport, recreation
and physical activity? Faculty, recruiters and administrators of sport management disciplines in
higher education, such as PGA Golf Management, are asking some of these questions to try and
determine why the number of females enrolled in these programs is nowhere equal to those of
their male counterparts. Answers to these questions may help professionals in the sport,
recreation and physical activity industry develop ideas to keep young females involved and being
active throughout high school and consider these fields vital disciplines in which to major in
college.
One must begin by looking into research conducted with middle school and high school
females as to their participation and attitudes about sport, health and physical activity.
Researchers Witmer, Bocarro and Henderson (2011), conducted a qualitative investigation
exploring why physical activity declines with adolescent females. Their results are interesting
because there are very few studies which have investigated the qualitative side of adolescent girls
and physical activity and asked “why” physical activity declines with this population. Several
quantitative studies have shown that the number of females participating in sport and physical
activity declines during the adolescent years.
This study was conducted with 28 middle school girls in 6th through 8th grades in the
southeastern US. Forums were conducted in which small groups of girls were asked questions by
researcher Witmer (Caucasian) regarding their opinions on physical activity, health, and
nutrition. A female assistant (African American) was present to assist with note taking and forum
details. The purpose of the study was to gain a better understanding of the importance middle
school females place on the role of healthy behaviors in their lives and what factors influence
their decisions on physical activity and eating habits in a leisure context. Research was done
from a social-psychological perspective exploring the girls’ motivations and social influences for
making their decisions. Thus, data were examined by looking at descriptions girls gave for
behaviors involved in physical activity, health and eating.
Once data were transcribed, they were put “into ATLAS,ti 5,2 and open coded to
identify concepts” (Witmer, et al, 2011). Axial coding was done to organize the concepts and
open codes overlapped several categories. All quotes were documented and aligned with a
category. Constant review was conducted of all quotes and information to look for themes across
all forums. Eventually all data were placed into four broad themes (Witmer, et al, 2011).
Results were in line with Bandura’s Social Cognitive Theory emphasizing “social
learning, interactions among people, their behaviors and the environment (Muuss, 1996)”
(Witmer, et al, 2011) and were significant in that there are but a few results revealed via a
qualitative study as to ‘why’ adolescent females make the decisions they make regarding health
and physical activity behaviors in a leisure context.
The four themes that were developed were perceptions of health, family and food, social
norms and enjoyment. Attitudes displayed by the girls were prominent throughout each of these
themes. “Overall, leisure preferences were not associated with health concerns, but rather
motivated by personal preference and social influence” (Witmer, et all, 2011).
Some of the implications to the health and wellness profession associated with this study
include realizing that when teaching young females about health, physical activity and nutrition
and how to make better decisions on what to do with their leisure time, there should be a strong
emphasis on the social and “fun” aspects of choosing their activities. Examples should be given
and then educators should follow-up with the long-term effects of their choices, both good and
bad.
In another study Pfeiffer, Dowda, Dishman, McIver, Sirard, Ward, and Pate (2006),
follow 429 South Carolina adolescent females who participated in sport over a four year period.
Data were collected when students were in 8th, 9th, and 12th grades. One of the goals of this study
was to try and predict whether these females would continue to be moderately to vigorously
active in the future, particularly from 8th to 9th grade and on to 12th grade, and was this
continuation due to their participation in sport.
Surveys were used to collect data from participants. Data included demographic, physical
activity and sport participation information. “Odds ratios were calculated to determine the
association between sport participation and future PA behavior” (Pfeiffer, et al, 2006). Three
sport comparison groups were also analyzed using analysis of variance for their participation in
physical activity. These groups were non-participants, dropouts and three-year participants.
Results showed that active 9th graders were more likely to be active in 12th grade and that
active 8th and 9th graders were more likely to be active in 12th grade. Sport participants exhibited
a greater chance of continuing to be involved in more vigorous physical activity than those who
were non-participants or those who dropped out of sport. There was not a large difference
between those who dropped out in 8th grade and those who dropped in 9th grade. However there
was a significant decline in the amount of vigorous activity for those who dropped out in 9th
grade, even more than females who were non-participants. Therefore, this study provides a
strong argument for the correlation between sport participation and involvement in moderate-tovigorous activity.
The implications from this study effecting the health and wellness profession include
knowing that females involved in sport are more apt to be involved with moderate-to-vigorous
activity even into early adulthood. All those involved with these females should encourage their
continued participation in sport and assist students in learning how to balance time commitments
between school, work, sport participation and family and friend relationships. The long-term
benefits outweigh the short-term satisfactions these girls may receive by dropping out.
A another longitudinal study conducted in Belgium by Scheerder, Thomis, Vanreusel,
Lefevre, Renson, Eynde and Beunen, (2006), addresses sport participation among females from
adolescence to adulthood, of women ages 32-41, particularly “from a lifetime sports socialization
perspective” (Scheerder, et al, 2006). These women were interviewed face-to-face and
participated in a comprehensive questionnaire 20 years after participating in the 1979 Leuven
Growth Study on Flemish Girls. A total of 257 adult women agreed to participate in the study.
“Logistic regression modeling and structural equation modeling are used to explain
individual differences in adult sports participation” (Scheerder, et al, 2006). Results showed that
the influence of sport involvement during adolescence was greater than the influence of the
women’s educational level or their parents’ socioeconomic background. “Variances accounted
for are rather small, indicating that sport experiences and social background characteristics only
partially explain the sport participation behavior of adults. In the sports socialization process, late
adolescent sports experience, along with the school program in which an adolescent is involved,
appear to play a crucial role in sport involvement in later life” (Scheerder, et al, 2006). Female
participation varies throughout the differing stages of life (beginning a profession, marriage,
child-rearing years, etc.) and can be influenced by factors such as sport participation by a
spouse/partner and sport involvement and practices of children.
The significance of these findings for the sport, recreation and physical activity
disciplines is one in which professionals in these areas must make sure they are providing
positive experiences and partnering with other community entities (i.e., schools, religious
organizations, etc.) to ensure meaningful experiences for female participants. This begins at an
early age but must be emphasized throughout the middle and high school years in order to
produce continued participation by females into adulthood.
Elliott and Sander (2011) explored “why females don’t do sports degrees”. They asked
170 females, between 16-18 years old, who found higher education to be important, to rate the
following six factors in relation to females and sport. The factors were (1) value/relevance, (2)
interest in sport, (3) male dominated, (4) suitability for females, (5) academic value, and (6)
career opportunities (Elliott and Sander, 2011). Generally, sport degrees and professions have
been seen as male-dominated disciplines/professions with few career opportunities to offer
females. In some cases females have been encouraged to seek disciplines more in line with
traditional female career roles as opposed to seeking a spot in the areas of sport traditionally
perceived as male dominated. “It is (also) conceivable that the relative lack of female staff on
(teaching) sports courses might reinforce any pre-existing notion that sport and sport degrees are
more suited to males (Elliott and Sander, 2011).
Findings from this study reveal that the only factor which was presented as a negative in
why females “don’t do sport degrees” is value/relevance. Females recognized the academic value
and career availability of a sport degree, but did not know what the education process consisted
of, which may have led to their lack of recognizing the “extrinsic relevance or intrinsic worth of
sport degrees” (Elliott and Sander, 2011). The authors suggest that the data imply that sport
administrators and faculties are “failing to inform, and/or inspire, females” (Elliott and Sander,
2011).
This conclusion can indicate that sport, recreation and physical activity professionals and
educators need to provide more positive and memorable experiences, and serve more as mentors
to young females enrolled in their programs. The encouragement a girl receives in elementary
school by her female coach can influence her to continue participation in middle school. The
female recreation league director who recognizes this girl’s knowledge, skills and abilities, and
encourages her good attitude, can sway her participation in high school. This same mentor can
help the student develop time management skills to balance her life, help her overcome her fears
of others’ attitudes because of her sport involvement, and help her understand how important it is
to continue a healthy lifestyle. This mentor can be the person in which the female student looks
upon and says, “I want to help someone just like my mentor helped me.” This could lead to more
females enrolled in sport disciplines, as well as continued participation into adulthood.
Perhaps a “focus on females who have completed the process and gained meaningful and
satisfying careers, and who have found the educational process intrinsically rewarding could help
change perceptions” (Elliott and Sander, 2011). As role models and educators for young girls and
adolescents, the number of females continuing their involvement with sport and physical activity
into adulthood, both leisurely and as a career, will be on the rise.
References
Elliott, D., & Sander, L. (2011). Why females don't do sports degrees. Journal of Hospitality,
Leisure, Sport and Tourism Education, 10(1), 85-98.
Pfeiffer, K. A., Dowda, M., Dishman, R. K., McIver, K. L., Sirard, J. R., Ward, D. S., & Pate, R.
R. (2006). Sport participation and physical activity in adolescent females across a four year
period. Journal of Adolescent Health, 39, 523-529.
Scheerder, J., Thomis, M., Vanreusel, B., Lefevre, J., Renson, R., Vanden Eynde, B. , & Beunen,
G. P. (2006). Sport participation in females from adolescence to adulthood. International Review
for the Sociology of Sport, 41(3-4), 413-430.
Witmer, L., Bocarro, J., & Henderson, K. (2011). Adolescent girls' perception of health within a
leisure context. Journal of Leisure Research, 43(3), 334-354.