Create a new account

It's simple, and free.

Self-Esteem & Young Athletes NATURE OF THE STUDY Background Ty

Tyson (1989) has reported that the ability of athletes to effectively compete has become the sole means to both academic and professional standing. Indeed, according to Stiggins (1987), the ever increasing pressure on America's prime athletes has created self-esteem and identity problems, problems which, in turn, actually debilitate their athletic performance.

In terms of the pressures on female gymnasts in particular, a study conducted by Petrie (1993) supports the notion that they may be particularly vulnerable to the pressure and that this pressure may manifest itself in eating disorders. Specifically, Petrie assessed for the incidence of eating disorders in 215 female collegiate gymnasts. The study also determined whether these athletes differed on various attitudinal and personality characteristics that have been associated with eating disorders. Findings of the study revealed that over 60 percent of the gymnasts studied met the criteria for one of the intermediate disordered eating categories. Only 22 percent reported eating behaviors that could be classified as normal or non-disordered. It was also found that higher levels of disordered eating disturbance were associated with a desire to weigh less, lower self-esteem, and greater endorsement of sociocultural values regarding women's attractiveness.

The question that can be asked here is: What actions can be taken to improve the self-esteem levels and often consequent debilitated performance of young athletes? One answer to the above question may be positive "self-statements," which are affirmations about self-worth, ability, high motivation, and so forth that are repeated by the athletes several times daily in front of the mirror; sometimes these self-statements are referred to as self-talk.

Supporting the efficacy of self-statements is a study conducted by Philpot (1994) who investigated selected variables which were hypothesized to be significant in th...

Page 1 of 37 Next >

More on Self-Esteem & Young Athletes NATURE OF THE STUDY Background Ty...

Loading...
APA     MLA     Chicago
Self-Esteem & Young Athletes NATURE OF THE STUDY Background Ty. (1969, December 31). In LotsofEssays.com. Retrieved 04:46, March 29, 2024, from https://www.lotsofessays.com/viewpaper/1703538.html