Female self-esteem, sports participation, and ethnicity: The role that academic competence, body image, physical competence and gender-role orientation play in this relationship

This study examined the indirect relationship between pre-college sports participation and global self-esteem in Caucasian and Hispanic females and the role that the variables of academic competence, body image, physical competence, and gender-role orientation play in this relationship. A previous model proposed by Richman and Shaffer (2000) indicated that these variables mediated the relationship between pre-college sports participation and global self-esteem in Caucasian females. A sample of 249 female college students completed the Years Sports Experience, School Sport Experience, High School Sport Involvement, Personal Attributes Questionnaire, a modified version of the Perceived Competence Scale for Children, Academic Competence, Physical Self-Description Questionnaire, Body Esteem Scale, Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale, and a demographics questionnaire.;Simple intercorrelations were used to test bivariate associations among the variables. Structural equation modeling through EQS was used to evaluate the models. Confirmatory Factor Analysis was used to establish measurement models. Chi-Square Likelihood Test, the Comparative Fit Index, and the Standardized Root Mean Residual were used to assess model fit. The Maximum Likelihood Estimation procedure was used to estimate parameters. Group differences were examined using Independent-Samples t-tests, Levene's Test for Equality of Variances, Chi-Square Test of Independence, and Independent-Samples Test of Correlation. Mediation was tested using MacKinnon's Asymmetric Confidence Interval.;In the overall sample (N=249), body image and a masculine gender-role orientation mediated the relationship between pre-college sports participation and global self-esteem. In the Hispanic American sample (N=86), this relationship was mediated by a masculine gender-role orientation. The relationship was mediated by body image in the Caucasian sample (N=137). Analyses of the overall, Hispanic American, and Caucasian samples yielded models that were not similar to the model proposed by Richman and Shaffer (2000). Analyses of group differences revealed that Caucasian females participated in more sports prior to college than their Hispanic American counterparts. No significant differences were observed between Caucasian and Hispanic American females on measures of physical competence. Hispanic American females were just as likely as Caucasian females to endorse masculine or androgynous gender-role orientations. The relationship between academic competence and global self-esteem was not greater in Hispanic American females when compared to Caucasian females.