Designing basketball uniforms for female athletes is a challenge for soft goods manufacturers. Data were collected from 503 female collegiate basketball players concerning body cathexis, body form, garment fit satisfaction, uniform design preferences and demographic characteristics. Of the three areas of the body (upper, lower and total), players indicated they were most dissatisfied with parts of the lower body. Being in uniform did improve their perception of their bodies. Satisfaction with garment fit parallels satisfactionldissatisfaction with the body; the lower body area creates the greatest garment fit problems. The type of body form had a significant effect on both uniform fit satisfaction and uniform body cathexis. Fit satisfaction is the highest with the ectomorph body form. The differences were inverse: as the body increased in size, the lower the degree of satisfaction with garment fit and the body. Uniform preferences for the jersey were a deep V-neckline, sleeveless, and hip length with straight hemline and side vents. For the shorts, a baggy style with side v-vents at the hem, and a 1 1/2 or 2 inch wide, elastic drawstring waistband were selected. Implications for soft goods manufacturers are discussed.

The purposes of this study were to investigate if there were differences between black and white female athletes' satisfaction with their bodies and fit of their clothing and to examine the relationship between body satisfaction and clothing fit. The responses of 290 female collegiate basketball players, 168 white and 122 black, were analyzed. MANOVA, Hotelling's T2, ANOVAs and Pearson Product Moment correlations were used in data analyses. Black and white females' perceptions of their overall bodies differed, black females were more positive about their bodies than white females. Female athletes in this sample did not differ in satisfaction of garment fit. Correlations for perceptions of body cathexis and garment fit were positive and significant. Results have implications for scholars studying racial differences related to dress.

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The purposes of this study were to ascertain the extent to which students with physical handicaps have clothing attitudes that differ from able‐bodied students, and to investigate the relationship between self‐concept and clothing attitudes. Data were collected from 35 handicapped and 76 able‐ bodied university students. Handicapped students were defined as those who had orthopedic dis abilities and were confined to wheelchairs. The clothing attitude variables were appearance, fash ion, management, comfort, and durability. There were clothing attitude differences between hand icapped and able‐bodied students for all variables except appearance. Handicapped students had consistently lower clothing attitude scores on all variables studied. There were significant differ ences between men and women students on all clothing attitude variables regardless of physical condition, with women indicating a more positive attitude on each of the variables. There was not a significant difference in self‐concept scores between the handicapped and able‐bodied students, nor was a statistically significant relationship identified between the clothing variables and self‐ concept scores.

Disabled consumers confined to wheelchairs represent a special consumer group for clothing manufacturers and retailers. They have special clothing needs and may perceive different risks associated with clothing purchases than do able-bodied consumers. The purpose of this study was to examine information seeking behavior, types of perceived risk—economic, performance, physical, psychological, and social—and the relationship between information seeking and risk associated with clothing purchases of 75 wheelchair-bound consumers. Regression analysis was used to determine the relationship between the five types of risk and overall risk and the relationship between types of risk and information sources used. Perceived physical risk ranked highest and perceived social risk ranked lowest for the respondents. Performance and social risk were significantly correlated with overall risk at the.05 level. However, the correlation of various types ofrisk with the use ofspecific information sources was not significant except for a negative correlation between social risk and neutral information sources. Information sources most often used by respondents were mail order catalogs and family members. Those with cogenital disability perceived higher overall risk than those with acquired disability.More than 35 million Americans have some form of physical or mental disability (Shapiro, 1982). This segment of the population has received increased attention over the last decade because a greater number of disabled people are better educated and employed in meaningful jobs. Clothing has become important to them since they are more actively involved in communities.Disabled people confmed to wheelchairs represent a special consumer group for educational and marketing efforts related to clothing. They not only have specialized clothing needs involving fit of clothing in a seated position and ease in dressing but also may encounter accessibility problems when shopping and may perceive different risks associated with clothing purchases than do able-bodied consumers. Insight into the clothing-related risk perceptions and the information-seeking patterns of disabled consumers can promote more effective communication by educators and marketers.Clothing is essential to an individual's physical, psychological, and social well-being. Physically, clothing specifically designed for the disabled person allows independence in dressing and fulfills altered needs of comfort and safety