Gender Differences in Brazilian Children's Socialization into Sport

Abstract

In an attempt to apply a social role-social systems approach to study the sport socialization process of children. a fixed-alternative questionnaire was administered to Brazilian children in Sāo Paulo. When testing the general model, results from multiple regression analyses on 94 males and 77 females revealed that values of parents, family, peers, opportunity set and teachers strongly influenced the process of becoming involved in sport. Stepwise regressions revealed that the model was a better predictor of female sport involvement, with opportunity set and female siblings providing the strongest influence. In the case of males, parents' values, fathers and brothers proved to be the strongest contributing factors. Although not dissimilar to findings on North American children, results from this study suggest that there may be some unique features of sport socialization with respect to Brazilian children. These findings are discussed in light of those from previous research studies in Canada and the United States.

Gender differences in Brazilian children's fundamental movement skill performance

“…For example, girls are less encouraged by family and friends to participate in physical activity and sports (Goellner et al, 2010;Silva, Gomes, & Goellner, 2008). In another study, although somewhat dated, Greendorfer, Blinde, and Pellegrini (1986) reported that 'the family does not seem to support female participation; yet, at the same time, it is extremely supportive for male participation' (p. 58). Our objective with the present study was to gain a contemporary view of gender performance in the context of FMS performance in children aged 3-10 years.…”

“…First is consideration of the home and family -research indicates that female participation in physical activity and sport is not supported as it is with males (Greendorfer et al, 1986). Similarly, although the sample was older, Gonçalves, Hallal, Amorim, Araújo, and Menezes (2007) reported that Brazilian male adolescents had more social and family support to engage in physical activities than did female adolescents.…”

¿Por qué jugar? Sport socialization among Hispanic/Latina female NCAA division I student-athletes

“…Social scientists have become increasingly concerned with children's participation in competitive sport and the outcomes from such experiences (Greendorfer et al, 1986). These investigations have established that children are introduced to sport through a socialization process defined as one "whereby individuals learn skills, traits, values, attitudes, norms, and knowledge associated with the performance of anticipated social roles" (McPherson & Brown, 1988, p. 267).…”

“…Further, while previous research has examined the socialization processes of Hispanic/Latino youth athletes and youth athlete parents, there is little research aimed at examining these processes for elite-level athlete participants (e.g., Dawes, Modecki, & Gonzales;2015;Dorsch et al, 2015;Erkut, Fields, Sing, & Marx, 1996;Erkut & Tracy, 2002;Greendorfer et al, 1986). Therefore, this current investigation will provide researchers and practitioners with evidence of successful socialization processes that can be encouraged in order to generate more meaningful and more consistent sport participation among Hispanic/Latina women in the future.…”

“…For this reason, researchers should examine the experiences of youth Hispanic/Latina athletes (e.g., Dawes, Modecki, & Gonzales;2015;Dorsch et al, 2015;Erkut, Fields, Sing, & Marx, 1996;Erkut & Tracy, 2002;Greendorfer et al, 1986), and also aim to uncover the potential factors that may have contributed to Hispanic/Latina studentathlete success in their sport endeavors. Therefore, the purpose of this qualitative investigation was to analyze the sportrelated experiences and subsequent socialization processes of current NCAA Division I Hispanic/Latina student-athletes.…”