Gender differences in preferences of individual and team sports in Polish adolescents

Abstract

BACKGROUND:The prevalence of physical activity (PA) depends greatly on the options of executing preferable and favorite PA. Objective information about individual preferences in types of PA can support successful integration of adolescents into regular participation in PA. Defi ning the role of individual and team sports in regard to girls' and boys' sport preferences is a permanent problem that requires objective and continuous diagnostics.OBJECTIVE: The purpose of the study is to examine the relationship among girls' and boys' preferences in individual and team sports and further among these preferences and PA participation.METHODS: Online research was conducted in the Katowice region and 518 boys and 559 girls from the age of 15 to 17 years participated. All high schools in the region were called on for participation, but only schools that allowed the research examination participated. Sport preferences survey that participants completed online via INDARES system was used to diagnose preferences in individual and team sports. The results were analyzed using basic statistical procedures, the relationship was determined based on rank correlation coeffi cients and diff erences between orders of preferred sports were tested by Mann-Whitney test. RESULTS:The most preferred individual sport in girls and boys is swimming, and that applies for all age groups. There is a very strong correlation (rs = .841-.895; p < .001) among girls' and boys' (15 to 17 years old) preferences in individual sports. Volleyball is the most preferred team sport for girls followed by basketball and handball. The most preferred team sport for boys is soccer by distantly followed by volleyball and basketball. The relationship between girls' and boys' team sports is not as strong as for individual sports (rs = .745-.763; p < .001). In regard to selected sports, boys and girls corresponded in their team sports preferences followed by individual sports preferences. The highest diff erence in preferences was evident in the group of rhythmic and dancing activities, which were ranked third by girls, while boys ranked them last. Both girls and boys who prefer individual sports and girls who prefer team sports participate longer in hourly range of organized PA.CONCLUSIONS: The Polish version of the online system INDARES is a suitable diagnostic tool for the examination of sport preferences sphere in adolescents. Understanding gender diff erences in sport preferences of adolescents can increase their participation in organized PA.

The environment contribution to gender differences in childhood obesity and organized sports engagement

“…Findings from the present study do not allow statements about the sports preferences for each sex since activity was indirectly assessed by the local availability of sports and their gender engagement. However, our results are in line with differences highlighted by previous studies (Křen et al, ), showing great differences in the sports attended by girls and boys. In addition to a set of sports practiced by both sexes, with emphasis on swimming and karate (as individual sports), sports attended exclusively by boys are mainly related to team and contact activities (football and futsal) while those of exclusive girls' involvement are related to rhythmic and dancing activities.…”

“…At the individual level, PA is influenced by gender both in children and in adolescents (Inchley, Kirby, & Currie, ; Křen, Kudláček, Wąsowicz, Groffik, & Frömel, ), with girls having lower levels of habitual PA and sport participation than boys (Křen et al, ; Nogueira, Ferrao, et al, ; Pate et al, ; Santos, Vale, Miranda, & Mota, ). Furthermore, it has been suggested that gender and environment interact and that this interaction may enhance the impact of the local environment on PA (Nogueira, Gama, et al, ).…”

“…According to this study, girls whose parents have a positive perception of the environment, concerning safety, land use, and urban design (eg, provision and quality of infrastructure and facilities) are more likely to have a normal weight. The observed gender differences may reflect different parental attitudes resulting from societal standards and cultural norms—the greater vulnerability attributed to girls, the stereotype of femininity, and the lack of available female role models for girls in some PAs can lead to greater parental restrictions, which probably does not happen for boys (Hill & Cleven, ; Křen et al, ; Nogueira, Gama, et al, ). This might also be due to the different interactions and use of space by boys and girls.…”

“…This might also be due to the different interactions and use of space by boys and girls. In fact, girls prefer noncontact and recreational activities (eg, walking, skating, tennis, volleyball, dancing, or ballet) (Grieser et al, ; Křen et al, ; Prusak & Darst, ), thus, are more influenced by the provision of such facilities and by the maintenance and general neighborhood aesthetics. On the contrary, boys prefer contact and team sports, which are less susceptible to neighborhood availability of infrastructures and sports facilities, to the maintenance of sidewalks or even to aesthetic aspects (Nogueira, Gama, et al, ).…”

Gender differences in performance of the Movement Assessment Battery for Children - 2^nd edition test in adolescents

“…Boys tend to participate in ball games more than girls (Badrić, Prskalo, & Matijević, 2015;Harrell et al, 2003), therefore their performance seems to be better in aiming and interceptive tasks. Research studies in the Czech Republic Vašíčková & Kalman, 2013) and in other countries (Badrić et al, 2015;Křen, Kudláček, Wąsowicz, Groffik, & Frömel, 2012) have shown that football (soccer), handball, basketball, floorball and tennis are the most popular sport activities for male adolescents. Additionally, due to the large number of testosterone receptors in the cerebral cortex and their highest density in the occipital lobe where the centre for primary visual processing is located, gender differences in visual perception may arise (Abramov et al, 2012).…”