Predicting Adolescent Self-Esteem from Participation in School Sports among Latino Subgroups

Abstract

Data from the in-school survey of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health on girls and boys who claim a Mexican, Puerto Rican, or Cuban heritage were employed to test two hypotheses: (1) Participating in a school-based sport is associated with self-esteem, and (2) school attachment and a sense of physical well-being mediate this relationship. The first hypothesis was partially confirmed in that participation in school sports was associated with self-esteem among Mexican American adolescent girls and boys, Puerto Rican girls, and Cuban American boys, but not among Cuban American girls nor Puerto Rican boys. The second hypothesis was confirmed in that, where there was a significant relationship between participating in a school sport and selfesteem, school attachment and physical well-being mediated this relationship. The results underscore the need to study psychosocial processes separately among Latino subgroups and to examine gender within each subgroup.One of the justifications given for funding school-based athletic programs is that they boost self-esteem. This viewpoint has gained greater prominence since 1961, when Coleman reported on the centrality of athletics for boys within the status system of American high schools. Research has since provided evidence to support the claim that sports participation is associated with higher self-esteem for both boys and girls, but some of this research did not differentiate between physical activity associated with participating in a schoolsponsored sport and physical activity in general. For example, Gruber's (1986) metaanalysis of the outcomes of physical activity showed that higher self-esteem is associated with engaging in physical activity through a variety of avenues even for elementary schoolage children (and more so for children from economically disadvantaged families and those with mental or physical disabilities). McAuley (1994) also examined the outcomes of many studies to arrive at a similar conclusion; higher self-esteem is one of the several positive outcomes of engaging in physical activity. Recent research, which employed large samples of Caucasian and African American adolescents obtained from the in-school assessment of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health), has shown specifically that participating in a school sport is associated with self-esteem and that this relationship is mediated by adolescents' attachment to school and their sense of physical well-being (Tracy & Erkut, in press). Do these findings on the relationship between self-esteem and sports participation apply to youth from Latino subgroups? If they do, are the processes by which Latino youth benefit from participating in a school-based sport similar to the processes that operate for Caucasian and African American adolescents? These are the two central research questions addressed in this article. Research on Latino Youth's Self-EsteemThe body of research on adolescent self-esteem has primarily examined Caucasian youth, and to some exte...

The Perceptions of the Best Portuguese Coaches about Dropout and Persistence in Women’s Artistic Gymnasts

“…Indeed, gymnasts' self-esteem seemed to be clearly enhanced not only by successful competitive results, but also by the fact that they had a great dominium over their body, allowing them to perform movements and skills inaccessible to their friends. Along the same lines, it is worth mentioning that several investigations have found that self-esteem was positively associated with the practice of sport (e.g., Erkut & Tracy, 2002;Slutzky & Simpkins, 2009), and with the intention to continue sports participation (e.g., Slutzky & Simpkins, 2009;Ullrich-French & Smith, 2009). …”

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

“…Such research has indicated that Latina girls were as likely to identify sports as an activity that made them feel good about themselves, similar to girls from other racial/ethnic backgrounds (Erkut et al, 1996). On the other hand, Erkut and Tracy (2002) later found that within Latina subgroups (i.e., Mexican, Cuban, and Puerto Rican), girls actually reported lower involvement in sport activities, lower self-esteem, and lower scores on physical well-being than did boys. Though both studies show opposing findings, it is important to note the shift in how sport participation was being perceived by Hispanic/Latina girls.…”

“…Conversely, an additional study found that cultural influences do appear to effect Hispanic/Latina girls, as a number of girls within a Latina subgroup (i.e., Mexican, Cuban, and Puerto Rican) reported lower involvement in sport activities, lower selfesteem, and lower scores on physical wellbeing than did boys (Erkut & Tracy, 2002). Conflicting studies elicited a review of the data to determine and identify if cultural influence was a contributing factor to sport participation and persistence.…”

“…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.…”