Sex differences in grade three students' attitudes toward physical activity.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the attitudes children have towards physical activity and whether boys and girls differ significantly. Sex differences were hypothesized on one or more of the subdomains of Grade 3 Children's Attitudes Toward Physical Activity inventory. The 46 boys and 51 girls ranged from 8 to 10 years of age. A multivariate analysis of variance indicated a significant effect for sex, and subsequent univariate analysis indicated that the boys had significantly lower scores than the girls on the Aesthetic subscale. Results were discussed in terms of attitides about activity in physical education classes and continued research with younger children.

Effect of warm-up and flexibility treatments on vertical jump performance.

Although different warm-up and flexibility routines are often prescribed before physical activity, little research has been conducted to determine what effects these routines have on athletic performance in activities. The purpose of this investigation was to determine to what degree different warm-up routines affect performance in the vertical jump test. The 40 female participants were asked to perform a general warm-up only, a general warm-up and static stretching, and a general warm-up and proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation (PNF) on 3 nonconsecutive days. Each of the treatments was followed by a vertical jump test. A 1-way repeated-measures analysis of variance revealed a significant difference in vertical jump performance. A post hoc analysis revealed decreased vertical jump performances for the PNF treatment group. Based on the results of this study, performing PNF before a vertical jump test would be detrimental to performance.

Analysis of body esteem in female college athletes and nonathletes.

This research compared the scores on the three subscales of the Body Esteem Scale of 67 female intercollegiate athletes from various sports, and 57 female nonathlete college students enrolled in regular college classes. Analysis indicated no significant differences between the groups on the Sexual Attractiveness and Weight Concern subscales, but only on the Physical Condition subscale, with athletes reporting higher scores and more positive perceptions of body esteem than nonathletes.

College students' perceptions of the purposes of sports.

To examine perceptions of the desirable purpose of athletics by men and women 162 college men, 84 of whom participated in intercollegiate athletics, and 190 college women, 81 of whom participated in intercollegiate athletics, were administered the Purpose of Sport Questionnaire. Applying a two-way multivariate analysis of variance to their mean responses gender was significant. Post hoc analysis indicated that men believed enhanced competitiveness, social status, and high-status career opportunities to be more important purposes of sport participation than did women. Participants in intercollegiate athletics had significantly higher perceptions of enhanced competitiveness, social status, and high-status career opportunities as more important purposes of sport participation than nonparticipants. However, nonparticipants in intercollegiate athletics believed that acquisition of attributes that make one a good citizen and enhancement of self-esteem were more important purposes of sport participation.

Participation in a wellness course and attitude toward physical education.

70 women and 46 men enrolled in a college physical education course emphasizing concepts of wellness were administered the Attitude Toward Physical Activity Inventory at the beginning and end of a semester. Gender differences at the end of the semester were obtained on Social Experience, Health and Fitness, Aesthetic Experience, and Ascetic Experience, with the scores for men significantly higher than those for women. When comparing scores of students required to participate in the course with those of students electing to, no significant differences were found. Scores by gender showed significant differences on Ascetic Experience by men, with scores of noneducation majors significantly higher than those of education majors. Significantly higher scores at Time 2 for women on Health and Fitness and for men on Ascetic Experience were obtained.