Abstract

Research suggests that participation in athletics provides adolescent females with a variety of positive mental and physical benefits. While Title IX paved the way for increased female participation in organized sports, female athletes, including adolescents, continue to face various forms of gender discrimination. Research also suggests that females with a strong feminist identity are more likely to identify and speak out against gender discrimination. Accordingly, this study seeks to examine the association between gender discrimination and sports participation and the potential moderating role of feminist identity and cognitive appraisals of discrimination on this relationship. Participants were 580 adolescent females (age 12-18 years old) from across the United States. Results found that gender discrimination is a positive, not negative predictor of sports participation, and feminist orientation moderates the association between gender discrimination and sports participation. Implications for this study are especially relevant to advocates of adolescent female athletes who need to know that girls who play sports are more likely to experience gender discrimination, and that a higher feminist orientation can help them recognize discrimination and process it in healthier ways.

Degree

MS

College and Department

Family, Home, and Social Sciences; Family Life

Rights

https://lib.byu.edu/about/copyright/

Date Submitted

2023-06-28

Document Type

Thesis

Handle

http://hdl.lib.byu.edu/1877/etd12856

Keywords

adolescent female, feminism, feminist identity, gender discrimination, sexism, sports

Language

english

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