Effects of interscholastic athletic involvement on the personal development of black male high school students

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to compare the dimensions of personal development of black male high school student athletes with black male high school student nonathletes to determine the relationship between participation in interscholastic athletics and the degree of students’ personal development. The study drew upon the recent literature in the sociology of sports to ascertain the impact of sports participation on personal development. Specific questions directed toward the problem sought to uncover characteristics that discriminate between black male high school student athletes and black male high school student nonathletes in levels of confidence, sexual identity, and conceptions about body and appearance.

The Erwin Identity Scale, a portion of the Iowa Student Development Inventories, and a demographic questionnaire were used to measure personal development. These instruments gathered information from both black male students who had been members of athletic teams as well as those who had never participated.

Scores were tabulated on the three subscales of the EIS and the demographic variables. Results of the study indicated that there was a significant difference between black male athletes and black male nonathletes when considering the three subscales jointly, with athletes scoring significantly lower on two of the three subscales. More specifically, there was a significant difference between groups on the subscales confidence and sexual identity, with athletes showing lesser development. An analysis of the significance of the relationship between the groups and five demographic variables indicated that athlete status had a significant relationship with age only. Additional findings indicated that confidence can be explained by athlete status; that sexual identity can be explained by athlete status and GPA; and that conceptions about body and appearance can be explained by GPA.

Student services personnel must recognize these differences and develop programs to meet the developmental and special needs of black male high school students, especially the black male high school athlete.