Exploring How the Ideal Physique Can Affect Self-Efficacy within Sport Performance: A Qualitative Study
Exploring How the Ideal Physique Can Affect Self-Efficacy within Sport Performance: A Qualitative Study
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Issue Date
2012
Authors
Hendrickson, Erin
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Abstract
According to Greenleaf (2004), sport provides a unique environment that places an athlete's body in the spotlight. Research suggests that the type of sport in which the athlete participates in plays a role in influencing an athlete's body image, including the athlete's perception of their weight. One important factor to take into consideration about an athlete and their body is the connection of body image to the athlete's self-efficacy within sport and its effects on their sport performance. Using the Grounded Theory approach of constant comparative analysis (Strauss & Corbin, 1998), the researcher explored how the perceived ideal physique within a sport may or may not affect self-efficacy within performance. Six former collegiate athletes who participated in one of three sports including cross country, soccer, and softball were interviewed using a formal semi-structured interview. Each participant was asked about their experience playing their sport at an elite collegiate level and was encouraged to share their perceptions of body weight and image within their sport and their experience of the effects on self-efficacy within performance. From the analysis of this study the results indicated that the concept of the ideal physique within sport can have an effect on self-efficacy within sport performance. Practitioners can use this information as a basis to understand how a perceived ideal physique within a sport can have implications on an athlete in relation to body image and his or her self-efficacy within sport performance.