Race, Ethnicity, and Sexual Orientation: Still a Void in Sport and Exercise Psychology?

Abstract

The impact of race, ethnicity, and sexual orientation on human cognition, affect, and behavior has been well documented in the psychology, sociology, and counseling literature. Sport and exercise psychology, however, has minimized the importance of these variables (Duda & Allison, 1990). The purpose of the current study was to determine how race, ethnicity, and sexual orientation have been addressed in the recent sport and exercise psychology literature. Duda and Allison’s previous research was replicated and extended by analyzing the content of 982 manuscripts published in JSEP, JASP, and TSP between 1987 and 2000. Overall, 19.86% of manuscripts included references to race/ethnicity and 1.22% included references to sexual orientation. Detailed results demonstrate that, despite an increase in the number of papers that include references to race and ethnicity, there has been no systematic attempt to include the experience of marginalized groups in the literature. Researchers and practitioners are encouraged to incorporate appropriate questions, reporting, and sensitivity with regard to race, ethnicity, and sexual orientation into their work.