Age and Gender Effects in Physical Self-Concepts for Adolescent Elite Athletes and Nonathletes: A Multicohort-Multioccasion Design

Abstract

Age and gender effects in 10 physical self-concept scales for elite athletes and nonathletes were based on responses from 4 age cohorts (grades 7-10 in high school) who completed the same instrument 4 times during a 2-year period. A multicohort-multioccasion design provides a stronger basis for assessing development differences than a cross-sectional comparison collected on a single occasion or a longitudinal comparison based on responses by a single age cohort collected on multiple occasions. Across all 10 physical self-concepts there were substantial differences due to group (athletes greater than nonathletes), gender (males greater than females), and gender x group interactions (athletes less than nonathletes in gender differences). There were no significant effects of age cohort and only very small effects of occasions. Thus longitudinal and cross-sectional comparisons both showed that mean levels of physical self-concept were stable over this potentially volatile adolescent period and that this stability generalized over gender, age, and athlete groups.