Sport and Social Status for Adolescent Males and Females

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine the social status criteria for male and female adolescents in the mid-1980s and to compare these results with those of Eitzen (1976) and Coleman (1961a, 1961b). It was further intended to transcend these previous studies by examining the criteria by which male and female adolescents ascribed social status for females relative to being an athlete. The results indicated that the trend toward deemphasizing the importance of athletics as a status symbol for male adolescents, which appeared in Eitzen’s research, was not supported. Being an athlete was still the foremost criteria for male popularity when judged by both male and female adolescents. This is similar to the pattern reported by Coleman (1961a, 1961b) in his research of males judging males. For females, being an athlete was ascribed fairly low social status when judged by both male and female adolescents. This indicates that at the time of the present study, even with the impact of Title IX legislation, athletic performance is still not a valued attribute for female adolescents in the eyes of male and female peers.