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SEX DIFFERENCES IN PHYSICAL ACTIVITY PARTICIPATION: STRUCTURAL AND SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGICAL CONSIDERATIONS
Abstract
Using a probability sample of 344 residents 18 years of age and older from Lincoln, Nebraska, the author examines the effects of selected structural and social psychological factors on adult participation in physical activity. The data are from a mail survey with two follow-ups resulting in a 59 percent return rate. These data are used to compare participation patterns of women and men over the life cycle. Based on social learning and opportunity theories it is expected that men will participate in physical activities at higher rates than women. The findings show, however, that women and men participate in physical activities at very similar rates during their adulthood although they participate in very different kinds of activities. Women are significantly more likely than men to participate in dancing, exercises, walking, and swimming. Men are significantly more likely than women to participate in fishing, hunting, racquet sports, and basketball. After controlling for differences in socialization and opportunity, the sex differences in participation patterns remain significant indicating that these factors do not account for the types of activities in which men and women participate. The research does show, however, that women are signficantly less likely than men to report receiving encouragement from their fathers for childhood physical activity participation, to have significantly less opportunity to participate as children, to receive less encouragement for very active participation as adults, to have less opportunity to participate as adults, and to be more likely to participate in order to get exercise rather than for competition or affiliation. Those factors which are significant predictors of adult physical activity participation are age, childhood opportunity to participate, informal childhood physical activity participation, and adult opportunity to participate, informal childhood physical activity participation, and adult opportunity to participate.
Subject Area
Families & family life|Personal relationships|Sociology
Recommended Citation
SCHEUBLE, LAURIE KATHERINE, "SEX DIFFERENCES IN PHYSICAL ACTIVITY PARTICIPATION: STRUCTURAL AND SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGICAL CONSIDERATIONS" (1984). ETD collection for University of Nebraska-Lincoln. AAI8423826.
https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/dissertations/AAI8423826