1. A Longitudinal Investigation of Sports Participation, Peer Acceptance, and Self-esteem among Adolescent Girls and Boys
Elizabeth Daniels
Department of Psychology, University of California, Los Angeles
Campbell Leaper
University of California, Santa Cruz

2. Hypothesis
The relationship between sports participation and global self-esteem would be mediated by the judgments of peer acceptance.
Anticipated that hypothesized model would apple to both genders.
Looked at relationship over time in a longitudinal dataset.

3. DESIGN

4. Method – Sample
Longitudinal data collected at two time points (T1 and T2) between 1994 and 1996
Subjects from 80 high schools and 52 junior highs across the United States
Systematic sampling methods and implicit stratification were employed to ensure that the schools selected were representative of US schools with respect to:
Region , urbanicity, size, type, and ethnicity

5. Method
Independent Variable – Sports Participation,Self Esteem, Peer Acceptance
Dependent Variable – Scores on the Survey and Interviews

6. Method In total 119,233 adolescents were eligible for the study
90,119 students completed the in-school survey and also participated in an in-depth interview
10,500 participants who did the survey and interview also completed items that addressed the three variables of interest
Sport Participation
Global Self-esteem
Peer acceptance

7. Method
Girls: 4,689 -Age range years with mean of (SD-1.59)
Boys: 5,811 – Age range years with mean of (SD-1.68)

8. Measures
Global Self Esteem - measured using the mean of four items such as “ I have a lot of good qualities”. Rated on a 5-point scale: 1 – strongly disagree to 5-strongly agree
Sports Participation – measured by responses to the question “During the past week, how many times did you play an active sport, such as baseball, softball, basketball, soccer, hockey, or football?, Response options ranged from not at all to 5 or more times a week.
Perceived peer acceptance- measured by responses such as “I feel socially accepted” and “I feel close to people at school” Used a scale using 1-strongly disagree to 5-strongly agree

9. Procedure
One min class period was designated for completion of the in-school survey. Parents were notified and could decline participation and students who were absent weren’t included in the study
A subset of the sample was administered an additional 90-min in-home interview
Only the students who completed the in home interview and met other criteria were selected for analysis in the present investigation

10. Results
Boys had significantly higher levels of T1 sport participation, T1 global self-esteem, and T2 global self esteem than girls did.
Girls’ and Boys’ levels of T1 peer acceptance were not significantly different.
The results from the mediational tests indicate that the relation between sports participation and global self-esteem is partially dependent on peer acceptance.
The Model held for both girls and boys.

11. Discussion
As predicated, peer acceptance did indeed mediate the relationship between sport participation and global self-esteem.
Built on the work of Richman and Shaffer (2000) who also found domain specific aspects of self-concept mediated the association between sport participation and self-esteem.

12. Discussion

13. Problems that I would change
The measure didn’t distinguish between regular versus sporadic play
Only included certain sports in the study and didn’t include alternative sports
Self-report system
There are many more things in life that can make you have a high self esteem than just sports