Do athletes have higher self-esteem than non-athletes?

Abstract

The following study was developed to assess the possibility that high school students involved in athletics have higher self-esteem than students not participating in athletics. The study also compared the self-esteem scores between boys and girls. The sample was derived from high school students located in Kansas. The sample consisted of 30 boys and 30 girls. The selection process began by gathering a list of all students involved in athletics. From this list, 10 boys were randomly selected and 10 girls were randomly selected to constitute the first group of students. The second group of students were those not participating in athletics but who were involved in other extracurricular activities. These students were put on a list and 10 boys and 10 girls were randomly selected to make up the second group. The third group consisted of those students not participating in athletics and not involved in any other extracurricular activities. These students were put on a list and again 10 boys and 10 girls were randomly selected to comprise the third group. The students involved in this study were given the Coopersmith Self-Esteem Inventory (SEI). The SEI is a self-report instrument intended to measure the evaluation a person makes and customarily maintains with regard to himself or herself. The statistical analysis used for this study examined the relationship of self-esteem scores between the boys and girls and the three groups. The results indicated significant differences between those students involved in athletics as compared with those students not participating in athletics. The boys participating in athletics had significantly higher self-esteem scores than the other groups. The boys overall had significantly higher self-esteem scores than the girls.