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Causal attribution theory research has recently been applied to the female athlete. Early causal attribution research was influenced by Horner's (1968) original hypothesis about a fear of success personality trait that women generally possess. The purpose of this paper is to critique such research noting variables and issues which may have an impact on research and its interpretation when applied to the female athlete.

This study extended the examination of the eating disorders continuum to the population of female athletes. Participants (215 collegiate gymnasts) were classified as normal/nondisordered eaters, exercisers, bingers, dieter/restricters, subthreshold bulimics, or bulimics and were then compared on several personality and attitudinal measures. Results revealed that (a) over 60% of the gymnasts met the criteria for one of the intermediate disordered eating categories, (b) only 22% reported eating behaviors that could be classified as normal or nondisordered, and (c) higher levels of disordered eating disturbance, particularly bulimia nervosa, were associated with a desire to weigh less, lower body satisfaction, lower self-esteem, and greater endorsement of sociocultural values regarding women's attractiveness. The findings provide partial support for the eating continuum in female athletes, and suggest that disordered eating may be the normative behavior in this population. Implications for interventions as well as directions for future research are provided.

This field study examined the intrapersonal and situational factors related to the stress experienced by 10- to 12-year-old girls participating in competitive youth soccer. Factors potentially related to competitive stress were assessed at preseason, midseason, pregame, and postgame periods. Competitive stress, measured by the Spielberger State Anxiety Inventory for Children, was assessed 30 min. prior to and immediately following a competitive game. Results indicated that higher pregame stress was related to high competitive trait anxiety and basal state anxiety as well as low self-esteem and team performance expectancies. The situational factor of game outcome (win, tie, loss) was the predominant variable associated with stress exhibited after the game, with losers evidencing the highest and winners the lowest postgame stress. The most important intrapersonal factor related to postgame stress was the amount of fun experienced during the game. The findings were quite similar to previous field research with young male soccer players, indicating that both sexes seem to share common sources of stress.

Identification of factors influencing expectancies of successful performance in competitive youth sports is important to understanding the way in which children perceive and respond to this evaluative achievement situation. Therefore, in this field study involving 10- to 12-year-old female soccer players, intrapersonal factors affecting players' pregame personal performance expectancies were first identified. Soccer ability and self-esteem were found to be related to personal performance expectancies, but competitive trait anxiety was not Second, the impact of game outcome, the previously mentioned intrapersonal variables, and the interaction of game outcome and intrapersonal variables was examined by determining players' postgame team expectancies in a hypothetical rematch with the same opponent. The postgame findings showed that winning players evidenced higher team expectancies than tying and losing players. Moreover, the expectancies of tying players were low and, in fact, similar to those of losers. The results of this study successfully replicated and extended previous findings with young male athletes.

This investigation was done to gather some exploratory data concerning the attitudes and feelings of male and female college, high school, and junior high school varsity basketball players toward having a female coach versus a male coach. Subjects (N = 85) indicated their attitudes for playing for a hypothetical male or female coach (randomly assigned to condition) in a 2 x 2 (sex of athlete x sex of coach) between-subjects design. They were instructed to complete a questionnaire consisting of 11 items that tapped their attitudes and feelings toward a new coach. Identical background information was provided to subjects concerning the qualifications of the coach, the only difference being that for one group of subjects the coach was said to be female whereas for the other group of subjects the coach was said to be a male. Results were analyzed by a MANOVA and indicated significant interactions on seven questions, with simple main effects consistently indicating that males displayed more negative attitudes toward female coaches than did females while males and females did not differ in their view of male coaches. Results are discussed in terms of sex-role socialization patterns for males and females.

Some have claimed that the similarities between athletes with eating problems and women with eating disorders (ED) include only symptoms such as dieting and fear of weight gain, and do not extend to the psychopathological characteristics associated with these disorders. However, studies used to support this viewpoint have relied on comparisons between “eating-disturbed” athletes and clinically diagnosed ED patients, a method that confounds diagnostic classification with athlete status. The present study held ED classification constant by comparing ED patients who had been involved in high-level competitive athletics with nonathlete ED. No significant differences were found between the groups on any measures of psychopathology or eating-related symptoms; this suggests that if an athlete develops an eating disorder, her psychological profile is no different from others with this disorder.

Research shows inconclusive results pertaining to the comparison of eating disorder indices between athletes and nonathletes and among different subgroups of athletes. The purpose of this study was to meta-analytically review the literature on (a) bulimia nervosa indices, (b) anorexia nervosa indices, and (c) drive for thinness (a cardinal feature of both anorexia and bulimia) in male and female athletes. Results of 92 studies with 560 effect sizes (ES) revealed small ESs (range: −.01 to .30) in relation to group membership characteristics. Results for female athletes revealed small ESs for bulimia and anorexia indices, suggesting that female athletes self-reported more bulimic and anorexic symptomatology than control groups; nonsignificant group differences were evidenced for drive for thinness. Results for male athletes revealed small ESs on all three indices, suggesting that male athletes self-reported more eating disorder symptomatology than control groups. Moderator variables that might contribute to understanding the results are examined, and future research directions are presented.

Confirmatory factor analysis was used as the basis for a new form of the Athletic Coping Skills Inventory (ACSI). The ACSI-28 contains seven sport-specific subscales: Coping With Adversity, Peaking Under Pressure, Goal Setting/Mental Preparation, Concentration, Freedom From Worry, Confidence and Achievement Motivation, and Coachability. The scales can be summed to yield a Personal Coping Resources score, which is assumed to reflect a multifaceted psychological skills construct. Confirmatory factor analyses demonstrated the factorial validity of the ACSI-28, as the seven subscales conform well to the underlying factor structure for both male and female athletes. Psychometric characteristics are described, and preliminary evidence for construct and predictive validity is presented.

The purpose of this study was to examine relations between women's involvment in sports and three psychological constructs: role conflict, sex-role identification, and multidimensional self-concepts. The three groups comprised female powerlifters competing in a national championship (n = 30), high school female athletes (n = 46), and high school female nonathletes (n = 46). Role conflict was not substantial except for a few specific areas related to conflicting expectations of appropriate female and athlete behavior. Both athletic groups scored substantially higher on masculinity (M) and on self-concept of physical ability than the nonathletic group, but there were no group differences on femininity (F) and few substantial differences in other areas of self-concept. Hence the results provide further support for the construct validity of androgyny and for the multidimensionality of self-concept. The major findings, that female athletes can be more M without being less F, and that female athletic involvement has positive benefits without producing any loss in F or in self-concept, dispels a popular myth about women's involvement in sports.