Experiences of Female Athletes Engaged in High School Competitive Sports
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EXPERIENCES OF FEMALE ATHLETES ENGAGED IN HIGH SCHOOL COMPETITIVE SPORTS By PATRICE E. GRIFFIN-CODD A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY WASHINGTON STATE UNIVERSITY College of Nursing JULY 2019 To the Faculty of Washington State University: The members of the Committee appointed to examine the dissertation of PATRICE E. GRIFFIN-CODD find it satisfactory and recommend that it be accepted. ________________________________ Billie Marie Severtsen, Ph.D., Chair Anita J. Hunter, Ph.D. Mel R. Haberman, Ph.D. ii ACKNOWLEDGMENT I would like to thank Dr. Severtsen for her tremendous willingness to be chair of my research committee, and for her continued support through all phases of this dissertation process. Additionally, I would like to thank Dr. Haberman for his valuable time on my committee, even as his job descriptions became more demanding along the way. I would also like to thank Dr. Hunter for her expertise as a pediatric nurse practitioner. This was particularly helpful when the committee met for interview interpretations. I would also like to thank Rychelle Wagner for her help getting through all the details associated with the graduate school, in particular those associated with graduating. Additionally, I would like to thank Mead High School for their willingness to allow me to do research at their school. In particular, I would like to thank coach Dori Whitford, who made it possible for the athletes to participate in the interviews. iii EXPERIENCES OF FEMALE ATHLETES ENGAGED IN HIGH SCHOOL COMPETITIVE SPORTS Abstract by Patrice E. Griffin-Codd, Ph.D. Washington State University July 2019 Chair: Billie Marie Severtsen Ever since Title IX of the Educational Amendments was passed in 1972, female athletes have had greater opportunities to compete in sports and obtain the same scholarships or other funding as male athletes. Since then, however, the percentage of high school females participating in sports programs has remained around 50%, according to statistics from the years 2004- 2015. There is some evidence that sports participation by high school female athletes may continue to decline. This is a significant problem because research suggests that adolescents who do not participate in sports during high school remain inactive in adulthood. With increasing obesity levels seen in children and adults, it is imperative that we understand why young high school females do not engage in sports programs. The purpose of this study was to understand the experiences of high school girls who are participating in competitive sports during one season. The specific aim was to describe and interpret the lived experiences of girls who participate in one season of the high school competitive sport of cross-country running. A Heideggerian Hermeneutic approach was used to interpret meaning in the experiences of these competitive athletes in order to develop a better iv understanding of this phenomenon. Two overarching patterns emerged from this analysis: The Culture of Running and Approval and Attention From Others. These results provide insight into both the challenges and the rewards that adolescent females face when participating in competitive cross-country running. These results provide ideas on how providers might support female youth athletes, with the ultimate goal being to retain their participation in physical activity, as well as ground work for further research among this population. v TABLE OF CONTENTS Page ACKNOWLEDGMENTS……………………………………………………………………… iii ABSTRACT……………………………………………………………………………………. iv LIST OF TABLES………………………………………………………………………….......viii LIST OF FIGURES……………………………………………………………………………...ix CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION………………………………………………………………………... 1 Women in Sports…………………………………………………………………..2 Background and Significance…………………………………………………….11 Statement of the Purpose…………………………………………………………14 Research Question………………………………………………………………. 15 Specific Aim……………………………………………………………………. 15 Summary………………………………………………………………………….15 2. REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE Literature Review Tactics………………………………………………………...18 Literature Review…………………………………………………………………20 The Stress Response……………………………………………………………... 21 The Adolescent Stress Response………………………………………… 25 Gender Differences in The Adolescent Stress Response…………………………26 The Field of Sports Psychology………………………………………………… 28 vi The Adult Competitive Athlete…………………………………………………... 29 Adolescent Organized Sport and Physical Activity……………………………….32 Overtraining Syndromes………………………………………… 37 The Social Cognitive Theory……………………………………………………... 48 Cognitive Affective Processing System………………………… 45 Gaps in Knowledge……………………………………………………………... 47 References………………………………………………………………………... 54 3. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODOLOGY Introduction……………………………………………………………………….49 Heideggerian Phenomenology…………………………………………………….51 Application of Heidegger’s Philosophy to Research……………………………...54 Sample…………………………………………………………………………….56 Data Collection……………………………………………………………………57 Data Analysis……………………………………………………………………. 60 Evaluation of Rigor and Trustworthiness…………………………………………62 Human Subjects Review…………………………………………………………. 64 4. RESULTS Background and Demographics…………………………………………………66 Contextual Information………………………………………………………….67 Common Structures and Themes………………………………………………. 68 Pattern 1: The Culture of Running …………………………………70 Pattern 2: Approval and Attention From Others…………………....82 vii Summary of Results……………………………………………………………....93 5. DISCUSSION AND IMPLICATIONS Meaning of the Results…………………………………………………………. 96 Implications For Previsions of Clinical Care……………………………….......100 Implications For Future Research………………………………………………105 References………………………………………………………………………110 APPENDIX A. Parent Recruitment Letter………………………………………………...131 B. Parent Consent…………………………………………………………….131 D. Athlete Consent…………………………………………………………...114 viii LIST OF TABLES Page Table 1 Summary of Demographic Information……………………………………………….67 ix LIST OF FIGURES Page 1. Illustration of Athletes Interaction With School and Community………………………… 90 x Dedication This dissertation is dedicated to my husband who has stood by me for many years, through sickness and health, as I worked on this dissertation. I also dedicate this dissertation to my children, Nicole and Evadine from whom I have learned so much, and whose running careers inspired this research. This dissertation is also dedicated to Lucille Woods, my first director of nursing after graduating from nursing school. She instilled within me a passion for nursing. xi CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION According to the Women’s Sports Foundation (2015), 3,267,664 high school girls participated in varsity sports in 2013-2014. This was an increase in participation for the 25th consecutive year since the passing of Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 (Brown & Connolly, 2010; Staurowsky et al., 2015). The intent of Title IX was to afford females the same opportunities in sport as males (Brown & Connolly, 2010). However, according to the National Federation of State High School Associations, in 2004-2005, the percentage of high school females participating in varsity sports was 41.4%, with only a modest increase in participation in 2013-2014 of 41.9% (Staurowsky et al., 2015). There are indications that the percentage of high school girls participating in varsity sports is declining, in particular when compared to male high school athletes (Slater & Tiggemann, 2011; Staurowsky et al., 2015). This is important because research suggests that children and adolescents who develop habits of physical activity through participation in sports stay physically active into adulthood (Burner, 2019; Mehtala, 2014; Wall, Carlson, Stein, Lee, & Fulton, 2011). Additionally, female adolescent athletes withdraw from competitive sports earlier than males, starting as early as age 10, which has been linked to adult inactivity (Grossbard, Smith, Smoll, & Cumming, 2009; Kirby, Levin, & Inchley, 2012; Mehtala, 2014; M. Sharma, Nahar, V., 2018; Slater & Tiggemann, 2011; Staurowsky et al., 2015; Wall et al., 2011). Inactive female adolescents and women are disproportionately at risk for physical problems such as metabolic syndrome, Type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and psychological problems such as depression and low self-esteem as well as slowed academic achievement (Greenleaf, Boyer, & Petrie, 2009; Staurowsky et al., 2015; Wall et al., 2011). Participation in competitive sport, however, offers not only significant benefits of a decrease in 1 obesity and associated physical illnesses for young female athletes, but also in anxiety and depression (Harrist & Witt, 2015; Mehtala, 2014; Powell, 2019; Slater & Tiggemann, 2011; Tamminen, Holt, & Crocker, 2012). Given the numbers of young female athletes who do participate in competitive sport, there is a surprising dearth of “nuanced” literature examining the experiences of adolescent competitive athletes (Harrist & Witt, 2015; Worrell et al., 2016). A lot of the research is “snapshot” correlational designs, or retrospective interviews where the predominant sample was adolescent males and where lists of stressors were documented (Harrist & Witt, 2015; Tamminen & Holt, 2010; Thatcher & Day, 2008). Alternatively, research is needed that explores the young female athlete’s own interpretations of their competitive experiences. This research attempts to address this paucity by studying high school female athletes lived experiences during a single competitive running season. Women in Sports Women have participated in