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High School Sport Participation and Subsequent Psychological Well-Being and Physical Activity: The Mediating Influences of Body Image, Physical Competence, and Instrumentality

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Abstract

This study examined the relationship of high school sport participation to psychological well-being and physical activity involvement in college. First semester female undergraduates (n = 260) at a large public university in the southern United States reported their high school sport participation and completed a series of questionnaires assessing their current body image, physical competence, instrumentality, psychological well-being, and physical activity levels. Body image, physical competence, and instrumentality mediated the relationships between high school sport involvement and college well-being and level of activity. This model accounted for 46% of the variance in college physical activity and 60% in psychological well-being, suggesting that these benefits accrue as a result of changes in how women view themselves and their bodies.

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Acknowledgements

Christy Greenleaf, Elizabeth M. Boyer, and Trent A. Petrie, Center for Sport Psychology and Performance Excellence, Departments of KHPR and Psychology, University of North Texas. This study was presented at the 2005 International Society of Sport Psychology 11th World Congress of Sport Psychology.

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Greenleaf, C., Boyer, E.M. & Petrie, T.A. High School Sport Participation and Subsequent Psychological Well-Being and Physical Activity: The Mediating Influences of Body Image, Physical Competence, and Instrumentality. Sex Roles 61, 714–726 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11199-009-9671-z

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