A comparison of body image profile between male and female athletes and non-athletes

Abstract

The aim of the present study was to assess body image of intercollegiate male and female athletes and non-athletes. To conduct the study 50 intercollegiate male athletes (Ave. age 18.24 years) and 50 intercollegiate female athletes (Ave. age 19.11 years) were selected as samples. The selection of these male and female athletes was done from intercollegiate competition held in Chhattisgarh. Another set of 50 male collegiate non-athletes (Ave. age 18.21 years) and 50 female collegiate non-athletes (Ave. age 19.11 years) was also selected. To assess body image of the collegiate athletes, Modified Version of Self-Assessment Questionnaire for Body Image, prepared by Agashe and Karkare (2008) was used. 2x2 factorial ANOVA was used for data analysis. The factors analysis revealed that athletes showed more magnitude of positive body image as compared to non-athletes but surprisingly body image dissatisfaction was significantly higher in male students as compared to female students. The two factor interaction of participation in sports and gender was not observed on body image of collegiate students. It was concluded that participation in sports and gender are two two strong variables that affect body image of collegiate students individually.