Race and Gender Differences in Sport Participation as a Function of Self-Schema

The present investigation studied the influence of race and gender on sport and physical activity choices by regarding specific sport and physical activities as appropriate for participation or self-defining for race and gender groups. The study was designed to confirm the existence of self-schemata for sport and physical activities. A computer-generated instrument was employed to assess the existence and strength of self-schemata. Results of logistic regression analysis suggest that self-schemata for particular sport and physical activities indeed exist and certain schemata differ by race and/or gender. Understanding the dynamics of the development of selfschemata development and the influences of race and gender holds potential for a more comprehensive explanation of the disparity in sport and physical activity participation and performance.