Analysis of male body image in college athletes and non-athletes
Abstract
The following research concerns body image issues in males. The study compared college male athletes to college male non-athletes in order to discover which group of individuals experienced more body image issues. There were a total of six tests used to evaluate the participants which included: a background questionnaire created by the researcher, the attention to body shape scale, male contour drawing rating scale, objectified body consciousness scale, selfobjectification questionnaire, and the eating attitudes test. Researchers used a total of 47 participants, 19 classified as athletes and 27 classified as non-athletes. It was initially hypothesized that male athletes would score significantly higher on all scales compared to nonathletes, meaning that male athletes had more concern on aspects of body image. The initial hypothesis was generally not supported. However, athletes scored higher on the attention to body shape scale than non athletes, t(45) = 2.67, p=.01. This showed that athletes have more concern for body shape. The general conclusions from the results were that the hypothesis was not confirmed and future research with a different focus needs to occur to discover the differences between male college athletes and non-athletes. This new focus includes using scales that focus more on muscularity, and using a different dieting scale with a greater focus on male nutrition concerns.