{"id":7459,"date":"2020-10-02T06:30:00","date_gmt":"2020-10-02T11:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thesportjournal.org\/?p=7459"},"modified":"2020-07-15T11:30:03","modified_gmt":"2020-07-15T16:30:03","slug":"correlations-in-self-efficacy-and-participation-in-roller-derby","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thesportjournal.org\/article\/correlations-in-self-efficacy-and-participation-in-roller-derby\/","title":{"rendered":"Correlations in Self-efficacy and Participation in Roller Derby"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Authors:<\/strong> Margaret Shields1<\/sup>, Andrea Eklund2<\/sup>, and Angelina Williams3<\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

1<\/sup>Department of Health Sciences, Fort Lewis College, Durango, CO, USA
2<\/sup>Department of Family & Consumer Sciences, Central Washington University, Ellensburg, WA, USA
3<\/sup>Department of Public Health, Charleston Southern University, Charleston, SC, USA<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Corresponding Author:<\/strong>
Margaret Shields, PhD, CHES
1000 Rim Drive
Durango, CO 81301
Mshields@fortlewis.edu
509-929-1914<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Margaret Shields, PhD, CHES is an Assistant Professor of Health Sciences at Fort Lewis College in Durango, CO. Her research interests focus on veteran mental health, stress, self-efficacy, and nutrition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Andrea Eklund, MFA is an Associate Professor of Family and Consumer Sciences at Central Washington University.  Her research interests focus on empowerment and body image, sustainable textiles, and innovative fashion design.   <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Angelina Williams, CHES is a recent graduate in public health from Charleston Southern University. She is currently a family navigator for Americorps in Charleston, SC.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Correlations in self-efficacy and participation in roller derby<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

ABSTRACT<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Roller derby has been connected with self-confidence in participants; however, little is known about the correlation of increased self-efficacy and roller derby. The purpose of this study was to examine correlation in changes of self-efficacy and participation in roller derby, specific to overall confidence, exercise patterns and body image. This study was a primary data analysis collected from a specially designed self-efficacy survey using the Multidimensional Body-Self Relations Questionnaire, the Generalized Self-Efficacy Scale, and the Self-efficacy for Exercise Scale. Participants were asked to give demographic and physical information. Self-efficacy was measured through three categories: exercise, appearance and general statements about daily life. Four hundred and twenty-four international participants completed the survey. Descriptive statistics and the Wilcoxon Signed-ranks test were used for the pre- and post-sport data of the participants to assess and compare perceived changes in the individuals. <\/em>The sample included 412 completed surveys. Participants indicated increased perception of self-efficacy given involvement in roller derby. This included significance in decisions and leadership roles, body image, and exercise.  Perceptions of decisions and leadership roles, body image, and exercise routines increased with sport involvement. Participation in roller derby was associated with increased perceived self-efficacy. This is not confined to sport alone but other day-to-day activities that may require similar amounts of resilience, self-perception, and self-reflection. By fostering these feminist beliefs, gender roles, and simultaneously building self-efficacy among women, researchers have noted the higher perception of physical attractiveness, lowered poor body image, and ability to buffer societal pressures.  <\/strong>With the vast struggle for improved mental and physical health to curb chronic diseases, it is important to encourage leisure sports and activities such as roller derby.  It is vital as a coach or league to urge participants to recognize growth within in the sport, not only while skating but also applying this to career and relationships outside of the sport.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

Key Words<\/strong>: Women athletes, leisure-time sport, sport participation, empowerment, college education, interpersonal relationships<\/p>\n\n\n\n

INTRODUCTION<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Before the 20th<\/sup> century, women were excluded from sports as it was believed the vigorous activity would damage female reproduction, and they would be viewed as masculine and unattractive. This included non-contact sports such as marathon running, swimming, and tennis. By the 1900s, more women were participating in sports with the first women competing in the Paris Olympic games in 1900 competing in tennis, sailing, croquet, equestrian and golf with archery, skating, aquatics and gymnastic being introduced in the subsequent four Olympic games. During this time women\u2019s participation in the Olympics increased from the initial 2.2% to 10% (2018).  The Women\u2019s Suffrage Movement further propelled women into sports and women began to form athletic clubs where they could play tennis, croquet and archery (6).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As time went on and women became more involved in sports, women were sexualized and had to prove their heterosexuality (32, 39).  Because gender roles played a significant role in how society chose to identify individuals; it was difficult for women to be taken serious in sports or even want to be involved (21). Societal ideals caused many women to self-objectify. This caused women to feel ashamed of their bodies because they did not fit the sociocultural ideals of femininity (16), and experience psychological issues such as depression, anxiety, and low self-esteem, and was correlated with lowered self-efficacy (16, 17, 39).  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Literature Review<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Self-efficacy is the belief in one\u2019s own ability to successfully accomplish a task (3). Theorists believed behavior could be explained with a psychodynamic basic, but then in the 1960s a more revolutionary approach was revealed and this techniques perspective on behavior showed that environmental, personal, and behavioral factors were the main ingredients to create actions in others (3). Being efficacious is guided by four simple constructs: mastery experience, vicarious experience, verbal persuasion, and emotional state. Lirgg (1992) hypothesized that expectations from these four sources influenced one\u2019s behavior, thought patterns, and emotional reactions (27). This profound way of thinking allowed non-mental health professionals such as teachers, coaches, and peers to address behavioral issues in conventional settings (3). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Research on roller derby overall is limited and research focused on self-efficacy and roller derby is non-existent. There are studies on body image and how participation in roller derby increases skater\u2019s body image (16, 17), that all bodies are valued and have a purpose no matter their shape or size (5, 9, 16, 17, 31), and acceptance of their bodies through roller derby (13, 16, 17). Other roller derby research focuses on unrelated areas of the media (24), resistance (38), femininity, (9, 21, 37), do it yourself ethos (4), \u201calternative femininity\u201d (34), and the sport related to popular music (33).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Sport of Roller Derby<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Transcontinental Roller Derby was the first form of roller derby pioneered in 1935 by Leo Seltzer in Chicago, IL. Seltzer was charged with creating events that would draw people into the Chicago Coliseum and drew upon the success of past endurance events. This was one of the first sporting events that offered equal opportunities for men and women to compete (15). The events lasted over one month, and teams were fed and housed in the coliseum while nurses oversaw their health throughout the competition (19). The teams skated up to 15 hours each day each taking turns throughout the day. The winners were the team that covered the required distance in the shortest amount of time (30). In 1937 Seltzer changed the rules to include a scoring system and allowed contact between players. The sport developed into a physical competition with pushing and shoving between two teams of five players each with the goal to pass their opponents to score points.  Roller derby grew a large following in the 1940\u2019s with more than five million spectators including fan clubs and a newsletter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The start of World War II in 1941 halted the sports rise and the teams dwindled down to one team that was primarily for entertaining the soldiers. After the war Seltzer started growing the sport creating teams starting in New York. In 1949 roller derby debuted nationally on television, thus introducing the sport into America\u2019s homes and starting the roller derby craze with peaks in the 1960s through the 1970s and dwindling in the 1980s. During this time there were equal numbers of men and women on the teams, with the women skaters drawing in the majority of fans (18). There were attempts to revive the sport in the 1980s and 2000s through television events with no success.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The current version of roller derby was revised in 2001 by a group of women in the United States called \u201cBad Girl Good Woman.\u201d It was played on a flat track and had a strong focus on music subcultures and alternative feminine identities (32). The group formed four teams and their first bout was played during the summer of 2002 in Austin, Texas. In 2006, there were 160 roller derby leagues worldwide (17). There are currently 1,896 leagues (22), a 1185% increase in 14 years. Its significant to note a league has a minimum of 14 and up to 40 members in it, therefore there are between 27,000 to 79,000 roller derby players internationally.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Within the last decade, roller derby has redefined itself as a sport and become a platform for women to empower themselves by challenging society\u2019s idea of the female form and putting a high value on a large and strong physique (39). Roller derby is now a fast pace contact sport, played in two 30-minute halves divided into two-minute shifts, encouraging identity and individuality among the team.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

METHODS<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The purpose of this study was to examine correlation in changes of self-efficacy and participation in roller derby, specific to overall confidence, exercise patterns and body image.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The hypotheses were as follows:<\/p>\n\n\n\n