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Intercollegiate Athletic Participation and Mobility: A Re-Examination of The Athletic Participation-Achievement Hypothesis

Baber, Lucky Larry
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=bgsu156646306659859

Abstract Details

1978, Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.), Bowling Green State University, Sociology.
One of the assumptions in the world of sport is that participation in organized athletics provides opportunities for successful careers. Sport involvement is believed to socialize individuals with values such as competitiveness, hard work, perseverance, and mental fitness which have a positive impact on other spheres of activity. The available evidence supportive of these claims is largely derived from historical records, biographies, and qualitative accounts which suggest that involvement in intercollegiate athletics have provided mobility opportunities for athletes. However, there is little empirical evidence demonstrating the ways athletes differ from nonathletes in their levels of occupational attainment. The purposes of the study were to investigate differences in patterns of mobility and occupational attainment for a comparable group of former college athletes and nonathletes. The findings indicated that athletes originated from slightly lower socioeconomic origins than did the nonathletes. They also evidenced slightly more vertical mobility than nonathletes. However, it was found that as years of work experience increase, the small positive difference exhibited by the athletes was reduced. Overall, the only athletic quality that significantly contributed to occupational attainment was the star status of athletes which was found to be positively related to occupational attainment (p<.001). The findings suggest that athletic participation is a positive factor in job attainment, but it is not likely to result in greatly enhanced occupational status. Rather, the significance of sport participation may include its relationship to personal attitudes, values, life style, and lifelong leisure pursuits. Suggestions for future research indicated that there is a need for longitudinal studies which may enable us to better understand the overall relationship between participation in sport and beliefs, values, and lifelong leisure and work orientations.
Eldon Snyder (Advisor)
Sociology

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Baber, L. L. (1978). Intercollegiate Athletic Participation and Mobility: A Re-Examination of The Athletic Participation-Achievement Hypothesis [Doctoral dissertation, Bowling Green State University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=bgsu156646306659859

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Baber, Lucky. Intercollegiate Athletic Participation and Mobility: A Re-Examination of The Athletic Participation-Achievement Hypothesis. 1978. Bowling Green State University, Doctoral dissertation. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=bgsu156646306659859.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Baber, Lucky. "Intercollegiate Athletic Participation and Mobility: A Re-Examination of The Athletic Participation-Achievement Hypothesis." Doctoral dissertation, Bowling Green State University, 1978. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=bgsu156646306659859

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

bgsu156646306659859
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