Sport,Leisure and Perceived Self-Competence among Male and Female Adolescents

The relationship between gender, perceived self-competence and physical activity has come under increasing scrutiny over recent years. Males are more likely than female >to consider themselves to be competent in the physical domain and to derive height >ened self-worth from physical activities, including sport.The present study considere >patterns of physical activity, with a particular focus on involvement with sport, amon >a sample of 602 young people.The study was based on diary reports and face-to-fac >interviews, along with measures of perceived self-competence and self-worth a >derived from the work of Harter. The results indicated that boys spent more tim >participating in sport than girls and that boys reported higher perceptions of ‘athleti >self-competence’ and ‘global self-worth’ than girls. At the same time, both boys an >girls who were more active in sport were more likely to be characterized by hig >levels of self-worth than their more sedentary counterparts.