Date of Publication

Summer 9-7-2012

Document Type

Undergraduate Project

Professor's Name

Emily Dane-Staples

Abstract

Although still askew compared to male rates, female participation rates in sports have gone up since the introduction of Title IX in 1972. A plethora of research has been done to identify the various factors as to why females play sport, parental influence being a common social aspect. Research is lacking, however, in exploring the types of parental influence, specifically based on the gender of the parent. By surveying students at St. John Fisher College, this study examines the support/modeling roles commonly associated with the gender of the parent in regards to influencing their children to participate in sport. Results show that although there are certain support roles that still tend to be the mother’s responsibility as in the past, unexpected results indicate there is a shift from previous research, with both parents sharing certain support/modeling roles equally when a nuclear parent household is present. Ultimately, however, the paternal influence was reported as still being the biggest influence in the participant’s entry into athletics.

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