ATTITUDES OF STUDENTS TOWARD WOMENS ATHLETIC COMPETITION

The purpose of this study was to ascertain and to analyze the attitudes of men and women undergraduate students at the University of California, Santa Barbara, concerning the desirability of intensive athletic competition for girls and women. In January 1966, a questionnaire and an attitude inventory were administered to a random stratified sample of 300 undergraduate students. The attitude inventory consisted of 38 statements which were divided into four categories— social-cultural, mental-emotional, physical, and personality. Two hundred and eighty-four questionnaires and attitude inventories (94.7 percent) were completed and were submitted to statistical analysis. Although the population was found to be favorable in attitude, the range of scores indicated that considerable differences of opinion existed concerning the desirability of athletic competition for girls and women. © 1968 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.