| Description |
The purpose of this study was to determine if there were differences in family profiles between female gymnasts at the Level 10, Elite level, and those on the United States National Gymnastic Team. The variables that were examined included socioeconomic status, parental education, ordinal position of birth of the gymnasts and their parents, family size, sibling and parental involvement in sport, geographic location, parental style of discipline, locus of control, and the 10 subscales of the Family Environment Scale. The participants in this study were female gymnasts rated Level 10, Elite, and National Team by the United States Gymnastic Federation (USGF; N = 26) and their families. The age of the gymnasts was 14-22 years at the time of their competitive years. However, the actual age of the competing gymnasts was 14-18 years of age. The instruments used for this study included the Family Environment Scale (FES) and two gymnastic-specific demographic questionnaires, one constructed specifically for the gymnasts, and one constructed for parents. The results of the study revealed that the information obtained from this study can not be generalized to any population other than those studied here. Statistically, there were relatively few differences across levels of athletic achievement (Level 10, Elite, and NT gymnasts) as originally hypothesized; however, some interesting trends suggest that additional research be pursued. Although the results were not statistically significant, the pattern of results for the conflict and control subscales did confirm that the National Team had a more authoritative parental style than the non-National teams. The National Team families were high in cohesion and much lower in control. Parental style appeared to have an impact on the overall success of the athlete. Initially, the thought was that the birth order of the gymnast was an important factor; however, a better predictor of the success of the athlete may lie in the birth order of the parents, and more specifically the father. The fact that none of the fathers of the gymnasts were first-born and came from larger families may have something to do with the success of the gymnasts. Perhaps they encouraged their child to achieve at a higher level because they were not first-born. Finally, even though the results were not what was expected due to the low response rate and relatively few differences between the top three levels of gymnasts, some interesting results were obtained and provide a foundation for further exploration. |
