AGE AND GENDER EFFECTS IN PHYSICAL SELF-CONCEPTS FOR ADOLESCENT ELITEATHLETES AND NONATHLETES - A MULTICOHORT-MULTIOCCASION DESIGN

Age and gender effects in 10 physical self-concept scales for elite at hletes and nonathletes were based on responses from 4 age cohorts (gra des 7-10 in high school) who completed the same instrument 4 times dur ing a 2-year period. A multicohort-multioccasion design provides a str onger basis for assessing developmental differences than a cross-secti onal comparison collected on a single occasion or a longitudinal compa rison based on responses by a single age cohort collected on multiple occasions. Across all 10 physical self-concepts there were substantial differences due to group (athletes > nonathletes), gender (males > fe males), and gender x group interactions (athletes < nonathletes in gen der differences). There were no significant effects of age cohort and only very small effects of occasions. Thus longitudinal and cross-sect ional comparisons both showed that mean levels of physical self-concep t were stable over this potentially volatile adolescent period and tha t this stability generalized over gender, age, and athlete groups.