A comparison of fear of success and self-esteem in male and female athletes and nonathletes.

Abstract

The purpose of the study was to determine to the degree to which athletic status, gender, gender role identity, and self-esteem contribute to or predict an individual's fear of success. This study identified the percentage of variance in fear of success that is accounted for by each of the predictor variables. The data was obtained from 236 male and female students who attend Emporia State University. The sample consisted of 104 males (76 athletes, 28 nonathletes) and 132 females (41 athletes and 91 nonathletes). Of the total sample size, 117 subjects were collegiate athletes from the following sports: basketball (M = 9, F =12), tennis (M = 8, F = 6), cross country/track (M = 27, F = 11), and baseball/softball (M =32, F = 12). The nonathletes were selected from various psychology classes from the same university. The range of ages in this sample was 18 to 24 with an average being 21 years old. Each subject received a packet containing a demographic sheet, the FOSS, the PAQ, and the Rosenberg Self-esteem Scale. A multiple regression analysis revealed that a person's gender, athletic status, gender role identity, and self-esteem simultaneously accounted for 27% of the variance in FOS. However, if self-esteem is not taken into consideration, then the other three variables account for 21% of the variance in fear of success. Individuality, gender, athletic status, gender role identity, and self-esteem account for 10%, 16%, 7%, and 13%, respectively, of the variance in FOS. It was concluded there was a difference between a person's gender, athletic status, gender role identity, and self-esteem when predicting a person's level of fear of success.