Loading...
Physical self-concept changes in a selective sport high school : A longitudinal cohort-sequence analysis of the big-fish-little-pond effect
Marsh, Herbert W. Morin, Alexandre J. S. Parker, Philip D.
Marsh, Herbert W.
Morin, Alexandre J. S.
Parker, Philip D.
Abstract
Elite athletes and nonathletes (N = 1,268) attending the same selective sport high school (4 high school age cohorts, grades 7-10, mean ages varying from 10.9 to 14.1) completed the same physical self-concept instrument 4 times over a 2-year period (multiple waves). We introduce a latent cohort-sequence analysis that provides a stronger basis for assessing developmental stability/change than either cross-sectional (multicohort, single occasion) or longitudinal (single-cohort, multiple occasion) designs, allowing us to evaluate latent means across 10 waves spanning a 5-year period (grades 7-11), although each participant contributed data for only 4 waves, spanning 2 of the 5 years. Consistent with the frame-of-reference effects embodied in the big-fish-little-pond effect (BFLPE), physical self-concepts at the start of high school were much higher for elite athletes than for nonathlete classmates, but the differences declined over time so that by the end of high school there were no differences in the 2 groups. Gender differences in favor of males had a negative linear and quadratic trajectory over time, but the consistently smaller gender differences for athletes than for nonathletes did not vary with time.
Keywords
Big-fish-little-pond effect (BFLPE), cohort-sequence design, growth models, physical self-concept
Date
2015
Type
Journal article
Journal
Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology
Book
Volume
37
Issue
2
Page Range
150-163
Article Number
ACU Department
Institute for Positive Psychology and Education
Faculty of Education and Arts
Faculty of Education and Arts
Files
Relation URI
Source URL
Event URL
Open Access Status
Published as green open access
License
File Access
Open
Controlled
Controlled