Masters Theses
Date of Award
8-1999
Degree Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Science
Major
Human Performance and Sport Studies
Major Professor
Joy T. DeSensi
Committee Members
Ralph Jones, Suzanne Molnar, Jennifer Moshak
Abstract
The purposes of this study were to determine: a) eating disorder symptoms among National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), Division I, intercollegiate female athletes in the Southeastern Conference (SEC), b) if lean sport athletes were more prone to eating disorder symptoms than non-lean sport athletes, c) what percentage of athletes who were at risk for eating disorders sought help or support, and d) what kind of assistance was offered from athletic institutions in the SEC to help the student-athletes deal with eating disorder issues.
The participants in this study were NCAA, Division I, female intercollegiate athletes from four universities in the SEC. There were 325 participants all between 18-23 years old, and currently a member of an intercollegiate sport in the SEC. The selection of the participants was based on the geographical location and close proximity of the Division I universities in the SEC. Availability of participants was based on which schools and athletes agreed to participate in this study. The universities which had agreed to participate in this study were sent questionnaires which were to be completed and returned to the researcher for analysis.
Instrumentation used for this study involved two survey questionnaires and a clinical instrument. The first survey questionnaire served as the demographic questionnaire. Its purpose was to determine in what sport the participant was involved, and determined the age and year of eligibility of the participant. The second instrument used in this study was the Eating Disorder Inventory-2 (EDI-2) questionnaire (Gamer, 1991). The EDI-2,91-item self-report, 6-point, Likert-type scale questionnaire was used to measure symptoms related to anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa.
The final survey questionnaire was also designed to ascertain information from the participants regarding the type(s) of support system(s) offered by their athletic institutions for eating disorders. The survey questionnaire also addressed the question, "If there is not an organized support program available specifically for the female college athletes with eating disorders, would the athletes like to see their university implement such a program?"
The study determined that there were no significant differences when evaluating lean and non-lean sport athletes for the prevalence of eating disorder symptoms under the subscale BUL. There were, however, significant findings of lean sport athletes scoring higher than the general female college population for the prevalence of eating disorder symptoms; their scores were significantly higher than expected by chance at the .05 level of reliability (Hays, 1973).
The findings of the study also revealed that lean sport athletes were more prone to one type of eating disorder symptoms than were non-lean athletes: the lean sport athletes did score in the C range on DT significantly more often than did non-lean sport athletes. This difference also was significant at the .05 level of confidence (Hays, 1973).
Regarding the third question posed in the study, what percentage of athletes prone to eating disorders sought help or support, there were 17 (22.1%) participants who sought help from their athletic institution which already had a program designed to help female athletes deal with eating disorders, depression, and/or body dissatisfaction. The other question posed in the purpose of the study was what kind of assistance was offered from athletic institutions in the SEC to help student-athletes deal with eating disorder issues. The response regarding this question was 223 (68.6%) participants stated their athletic department provided an organized support program specifically designed for female athletes to attend to discuss personal issues. There were 212 (65.2%) participants who noted that their athletic department provided organized team talks regarding eating disorders and other personal issues, however, due to the confidentiality issues surrounding this study, it was not possible to discuss which athletic institutions provided these types of programs.
Recommended Citation
English, Catherine CW, "Eating disorder symptoms among NCAA Division I female athletes in the Southeastern Conference. " Master's Thesis, University of Tennessee, 1999.
https://trace.tennessee.edu/utk_gradthes/9816