Performance Differences between Males and Females on Simulated Firefighting Tasks

Males and females were compared on several physical performance test items. The tests included five tasks used by the City of Chicago to select firefighters as well as four new test items that were designed to refíect recent changes in firefighting procedures. Sixty-two subjects (37 males, 25 female...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of occupational medicine 1987-10, Vol.29 (10), p.801-805
Main Authors: Misner, James E., Plowman, Sharon A., Boileau, Richard A.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adolescent
Adult
Applied physiology
Biological and medical sciences
Body Composition
Body Constitution
Employee Performance Appraisal - methods
Female
Fires
Human physiology applied to population studies and life conditions. Human ecophysiology
Humans
Male
Medical sciences
ORIGINAL ARTICLES
Personnel Management - methods
Physical Endurance
Sex Factors
Work
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Summary:Males and females were compared on several physical performance test items. The tests included five tasks used by the City of Chicago to select firefighters as well as four new test items that were designed to refíect recent changes in firefighting procedures. Sixty-two subjects (37 males, 25 females) 17-31 years of age were tested twice with 1 week intervening on a battery of tests that included measurements of body size and composition and the nine physical performance tests. Results indicated that the tests were reliable, but substantial improvement was observed on all items from the first test to the second test. Also, fatness was found to have a negative infiuence on physical tasks in which the body weight was translocated either vertically or horizontally; conversely, fatfree weight had a positive infiuence on performance in tasks requiring application of force such as lifting, carrying, and striking activities. Finally, females demonstrated lower scores than males on all physical performance items.
ISSN:0096-1736
2332-3795